“The interesting thing is that they didn’t just change the light levels, but also the specific quality and waves of that light,” says Niall Macfarlane, professor of physiology and sport science at the University of Glasgow, who was not involved in the project. in research. Experimenting with different types of dim light – blue, red, green – is much more likely to generate improvements than simply using dimmed light alone, he believes.
Macfarlane, however, has some reservations about how easily the positive research findings would translate into performance improvements in a real-life football match. “I think it’s much better suited to something like baseball or cricket where you can more closely replicate the scenario of the game,” he says. Unlike the highly variable environment of a football match, with batting sports “you know where the ball is going to come from, you know more or less how fast it’s going to come, so [through the training] you can perfect that ball tracking and contact consistency.
It’s no surprise then that when I arrived this afternoon, O’Connor was booking a flight to Arizona. He is currently in contact with more than half of the teams in Major League Baseball.
But there is still a lot of work to do. Further research is needed to see how long the benefits of light training last, as well as to confirm that in the recent study there were no performance biases: it was obvious to participants which group was receiving the Okkulo intervention and which was not, which could have unconsciously influenced the performance of test participants. Future tests could take this into account by involving some lighting adjustments for the control group as well, to avoid telling participants which group they are in.
Outside of elite sports, Okkulo is in the early stages of working with several universities to delve into the technology’s potential medical benefits, leading O’Connor to envision a future where hospitals and clinics have rooms with ambient light to help patients patients to recover. from severe brain injury or paralysis. It hopes to one day move Okkulo into the home-use and commercial gym sectors, following in the footsteps of companies like Peloton.
But for now it’s my turn. Redemption awaits. The room returns to normal light levels. I stay in my place and wait to receive the ball. My systems are finely tuned, my heart rate is slightly increased and my senses are on high alert. It’s time for me to blossom.
Clan-break-whoosh!
I control the ball. It’s perfect. Skillful and silent, falling under my spell like a lost duckling gratefully returning to the embrace of its nest. It belongs here. I feel a few seconds of immense pride before O’Connor reveals that we’ve been working with a ball speed setting recommended for 10-year-olds. Technology may be exemplary, but science cannot work miracles either.