
Play Sports for a Quieter Brain: Evidence from Division I Collegiate Athletes - bookofjoe
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31813316
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thewizardofaus
I train 20 hours a week for my sport, on top of full time study at University
and running my own freelance business on the side.

While I advocate for sport, nothing beats meditation for increased focus!

I have tracked my stress levels over the last few years. During stretches of
when I meditated, and did not.

I have absolutely noticed a difference in my internal thoughts and actions.

Before, my thoughts felt like I was in a forest surrounded by fog, visibility
was impossible.

But now, I feel like the fog is slowly lifting, I am able to see the outline
of the surroundings.

Give it a shot, It only takes a couple weeks of meditation to notice a
difference :)

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yathern
I've been very undisciplined when it comes to meditation! What sort of
meditation do you prefer. Use any guided tools? How often?

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121789
The Waking Up and Headspace apps have been great for me. I’ve found that
meditation is much like regular exercise, where consistency and long term
adherence is more important than how much you feel you’re getting out of each
individual session. Those apps have helped me build habits.

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Wonnk13
I used to run pretty competitively, however I'd always train with music / an
ipod. In fact I still run with my iPod classic. Even with music I still
daydream almost every run.

Concentration is a muscle that has to be trained like any other. There's
probably a ton of selection bias in that individuals who can't focus don't go
to D1 programs.

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tnecniv
I trained pretty heavily for a couple different endurance sports through
college. I definitely felt that I was overall much calmer and less anxious
when I was training hard. I was just too tired to be stressed out about
anything. I recently picked up boxing (mainly for the workout, not doing many
fights) and felt the same effect.

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elpakal
I read this not as “playing sports gives you a quieter brain” but as “playing
sports gives you a better ability to ‘turn down the noise’”.

As a former collegiate athlete I’d love to agree with this.

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swiley
It’s probably a mental positive until you get hit hard in the head. Here in
the US the association of football with universities is just so bizarre.

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todd8
It's not just tackle football. Other college sports, played in many countries,
have significant risk of concussion. Rugby, soccer, and ice hockey look quite
problematic according to [1].

[1] [https://completeconcussions.com/2018/12/05/concussion-
rates-...](https://completeconcussions.com/2018/12/05/concussion-rates-what-
sport-most-concussions/)

