The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science

40. Don’t React, Reflect: How Mindfulness Can Make You a Better Skeptic

Emotions are the backbone of our relationships and our survival. Without them, we’d fail to connect with those closest to us and lack the fight-or-flight impulses to act when in peril. But when emotions unduly influence our decisions, it can lead to harmful outcomes and evoke beliefs where evidence does not exist. “The orator persuades his hearers when they are roused to emotion,” wrote Aristotle in Rhetoric [https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/spr2010/entries/aristotle-rhetoric/],“For the judgments we deliver are not the same when we are influenced by joy or sorrow, love or hate.” The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com [https://www.nbtiller.com/] Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org [https://www.skepticalinquirer.org/] Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/dont-react-reflect-how-mindfulness-can-make-you-a-better-skeptic/ [https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/dont-react-reflect-how-mindfulness-can-make-you-a-better-skeptic/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

37. Are Saunas Good for You? Yes, But...

Hippocrates was soaking in the Grecian hot baths and advocating their health benefits about 2,500 years before scientists began studying heat therapy in the lab. In the last few decades, the body of evidence has grown exponentially, with dozens of reviews and meta-analyses agreeing that saunas, in particular, confer cardiovascular and molecular benefits. In this month’s column, I won’t dispute the abundance of studies on the health benefits of saunas, nor will I debunk the commercial claims; there are too many of both. Instead, I’ll draw attention to a problematic subset of the literature that may be biasing the conclusions and undermining the belief that saunas are good for one’s health. I’ll also provide some much-needed context on the benefits of sauna, context that’s conspicuously absent from the mainstream coverage. The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com [https://www.nbtiller.com/] Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org [https://www.skepticalinquirer.org/] Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-saunas-good-for-you-yes-but/ [https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-saunas-good-for-you-yes-but/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

36. "Woodpeckers Don’t Play Football": The Concussion Repercussion

I dislocated my shoulder during wrestling practice in 2015. The nature of this type of injury leaves an indelible mark, and I can still recall it vividly nearly a decade later. I’d toppled backward, arm outstretched and externally rotated to break my fall—an amateur mistake. The pain was instant and searing. I felt a “fizzing” sensation up and down my arm from the nerve damage, and my ligaments screamed at being forced beyond their natural range of motion. My shoulder felt “out of place.” Because it was. Despite it being my first dislocation, I knew immediately what I’d done. “Can someone find me a doctor,” I said calmly, as though asking to borrow a pen, “and tell them I’ve dislocated my shoulder.” I lay motionless until the paramedics arrived, fearing that any movement would distend my shoulder from its socket like a life-size Stretch Armstrong. Most traumatic musculoskeletal injuries can be described with similar precision. But if you ask someone with a concussion to recall their experiences, you get something less exact. Some American football players describe how the world was spinning, like being drunk but without the fun part. Others report seeing stars, feeling like their legs were “independent of their bodies,” or feeling “distant” and watching the remainder of the game through a dense, unrelenting fog. The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com [https://www.nbtiller.com/] Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org [https://www.skepticalinquirer.org/] Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/woodpeckers-dont-play-football-the-concussion-repercussion/ [https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/woodpeckers-dont-play-football-the-concussion-repercussion/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

35. The Boxer Who Sparked a Transgender Debate without Being Transgender

“It hurt like hell,” said Italy’s Angela Carini to her cornermen. Her welterweight contest against Algeria’s Imane Khelif lasted just forty-six seconds. The pugilists were squaring off in the preliminary rounds of the Olympic boxing competition in Paris. After absorbing a few solid right hands and fearing her nose was broken, the Italian retreated to her corner, and the referee waved off the contest. “I am heartbroken,” said [https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/aug/01/angela-carini-abandons-fight-after-46-seconds-against-imane-khelif] Carini after the fight. “I went to the ring to honor my father. I was told I was a warrior, but I preferred to stop for my health. I have never felt a punch like this.” The official ruling of abandonment (ABD) progressed Khelif to the next round, and she went on to win the gold medal. Carini later apologized for her comments. The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com [https://www.nbtiller.com/] Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org [https://www.skepticalinquirer.org/] Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-boxer-who-sparked-a-transgender-debate-without-being-transgender/ [https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-boxer-who-sparked-a-transgender-debate-without-being-transgender/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

34. Spring Energy: The Supplement Exposed by Skeptical Athletes

The United States has twice as many supplement brands as it does McDonald’s restaurants. That’s a lot of supplements. Of those 30,000 or so, only a handful have robust evidence [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6090881/] for efficacy. Prominent among them are carbohydrate supplements—the drinks and gels of concentrated sugar that cyclists, triathletes, and marathon runners chug throughout their races (over 1,500 carb gels were consumed during each stage of the recent Tour de France). Carb gels are ubiquitous in sports because carbohydrates are the body’s primary fuel for intense exercise. Although our bodies retain a stockpile of carbohydrates as glycogen in the muscles, we burn through it during exercise like a steam engine burns through coal. We must refuel on the go to prevent early fatigue. The supplement manufacturers have one task: to deliver the calories and nutrients they promise on the product labels. In this month’s column, I’ll tell the story of one supplement company that failed in this basic duty and the group of athletes who exposed the fact by exercising their critical faculties. The Skeptic's Guide to Sports Science BOOK: https://www.nbtiller.com [https://www.nbtiller.com/] Skeptical Inquirer magazine: https://www.skepticalinquirer.org [https://www.skepticalinquirer.org/] Original article & references: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/spring-energy-the-supplement-exposed-by-skeptical-athletes/ [https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/spring-energy-the-supplement-exposed-by-skeptical-athletes/] ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.