Athletes are always looking for ways of improving their performance and recovery. It is for this reason many opt for a healthy diet and take sports supplements.
However, until now they have often overlooked their skin microbiome. Could it be the missing piece of the puzzle?
Results
In a Pre-Print, 35% said that in just two weeks, they noticed their muscle stiffness and recovery improve after doing sport.
This result could be significant because of the short time period within which the study was conducted; changes in whole body health issues such as muscle stiffness are normally long term processes.
2 of the 17 (12%) patients saw an improvement in their sleep quality.
As this is a very important part of sports performance, this result in just two weeks is also very promising. Sleep quality could be affected in a number of ways; for example if your skin health is better, you may be more likely to have a deeper sleep. Also, if your muscles feel more soothed and recover quicker after excercise, this could also improve sleep quality.
89% said they would look into using skin supplements for sports recovery and performance in the future.
Conclusion
The vital role of the microbiome in whole body health, including muscle growth and repair, means that it could be the missing piece of the puzzle for many health problems.
However, there is a long, long way to go to fully determine how the skin microbiome affects sports recovery and performance, and many longer, more in depth studies must be completed.
What do you think? Comment below.
