The Rundown

Heart Trouble. Exercise is good for our hearts but is it possible to get too much of a good thing when it comes to physical activity? A new paper looked at longtime runners, cyclists, swimmers and triathletes and found that years of heavy endurance training and competition may contribute to an increased chance of developing atrial fibrillation, particularly in men. (Atrial fibrillation or AFib is an irregular heart beat that can lead to blood clots and a higher risk of stroke).

Specifically, the study examined medical and training data from 942 male and female longtime endurance athletes. All had competed at a local or national level and many still raced.

About 20 percent of these athletes, almost all middle-aged men, said they had been diagnosed with AFib. Those who competed and trained the most were at highest risk. Lead author of the study, Susil Pallikadavath, notes however, that it wasn’t a random sample and the incidence of AFib likely skewed high because athletes with the condition probably responded in disproportionate numbers.

According to sports cardiologist, Meagan Wasfy, who has studied and treated AFib in athletes, there are several takeaways here with the first being: Don’t overreact. Moderate exercise like walking or jogging for a few hours a week protects you against all types of heart conditions, including AFib.

On the flip side, don’t ignore new symptoms. Pay attention to sudden heart palpitations or shortness of breath, unexplained declines in your performance and spikes in your heart rate.

For his part, Pallikadavath wants to reassure athletes. “The benefits of exercise far, far outweigh the risks,” he stressed. “This message cannot be stated enough.”

Exercise & Parkinson’s Disease. New research published in the journal Neurology has found that exercising regularly may reduce a woman’s chances of developing Parkinson’s disease by as much as 25 percent.

The study compared the exercise levels of more than 95,000 women over nearly three decades. The women were average age 49, did not have Parkinson’s when the study started and their exercise activities included walking, cycling, gardening, stair climbing, house cleaning and participation in sports.

Over the study’s time period, 1,074 women developed Parkinson’s. The researchers found that as a woman’s exercise level increased, her risk for the disease decreased and for those who got the most physical activity, based on time and intensity, the rate for developing Parkinson’s was 25 percent lower than for those who exercised the least.

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Angel City. This three-part docuseries on (HBO) Max goes behind the scenes of the Los Angeles based professional women’s soccer team, Angel City Football Club. It follows the female-founded and led team’s origin story through its inaugural 2022 season, exploring what it means to build a franchise from scratch. Angel City is streaming now.

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The Optimal Body Podcast. What does “optimal” mean in your body? Physical therapist Dr. Jen Esquer, along with her co-host and husband, Dominic, aims to answer this question in a podcast that covers everything from tight hips, to workplace ergonomics to foot and knee mobility.

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Should You Listen to a Podcast to Fall Asleep? Here’s What a Sleep Expert Says. If you use a podcast or audiobook to help you fall asleep, what content works best? How long should you listen? A sleep expert weighs in on these questions and more in this article for Outside magazine.