The subject of sports science, whose research intersects extensively with the Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre (NVC), encompasses two main research themes: performance and health, and environmental physiology. While these themes highlight different areas of specialist competence, they frequently intersect to form the basis for interdisciplinary work.
This research theme is centered around applied research related to athletes’ training to support long-term and sustainable performance development. Key areas of focus include understanding adaptation to acute exercise and training, evaluating the efficacy of different training methods, lab- and field-based testing of performance capacity, identifying performance determinants, and assessing the impacts of training on health.
Research within this theme encompasses methods and expertise within exercise physiology, biomechanics, sports medicine, performance analysis and psychophysiology. The primary target groups are winter athletes, predominantly in cross-country skiing and biathlon and to a lesser extent in alpine ski and other winter disciplines, ongoing projects also extend to other sports. Another important branch of work within this theme involves promotion of exercise among diverse groups of individuals including those with intellectual and physical disabilities.
This research theme focuses on understanding human adaptation to extreme environments, with primary emphasis on oxygen deficiency (hypoxia) encountered during activities such as free diving or high-altitude mountaineering. Our research is rooted in integrative and experimental physiology conducted in both laboratory settings and extensive field studies.
Key areas of focus include training and performance in competitive freediving, alongside safety considerations across all freediving disciplines, where our research group is an international leader. Additional projects explore acclimatisation and performance in high-altitude hypoxia, aiming to predict individual sensitivity and optimise acclimatisation strategies to enhance performance and improve health outcomes. Other projects have explored breathing techniques, nutritional supplementation, and thermoregulatory responses to cold environments.
The Swedish Winter Sports Research Centre at Mid Sweden University is ranked among the world’s top 100 universities in the subject of Sport...
The purpose of this research study is to increase opportunities for movement, both everyday physical activity and sports participation, in children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities.
By investigating lung function after an exercise test in -15°C among 16–19-year-old students at Swedish ski high schools, this study will, to our knowledge, be the most comprehensive screening stud...
Asthma is relatively common among the population in Sweden, but even more common among those who practice endurance training in the cold, such as cross-country skiers. Can the use of heat and...
The project aims to determine prospectively whether atopy, asthma, ventilatory and lung function and use of asthma medication are associated with exercise performance capacity among elite athletes...
We want to contribute to a more equal and fairer sports movement that includes people with intellectual disabilities, movement and visual impairment.
How do young athletes who combine elite sports and high school studies develop their physical qualities over time? This study seeks answers to this question and aims to create new knowledge that...
In recent years municipalities in Sweden, as well as internationally, have installed public outdoor gyms, in order to encourage its inhabitants to an active and healthy lifestyle.
How does the rifle affect the biathlete and is it possible to develop the sport-specific training in order to perform better?
The Sport School is an intervention to promote active leisure time activities for adolescents with intellectual disability. It is arranged by sports federations, clubs and the public sector. The...
The page was updated 12/10/2024
