Asics: ‘a sound mind in a sound body’
Asics recently “renewed [its] commitment to use the power of sport to uplift the world”, the brand said in a press release.
The company suggested that the world is at risk of a “mental health pandemic” and so it said that in 2021 it will “support more people to experience the transformative power of sport”, in relation to both body and mind.
Asics was keen to point out that its very name was originally inspired by a Latin phrase meaning “a sound mind in a sound body” and stated that it would therefore be “returning to its roots” by placing the concept at the “core” of its business from now in.
In this vein, the brand announced that it will undertake research into the positive impact of sport on mental wellbeing in 2021, using “cutting-edge biometric technology” to capture the “true effect” of sport on the minds of thousands of participants from around the world.
Ahead of the project’s full roll out, Asics asked a group of elite athletes (including British Olympic runner and European triathlon champion Beth Potter) and everyday athletes to participate in an initial feasibility study, as a basis for comparison.
Overseen by “leading exercise and mental health researcher” Dr Brendon Stubbs, who is based at King’s College London, the athlete study measured a series of brain pathways known to influence the emotional and cognitive elements of mental wellbeing. It found that after a “short amount” of physical activity, the everyday athletes experienced an “overall emotional uplift”, including up to a 29% improvement in their ability to cope with stress and up to an 18% increase in their relaxation levels.
The study also found that there was a significant drop in negative emotions reported (up to 135%) and the athletes were up to 28% less likely to make a rash decision or react negatively to challenges.
Brain pathways associated with cognitive performance were also measured, which Dr Stubbs reported showed a “significant uplift after a brief amount of sport”. Specifically, up to a 26% increase in brain processing speed, up to a 21% improvement in memory and a 58% reduction in levels of cognitive stress were all recorded.
Both the emotional and cognitive uplift effects were greater among the everyday athletes than among the elite ones.
Subsequently, Asics, together with its athletes, has issued an “open invitation” to people around the world to “join [its] movement to uplift the world”. Using sunrise as a symbol of hope, the brand is encouraging people everywhere to move at sunrise to “spread positivity” and raise awareness of the “importance and impact sport has on the mind.”
The “movement” is not only complemented by a social media campaign and a “move with the sun challenge” via the Asics Runkeeper app, but also a “special Sunrise Red collection, designed to move body and mind”.
The Sunrise Red collection includes key Asics styles, such as the Gel-Nimbus 23, Gel-Kayano 27, Novablast and Gel-Quantum 360, all in a new sunrise-inspired red colourway and designed to “spread positivity through movement”.
Image: Asics athlete Payton Stumbaugh Chadwick via Instagram.
