sport

That an athlete wearing red can affect the jury's decision in competitive sports, according to a study conducted not long ago by scientists at the University of Münster. In a study carried out with taekuondo fighters, the researchers found that the jury tends to give higher scores to an athlete who wears red than to himself wearing blue.

Although no sport is bad, when we practice intense physical exercise without being prepared, the consequences for our health can be negative. And, in that sense, some sports are more 'dangerous' than others. Triathlon, speed skating, cycling, rowing and boxing are some of the sports with the highest cardiovascular risk, according to the Spanish Heart Foundation.

This Sunday, Jamaican Usain Bolt could break his own record in the final of the 100-meter sprint at the London Olympics. According to a study published in the European Journal of Sport Science, the runner would exceed his mark, managing to complete 9.48 seconds, with a downwind of two meters per second and at an altitude of 999 meters. However, the Olympic city does not meet all the requirements, since it is located only 24 meters above sea level.

Research from the Mayo Clinic reveals that some Olympic sports can increase brain performance. Specifically, the researchers highlight the benefits of athletics and swimming, but also ping-pong, rowing and fencing.

Although sudden death is a rare event, more and more cases are heard of athletes whose hearts fail unexpectedly. A study by the US National Collegiate Athletic Association revealed that sudden death is almost three times more common in Africans and Americans than in Caucasian athletes. Now, a new work published in the American Journal of Cardiology reveals that individuals affected by sickle cell anemia, a very common hereditary disease among the population of African origin, have a higher risk of dying abruptly during the intense practice of some sport.

Athletes tolerate pain better, according to research by German scientists at the University of Heidelberg. The authors reviewed 15 studies that compared the perception of pain between athletes and non-athletes, as well as the differences in pain threshold, that is, the moment from which a stimulus (heat, pressure, etc.) begins to be perceived as painful.

The overtraining syndrome is caused by excess frequency, volume or intensity of physical training, in addition to lack of rest and recovery after physical exercise. It causes fatigue and decreased performance. Also known as overfatigue. It usually occurs in professional athletes due to poor exercise planning and can ruin a sports career.

Only 10% of the world's population is left-handed. Two American researchers have just shown that this low percentage of people who mostly use the left hand is the result of the balance reached between cooperation and competition throughout human evolution.