Minimizing Jet Lag, Maximizing Performance

Athletes are travelling more than ever, flying across the world for competition and training. Even competing in the same country can require travelling through multiple time zones. At a time when athletes want to be in peak form, jet lag can interfere with mood and performance. Understanding of the body’s natural clock, however, can help us plan for and manage jet lag symptoms. Jet Lag vs. Travel...Read more
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Athlete
Sleep
travel
Jet Lag

Does tart cherry juice really help athletes?

If you had the option to consume a natural product that would help manage pain and diminish muscle damage without the side-effects of synthetically produced medications would you be interested? Tart cherry juice is increasingly gaining traction among elite athletes and recreational athletes as an aid in speeding recovery post-exertion. Most frequently high-intensity strength and endurance...Read more
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sport
Recovery
tart cherry juice
pain
muscle damage
Sleep
Athlete

Tips for Back to School Nutrition and Physical Activity

While this has been an exciting summer in sport, September brings us back to the classroom. This time of year reminds us that it is time to return to learning and it’s time to consider the best way to fuel the body and mind to optimize school lessons and the learning environment. How can we give our youth the best combination of healthy nutrition and active lifestyles to fuel them for learning?...Read more
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children
youth
school
sport
Physical Activity
Academic Achievement
Sleep
Nutrition
adolescent

Problem-solving Past a Tough Run

Spring has finally arrived and avid runners are signing up for races, lacing up their shoes, hitting the great outdoors and setting their goals. With the eagerness that comes with sunshine and warmer temperatures, having a workout where nothing seems to go right can sometimes take a bite out of your confidence. There are many reasons why someone in the middle of training for their next big race...Read more
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Training
overtraining
Hydration
Sleep
Running
distance running
Mental Toughness
psychology

Sleep and Athletes: Is there a Magic Number?

Although conventional wisdom suggests that athletes need at least eight hours of sleep each night, quantity is not the only parameter that promotes athletic success. Most of us believe that we need a set number of hours of sleep and that seven or eight hours a night is a prerequisite for health and well-being. And indeed sleep, along with water, air and food, is one of our basic physiological...Read more
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Sleep
Athlete
sport
Performance

The Diabetic Athlete

More than 382 million people worldwide, and 10 million Canadians, are living with Diabetes Mellitus, more commonly known as diabetes . There are three different types of the chronic disease, but most athletes seem to have either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 is when the pancreas fails to produce enough insulin for the body, and Type 2 is when the cells in the body fail to respond to insulin...Read more
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diabetes
Blood Glucose
Athlete
Training
Blood Sugar
Competition
Nutrition
Exercise
Sleep
food
sport
parent

Sleep: Why is it important during the teen years?

Getting quality sleep is as important to our health and well-being as eating properly and maintaining regular exercise. It is recommended that adolescents ’ ages 12 to 18 years get 9 to 10 hours daily; however, teens do not seem to get the appropriate amount due to academic pressures, part-time jobs and extra curricular activities. Add to this an internal clock that shifts their circadian rhythm...Read more
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adolescents
Sleep

Is it possible to have a healthy, active holiday season?

For 11 months of the year we (mostly) watch what we eat and stick to our exercise routine, then the holidays roll around and the wheels fall off. Tempted by wonderful goodies every time you turn around and overloaded by a hectic schedule it’s easy to let your healthy habits slip, overindulge, neglect your workouts and become stressed. Did you know that tobogganing can burn up to 346 calories an...Read more
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Health
Exercise
Physical Activity
Nutrition
Christmas
Healthy Holidays
Sleep

Overtraining in High-School Athletes - The “Always-In-Season” athlete…

By Konrad Wiltmann Algonquin Sport Business Management student Many high-school athletes compete in a wide variety of sports over the course of the school year, while maintaining their studies, social life, and sometimes a part-time job. It is not uncommon for a high-school athlete to be “in-season” the whole year. From participating in soccer and cross-country running in the fall, to basketball...Read more
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youth
Sleep
Recovery
Training
Nutrition

Is there such a thing as placebo sleep?

It is estimated that the average human will spent 36% of their life sleeping . If you lived to be 75 years old, 27 of those years will be spent sleeping. Sleeping is one of the most important human functions and a lack of it can affect our memory, increase impulsiveness, promote weight gain and add to stress levels. A recent study looked at how placebo sleep affects cognitive function ...Read more
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Cognitive Function
Placebo
Placebo Sleep
REM Sleep
Sleep
Recovery