This study compared the quality of life, sleep quality, eating attitudes, and psychological aspects among adults (22.93 ± 2.58 years), whether physically inactive or not, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were enrolled into: home-based exercise during the confinement (HBE group, n = 34), physically inactive during (PIDC group, n = 28), and before the confinement (PIBC group, n = 27). The depression, anxiety, and stress scale - Short Form, the Pittsburgh sleep quality index, the Eating Attitudes Test, and the quality of life questionnaire were used to assess variables. The covariance analysis (covariable - gender) was used to compare variables among the groups. The effect size was calculated by Cohen "d" (ESd). The HBE group presented a better quality of life compared to both PIDC (p = 0.002, ESd = 1.26) and PIBC (p = 0.008, ESd = 1.00) groups. Anxiety (p = 0.004, ESd = 0.96), depression (p = 0.02, ESd = 0.65) and stress (p = 0.02, ESd = 0.72) were significantly higher in the PIDC group when compared to HBE group. Self-reported sleep quality was better in the HBE group than in both other groups (p < 0.05). No group presented eating disorder symptoms; however, the HBE group has shown higher scores compared to both PIBC group (p = 0.01). In conclusion, adults who had exercised at home during the COVID-19 pandemic presented better quality of life, self-reported sleep quality, and reduced anxiety, depression, and stress levels than those physically inactive ones before and during the pandemic.

Introduction The Relative Age Effect (RAE) refers to the chronological age difference that occurs between athletes of the same age category, which can benefit individuals born in the first two quartiles of the year. This phenomenon is commonly studied in team sports, yet the results are still inconsistent, especially in volleyball. Objective This study analyzed the distribution of the number of births per quartile of Olympic volleyball athletes and whether this would influence anthropometric/motor variables and technical elements. Methods The sample consisted of 116 male athletes who scored during the Rio 2016 Olympics. For data analysis, we identified each athlete’s quartile as well as data on height, attack and defensive (or block) range, and respective scores during the games. The Chi-square test was then used to verify interquartile distribution. To assess the normality of the other variables, we conducted the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. Once accepted, one-way ANOVA was performed with the Bonferroni post-hoc test to verify significance between quartiles. A significance level of p≤0.05 was adopted. Results There was no significant difference in the distribution of athletes between quartiles (p = 0.74). When comparing the other variables in terms of the athletes’ trimester of birth, we did not observe any significant difference between height (p = 0.79), attack (p=0.59) and defensive range (p=0.07), and in the scores for serving, attacking and blocking between quartiles either. Conclusion The Relative Age Effect was not observed in Olympic volleyball athletes, therefore this phenomenon is not related to the athletes’ performance. This shows that other possible variables may influence the development of these athletes, discarding the relative age phenomenon. Level of Evidence III; Retrospective and Comparative Study.

Introduction. During the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, social media exposure and the use of electronic devices have increased; still, these behaviors may cause adverse health effects. Objective. This study assessed sleep quality, insomnia, mood, and psychological aspects among physically (n = 46) and non-physically (n = 53) active individuals during self-isolation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and examined their association with smartphone addiction. Method. A cross-sectional study was conducted among adult Brazilian citizens in self-isolation for at least 60 days; ninety-nine volunteers from different Brazilian regions were enrolled in the online survey. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-Short Form, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Insomnia Severity Index, the Brunel Mood Scale, and the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version were used to assess the study outcomes. Results. The results indicate moderate and large correlations of smartphone addiction with mood subscales, insomnia (r = .52), anxiety (r = .49), depression (r = .49), and stress (r = .49) symptoms. Also, it was observed that physically active participants were less addicted to smartphones than the non-physically active during self-isolation (p

Resumo. É comum em diversas modalidades esportivas os praticantes incluírem rotinas de alongamento e corrida submáxima como forma de aquecimento antes dos treinos e competições. No entanto, não existe um consenso sobre a influência destes protocolos no desempenho de jogadores universitários de voleibol. O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar o efeito da corrida submáxima (CS) e do alongamento estático passivo (AEP) no desempenho de atletas universitários de voleibol durante testes de Salto Contramovimento (SCM) e Sprint de 10 metros. Treze atletas do sexo masculino foram convidados a executarem dois testes funcionais (SCM e sprint de 10 metros), de forma aleatória, em três condições diferentes: 1) condição controle (CC), 2) após o AEP, e 3) após uma CS. O desempenho do SCM e Sprint foram obtidos através de aplicativos de smartphone. A condição CS apresentou um desempenho significativamente melhor do SCM em comparação com AEP (p = 0.01). Entretanto, não houve diferença entre as condições experimentais e controle (p > 0.05). Além disso, nenhuma diferença significativa no tempo e velocidade do sprint de 10m foram observadas entre as condições examinadas (p = 0.7 e p = 0.6, respectivamente). Podemos concluir que a corrida submáxima parece ser melhor do que os AEP para melhorar o desempenho de atletas universitários de voleibol.  Resumen. Es común en diversas modalidades deportivas que los practicantes incluyan rutinas de estiramiento y carrera como forma de calentamiento antes de los entrenamientos y competiciones. Sin embargo, no hay consenso sobre la influencia de estos protocolos en el desempeño de los jugadores universitarios de voleibol. El objetivo de este estudio fue verificar el efecto de la carrera sub máxima (CSM) y del estiramiento estático pasivo (EEP) en el desempeño de atletas universitarios de voleibol durante pruebas de Salto Contramovimiento (SCM) y sprint de 10 metros. Trece atletas masculinos fueron invitados a realizar dos pruebas funcionales (SCM y sprint de 10 metros), de forma aleatoria, en tres condiciones diferentes: 1) condición control (CC), 2) después de AEP, y 3) después de una CSM. El rendimiento de SCM y Sprint se ha obtenido a través de aplicaciones de smartphone. La condición CSM presentó un rendimiento significativamente mejor del SCM en comparación con EEP (p = 0.01). Sin embargo, no hubo diferencia entre las condiciones experimentales y control (p > 0.05). Además, no se observó ninguna diferencia significativa en el tiempo y la velocidad del sprint de 10 m entre las condiciones examinadas (p = 0.7 y p = 0.6, respectivamente). Podemos concluir que la carrera sub máxima parece ser mejor que el estiramiento estático para mejorar el desempeño de los atletas universitarios de voleibol.  Abstract. It is common in many sports for participants to include stretching and submaximal running as a way of warming-up before training sessions and competitions. However, there is no confirmation of their influence on the performance of varsity volleyball players. This study aimed to verify the effect of Submaximal Running (SR) and Passive Static Stretching (PSS) on the performance of college volleyball athletes during Contra Movement Jump (CMJ) and 10-meter sprint tests. Thirteen male athletes were randomly invited to perform two functional tests (CMJ and 10-meter sprint) under three different conditions: 1) control condition (CC), 2) after PSS, and 3) after an SR. Performance at CMJ and 10-meter sprint were assessed through smartphone applications. SR-subjected individuals presented a significantly better performance at CMJ test when compared to PSS (p = 0.01). However, there was no difference between the experimental and control conditions (p > 0.05). In addition, there was no significant difference in sprint time and speed at the 10-meter sprint test between the analyzed conditions (p = 0.7 and p = 0.6, respectively). We can conclude that submaximal running can be better than static stretching to improve the performance of college volleyball athletes.