Probiotics Improved Sleep Quality and Reduced Anxiety
Researchers tested whether probiotics could improve sleep and anxiety in stressed office workers.
Forty-five participants took either 20 billion CFU of probiotics or placebo daily for six weeks.
The probiotic group showed significantly better results across multiple measures:
overall insomnia symptoms improved (p=0.011), sleep latency (time to fall asleep) decreased (p=0.045), and sleep maintenance got better (p=0.002). PubMed Study Link
My Thoughts
Sleep and anxiety often go hand-in-hand for runners, especially during heavy training blocks or leading up to goal races. This study adds to the growing evidence that gut health influences mental health and sleep quality.
Six weeks is a realistic timeframe, similar to how you might build toward a race.
Keep in mind that the specific strain of probiotic matters here because not all probiotics do the same thing. For athletes already working on gut training for race nutrition, adding a targeted probiotic for runners could address multiple issues at once.
It’s one of the reasons we just updated our Probiotic for Runners to include a greater variety of probiotic strains.
If pre-race nerves or poor sleep during hard training blocks sound familiar, this approach is worth considering.
Biofeedback Significantly Improve Athletic Performance and Mental Health
This systematic review pooled data from 41 randomized controlled trials examining biofeedback and neurofeedback training in athletes. Biofeedback uses real-time data on physiological processes like heart rate, breathing, or brain waves to help athletes learn self-regulation.
The meta-analysis found statistically significant improvements across all three domains measured: mental health showed a large effect (SMD=0.76), athletic performance had the strongest benefit (SMD=0.88), and cognitive performance also improved substantially (SMD=0.81).
These effect sizes are considered moderate to large. PubMed Study Link
My Thoughts
Honestly, I am not usually a proponent of measuring a lot of data while training, but this study has me rethinking how data can be better used in context.
For example, it seems that biofeedback teaches you to recognize and control physiological states, which translates directly to racing: staying calm at the start, managing effort during surges, not panicking when things get hard.
I think this could be used for some data-obsessed runners as way to channel their focus on elements within their control on race day to improve race execution and reduce nerves.
Plant-Based Iron Improved Hemoglobin but Failed to Raise Ferritin Levels
Researchers tested plant-based iron supplements derived from curry leaves in 96 adults with iron-deficiency anemia over 60 days.
One group took 18mg of plant-based iron plus 90mg of vitamin C, another took iron alone, and a third took placebo. Both iron groups significantly improved hemoglobin compared to placebo (p<0.001). However, serum iron and ferritin levels did not increase significantly. (p>0.05).
Notably, this study compared plant-based iron to placebo only, not to conventional iron supplements like ferrous sulfate, so we cannot conclude it works better than standard forms. Â PubMed Study Link
My Thoughts
This study highlights a common problem with many iron supplements: they may bump hemoglobin slightly but fail to rebuild your actual iron stores (ferritin).
For runners, ferritin is the number that matters most. Low ferritin means your body is running on empty even if hemoglobin looks acceptable.
That’s why our MAS Iron uses iron bisglycinate, a form shown to significantly improve ferritin levels with better absorption and tolerability than plant-based or conventional ferrous sulfate options.
If you are dealing with low ferritin or iron-deficiency symptoms like fatigue and declining performance, you need a supplement designed to actually replenish stores, not just nudge hemoglobin.
