As part of the SmartSocks®DISCOVERY Pioneers Competition, we are showcasing researchers whose ideas are pushing the boundaries of how wearable technology can be used in real-world health, performance and wellbeing research.
In this post, we meet Murat Erdem, a sports physiotherapist at the Turkish Basketball Federation, whose project investigates how SmartSocks®DISCOVERY can be used to objectively monitor stress, sleep and recovery in elite basketball players during travel, training and competition, helping to better understand how home–away conditions and travel modes shape physiological load in real-world field settings.
What is your main area of research?
My main area of research is sports physiotherapy, focusing on load and recovery processes, stress and sleep physiology, and the use of wearable sensor technologies to monitor these variables in real-world, field-based settings.
How would you describe your research to someone outside your field?
In simple terms, I study how athletes’ bodies respond to stress during training, matches, travel, and sleep. By using wearable sensors worn on the foot, we can collect objective data on stress, sleep quality, and recovery without disrupting athletes’ daily routines, and better understand how environmental and contextual factors influence these processes.
What originally drew you to this area of research?
As a physiotherapist working with national teams, I regularly observe the impact of travel demands, match congestion, and away conditions on athletes. However, capturing these effects objectively and continuously is challenging. This gap motivated me to work with field-compatible wearable technologies that can support evidence-based decision-making.
Who else is involved in your research group or project?
This project is part of my doctoral research. I work closely with my academic supervisors and collaborate with colleagues specialising in sports physiotherapy, sport science, and performance. The clinical component of the project is strongly grounded in hands-on field experience.
What research question or problem are you investigating through the Pioneers Competition?
Through the Pioneers Competition, I am investigating how home–away conditions and travel mode (air travel versus coach travel) influence physiological stress, sleep quality, and recovery in basketball players, using SmartSocks®DISCOVERY in field-based conditions.
Why is this research important, and who could it ultimately benefit?
High travel loads and congested competition schedules are closely linked to increased injury risk and reduced performance. This research can help physiotherapists, coaches, and performance staff make more informed decisions regarding travel planning, load management, and recovery strategies.
What appealed to you about using SmartSocks®DISCOVERY for this project?
The key appeal of SmartSocks®DISCOVERY is its ability to collect continuous data during travel, training, matches, and sleep without interfering with athletes’ routines. This field-based approach provides insights that are difficult to obtain using traditional laboratory assessments.
Are there any particular features of SmartSocks® that you’re especially excited to explore?
I am particularly interested in the integrated assessment of electrodermal activity, pulse-related metrics, skin temperature, and movement data, which together offer strong potential for evaluating stress and sleep physiology in a holistic way.
How could your findings influence future research, care, or clinical practice?
This work may help demonstrate the feasibility of objectively monitoring travel- and competition-related stress using wearable technologies, supporting their routine integration into athlete health and performance management. The practical outputs could also be directly translated into clinical and applied sport settings.
When you’re not researching, how do you like to spend your time?
Outside of research, I enjoy music and have been playing the cello for many years. Sport has always been a central part of my life; over the past five years I have regularly competed in trail and road running events, and I am currently preparing with the aim of taking part in triathlon competitions in the coming years.
