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Data-Backed Warning: Scrolling Before Exercise Wrecks Performance
(MENAFN) Checking social media right before a workout can dull mental sharpness and meaningfully drag down physical performance, a Danish sports physiologist has cautioned.
Lars Johansen of government body Team Denmark told a public broadcaster on Friday that research points clearly in one direction. "The studies clearly show that using social media before an activity significantly impairs your performance," said Johansen, who has spent four years studying the link between screen use and athletic output.
He said scrolling induces a form of mental fatigue that leaves people feeling drained and less driven to perform.
Team Denmark has tracked findings published in international journals since 2022, including one study pitting athletes who scrolled social media for 30 minutes before a yo-yo fitness test against a control group that watched regular television instead. The social-media group performed 10% worse, translating to a nearly 4% drop in fitness scores.
"If you compare the deterioration in physical capacity, it is equivalent to smoking 3-4 cigarettes before you can perform," Johansen said.
Danish Olympic curler Madeleine Dupont said her team cut social media out of their pre-training and pre-match routine during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. "We felt that it stole the focus from our performance, and it was actually an easy decision when we first realized how big an impact social media can have," she said.
Johansen said the effect isn't confined to elite sport — it can also hit recreational exercise and other high-focus activities, including job interviews. He stopped short of urging a total ban, calling that "unrealistic" for most people, and instead recommended steering clear of social media in the hours before training, competition or any task demanding peak physical or mental performance.
Lars Johansen of government body Team Denmark told a public broadcaster on Friday that research points clearly in one direction. "The studies clearly show that using social media before an activity significantly impairs your performance," said Johansen, who has spent four years studying the link between screen use and athletic output.
He said scrolling induces a form of mental fatigue that leaves people feeling drained and less driven to perform.
Team Denmark has tracked findings published in international journals since 2022, including one study pitting athletes who scrolled social media for 30 minutes before a yo-yo fitness test against a control group that watched regular television instead. The social-media group performed 10% worse, translating to a nearly 4% drop in fitness scores.
"If you compare the deterioration in physical capacity, it is equivalent to smoking 3-4 cigarettes before you can perform," Johansen said.
Danish Olympic curler Madeleine Dupont said her team cut social media out of their pre-training and pre-match routine during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. "We felt that it stole the focus from our performance, and it was actually an easy decision when we first realized how big an impact social media can have," she said.
Johansen said the effect isn't confined to elite sport — it can also hit recreational exercise and other high-focus activities, including job interviews. He stopped short of urging a total ban, calling that "unrealistic" for most people, and instead recommended steering clear of social media in the hours before training, competition or any task demanding peak physical or mental performance.
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