Views of a sports scientist on impactful research and physical exercise

Dr Andy Tse Choi-yeung obtained his BSc degree in sports science and PhD degree from the University of Hong Kong in 2008 and 2012 respectively. His doctoral thesis was about the speech motor learning of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). After completing his PhD studies, Andy joined Cathay Pacific Airways as a cadet pilot in 2013 and went back to academia as a post-doctoral fellow in the University of Hong Kong in 2014. He joined the Department of Health and Physical Education (HPE) at the then Hong Kong Institute of Education (HKIEd) in August 2015, and took up the position of Acting Head of HPE in November 2021.

Andy’s primary research interest lies in the impact of physical activity on the psychological, cognitive and physical well-being in children with ASD symptoms, as well as their motor learning. He is also interested in motor development and the effect of free-play on the overall quality of life in typically developing children. His recent research initiatives study the impact of physical exercise on the sleep quality of ASD children and the impact of cycling on their cognitive functions. He is also conducting a collaborative research project with Professor David Anderson from San Francisco State University and Professor Joseph Campos from the University of California, Berkeley to investigate the relationship between crawling and cognition in infants with typical development.

In this issue, Andy shares with us the research he has conducted in recent years that he considers significant. He also explains why physical exercise is important to humans, and gives us some tips about how to make a research work substantial.

A: When I joined EdUHK about eight years ago, the belief that “exercise is medicine” had already become very popular in academia. At that time, however, there were not too many research projects about how physical exercise can help autistic children. As my PhD thesis was related to children with ASD symptoms, I decided to continue to conduct ASD-related research to address this question.

 

Many ASD children suffer from sleep disorders. Some research even estimates that around 80% of children with ASD symptoms experience varying degrees of difficulty when sleeping. ASD is one kind of neuro-developmental disorder that can affect the normal functioning of the endocrine system in children. Melatonin plays a key role in the science of sleep. It is a hormone secreted by the pineal glands that regulates the circadian rhythm, the body’s internal clock that dictates when we are most alert and when we are sleepy. With a dysfunctional endocrine system, ASD children often secrete high levels of melatonin during daytime, but insufficient melatonin at night.

One of my first studies after joining this University aimed to find out how physical exercise can improve the sleep patterns of ASD children. The study established the conclusion that physical exercise can stimulate the pineal glands to produce melatonin, improving the sleep quality of the ASD children who were under this study.

Many studies have shown that there is a strong correlation between sleep disturbances and misbehaviours of ASD children, including physical aggression, short tempers, lack of attention and hyperactivity. Our studies showed that an adequate amount of physical exercise can help ASD children to manage their behaviour.

 

A: In recent years, I conducted a follow-up research project on the impacts of doing physical exercise and taking in melatonin dietary supplements on the sleep quality and behavioural changes of ASD students. The study used biomarkers to measure how much melatonin one produces after exercising. ASD students were divided into three groups: in the first group, children took melatonin dietary supplements only without doing physical exercises; participants in the second group did physical exercises only without taking melatonin dietary supplements; and participants in the third group took melatonin dietary supplements and worked out physically. The results showed that the ASD children who took melatonin dietary supplements only without doing physical exercise experienced little change to their behavioural problems, although there were improvements to their sleep quality.

For the first control group, ASD children joining the study took the same amount of melatonin dietary supplements. To some of them, the dosage was more than enough, which made them feel drowsy when getting up. To others, the dosage was too little and they did not get enough sleep. As both types of ASD students were not in good condition when getting up, they continued to exhibit similar behavioural problems caused by their sleep disorder.

However, ASD children who took melatonin supplements and did physical exercise at the same time showed noticeable improvements in their behavioural problems. This is because physical exercise not only stimulates our body to produce melatonin, but also stimulates it to secrete the right amount of the sleep hormone that we need for a good sleep. In short, doing physical exercise on top of taking melatonin supplements is the best solution to ASD children having sleep problems.

A: First of all, a good research project, at least in the area of physical health, mental health and sports science that I am familiar with, should not be cut off from real world. It should address real-life issues and meet the real needs of people. They should aim at discovering something that will have a real impact on people’s lives.

Secondly, trivial research projects are not worth doing. There are research projects that, even before you begin collecting data, you can more or less predict the outcome. Such projects are trivial because their conclusions are highly predictable.

Today’s research projects in sports science, food science or nutritional science are highly dependent on evidence. A successful research project must be based on a large amount of related data. However, some researchers have their priorities wrong. They phrase their research question according to what set of data is more readily available. I do not agree with this line of thinking. As I said above, we should ask a research question that addresses real-life issues and leads to real discovery. That matters more than anything else. If there is no data available off-hand to conduct the research, we should seek cooperation with other scholars.

A: In recent years, phrases like “cross-disciplinary research” and “multi-disciplinary approach” have become trendy in academia. It seems that a “cross-disciplinary” approach occupies a very central position in the academic world. There are research centres and university programmes purposefully designed with multi-disciplinary emphases. Being “multi-disciplinary” is considered by many higher institutions as an effective selling point.

While collaborations between different disciplines can bring new insights to problems and we should not understate the value of a cross-disciplinary approach, I do think that we should not deliberately make a research project cross-disciplinary for the sake of being cross-disciplinary. Not every research project needs to cut across a wide range of academic disciplines. We should go back to the fundamental concern of whether the research project is asking a valid and valuable question. If a valid question needs knowledge from different disciplines to answer, then we should draw on knowledge from different disciplines to conduct the research, but it should not be the other way around.

A: People who own fish as pets use a filter to keep the water clear of fish waste, debris, and other pollutants. They also use an air pump to keep things fresh. The stronger the motors of the filter and air pump are, the healthier the aquarium will be for its marine inhabitants.

Our bodies are like aquariums that need constant cleaning. Physical exercise is one of the most guaranteed ways to keep the motor of our bodies in good shape. Running, jumping, and even walking stimulates blood circulation and burns calories. It boosts metabolism and strengthens our ability to recover from sickness and injuries. It makes our body healthier, just like a strong motor makes the underwater environment healthier for fish.

Today’s public health professionals like advocating that “physical activities are medicine”. I would tweak this and say that physical exercise is an assistance to medicine. People who get ill should first seek medical treatment. But a physically fit body does minimise the risk of sickness and speed up recovery. Because of this, governments around the world encourage their people to spend time on physical exercise. They consider it as an effective preventive measure for nearly all kinds of ailments, such as heart attacks, strokes, and diabetes.

On a physiological level, I believe that human beings are living creatures. Being a living creature means that we have a biological need to exercise. What’s more, we need to exercise in nature. If you compare running on a treadmill or on the streets to running in nature, you will find that running in nature more joyful and capable of giving us the ultimate peace of mind. Nothing can give us the level of satisfaction comparable to exercising in nature. In fact, there are numerous studies affirming that exercising in nature can lead to a greater sense of wellbeing. In nature, all of our five senses are engaged in ways that cannot be replicated through indoor exercise. Perhaps that is the reason why I have picked up triathlons as my favourite sport.

Numerous research results show that there are strong links between physical and mental wellbeing. When we exercise, our bodies release endorphins. As a result, we experience feelings of happiness. Exercising in sunlight stimulates our secretion of serotonin, the “happy” hormone that helps us stay calm and focused, and reduces depression and anxiety. People who have physical health problems are more likely to develop mental health problems, and vice versa.

A: Up to 20 or 30 years ago, people used to equate doing more exercise with better physical health. They played basketball, football or badminton, or swam to keep themselves physically fit. Physical exercise simply meant putting your body into action and sweating.

In the last two decades, the meaning of physical health has changed tremendously. First of all, people have been increasingly using the term “wellness” to replace physical fitness. More people are aware of the need to keep ourselves both physically and mentally healthy.

While people in the past believed that staying physically healthy meant exercising, people nowadays view the term to mean a lot more than that. The last two decades saw an information boom. The Internet and social media make the circulation of knowledge much faster than before. People who care about their physical health today can easily obtain information about how to measure their physical fitness, such as their body mass index, heart rate, blood pressure, and measurements about muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility, and so forth.

A: New sports products have changed people’s views on physical fitness too. There are many wearable gadgets appearing in the market that can help people measure and record figures about their physical fitness. Many sport watches and mobile apps help people track how long they have walked and how many minutes they have exercised for. People have also become more willing to spend money on buying not only fitness-monitoring devices, but also various fitness equipment and performance-enhancing sportswear.

This reflects a recent trend where people are more eager to excel in their physical performance. To improve their performance, they join fitness courses, employ personal trainers at gyms, or follow online training classes. They strive for “faster, higher, stronger” performance targets that are measurable. One could even say that there is a “personal best culture” among passionate exercise buffs.

But I don’t encourage people to put too much emphasis on performance. Breaking your personal records might bring you satisfaction and give you a better feeling of self-worth. But being over-competitive can create a psychological pressure as well, defeating the original purpose of physical exercise.

A: With the rapid development in artificial intelligence, I foresee that how people perceive physical health is going to change drastically. While wearables like smartwatches enable us to easily obtain biometric data such as heart rates, hormone levels and sleep patterns, artificial intelligence makes the sophisticated analysis of such biometric data much easier. As a result of such technological advancements, people can use biometric data to track their training progress and performance much more easily and accurately.

However, there is a widening gap between those who exercise regularly and seriously, and spend a lot of time and money on buying performance-enhancing equipment and sportswear, analysing their performance, taking dietary supplements, and those who choose a sedentary lifestyle. The latter will likely suffer from poorer physical and mental health. There will be an increasing prioritisation on wellness.

A: I swim every day for half an hour during lunch. When I swim, I put aside many of my thoughts on mundane issues. It releases my mental stress. I take part in triathlons whenever I have time. Running, cycling, and swimming in an outdoor environment improves my endurance, strength and speed, and also connects me with nature.

I go hiking during weekends and long holidays too. There is no lack of beautiful places in Hong Kong for hiking. Being in nature is important to me. Taking in the beautiful views of nature while exercising liberates me from negative thoughts. It rejuvenates me.