Topend Sports Newsletter: 11 August 2015

 Sports Science Alert (SSA) #026

Zap Your Brain for Better Performance

A recent news story on the Men's Fitness website that got my attention was about a new way to enhance exercise performance, and a new possible doping technique that I had not heard of before - brain doping.

Researchers have found that exercise performance is limited by neural signals from the brain. What if you could override the brain, and exercise for longer and harder? Brain doping involves stimulation of the brain to stop the limitations the brain has on performance, using a method called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). Just imagine electrodes placed on your head!

After reading the article there was one point that stood out to me. The reason the brain does limit the body is to stop any damage from over-exercising. That's enough info to know that this could be dangerous. I don't want to override my brain, I trust it knows when to tell me to stop doing something that could hurt me.

It is reassuring to know that science continues to push the boundaries of finding new ways for athletes to improve performance, however, there still needs to be boundaries in place to prevent injuries and boundaries to keep sport fair among all competitors.

Related Content on Topend Sports

• Drug testing for athletes
• the history of doping excuses
• electric ab stimulators don't work
• sport science research guide

Poll: Have drug cheats ruined your faith in the Olympic ideal?

Drug scandals have become commonplace in many sports despite efforts by the authorities to stamp out doping. Has your faith in the Olympic ideal been sullied by the ongoing drug scandals? See the poll here.

The Sport Science Alert (SSA) newsletter brings you the latest news in sport, science, fitness and nutrition. Created by Rob Wood of Topend Sports, the ultimate online sport and science resource.

That's all for this week, thanks for your continued support of this newsletter and the topend sports website. If you have any feedback or suggestions for the content of future newsletters, please let me know. Use the links below to contact me on my website, via email or on social media. See you next time. Rob

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