As any guy round the corner, I love sports and I am involved in active sports like cricket and sometimes football. What I do every day is jogging to keep my body fit along with a few stretching exercises. On lazy days I have often wondered if there can be any shortcuts to exercise. That’s when news hit me about the role of neurosciences in Olympic training too!! WOW! Imagine if you could trick your brain into thinking that the body is exercising, maybe I could enjoy the benefit by just sitting around. These are just my ranting.
Well, the actual news was that a company called Halo Neurosciences introduced brain stimulating headphones called Halo Sport which claim to stimulate the brain. The headphones seemingly send pulses of energy to stimulate the brain. Their claims that the headphones help create quasi-brain plasticity which is quite an interesting term. The pulses of energy sent to the brain take effect by exciting the motor neurons, increasing its excitability and creates stronger neural connections. This method states that it can enhance the motor learning of athletes by instilling the brain to send stronger and synchronous signals to the muscles. This combined with exercise would train the athlete in an excellent manner.
Their case study also shows that when these headphones were used by average skiers, their propulsion force was improved by 13% as compared to those who didn’t use the headphone. The study was initially done on a small bunch of 7 athletes, then on a group of 10 and 23 athletes, and although there were slight variations in result, they sure performed better. To establish their claim there must be more extensive and conclusive studies. I’ll just get back to jogging and look forward to until they do establish their claim.
It is amazing how brain power can be exploited and how science and technology have already advanced to get the best out of brain stimulation. The various neurostimulation techniques suggest that they can improve cognitive power, improve moods, make stronger personalities and even moral dispositions. There is a lot of research going on in this area with evidence that some gain better motor recognition and are able to manipulate data after a short tDCS. It even improves numerical ability, boost creativity and control urges. It is said to reduce fatigue and improves muscular endurance.
To think of brain power, the headsets released by Halo Neurosciences is an over ambitious step. Such claims need more solid data and trials to firmly base their claims upon. Passing current through the brain to stimulate it, holds its own risks and must be validated before marketing gimmicks. If tDCS does stand up to its claims the headset may be considered equivalent to doping which is not permissible on the sports field, because it gives an unfair advantage of to the users over the non-users. Along the same lines I read about athletes who sleep in tents to increase their RBC (red blood cell) count in order to perform better. No, they are not just any camping tent, these are tents that simulate the high altitude conditions due to which the blood begins to produce more RBCs.
While tDCS and the high altitude simulation tent is still debated over the sports field, i personally think they will do a great job in the medical field. tDCS can improve brain cognition skills, motor nerves and maybe heal nervous diseases and prolong the occurrence of nervous diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. The high altitude simulation tent could be used for treating anaemic patients.
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