Recovery has emerged as a major priority in elite sports, with athletes placing equal emphasis on rest and regeneration as they do on training. Beyond physical conditioning, professionals are increasingly focusing on quality sleep, mental well-being, and stress management to maintain peak performance.

Capitalizing on this growing focus, Pulsetto has unveiled its most ambitious brand campaign yet, featuring NBA players Jonas Valančiūnas and Matas Buzelis. The initiative introduces the concept of Stress Fitness, promoting the belief that the nervous system can be strengthened through regular practice, much like muscles. Titled "Calm Is a Habit. Train For It.", the campaign debuts during the NBA offseason—a period when athletes dedicate themselves to recovery, conditioning, and preparation for the upcoming season.

Different Careers, Shared Challenges
Pulsetto began collaborating with NBA talent in 2025, initially partnering with All-Star Domantas Sabonis before extending long-term relationships with Valančiūnas and Buzelis. Although the two players are at very different stages of their careers—Valančiūnas as a seasoned veteran and Buzelis as one of the league's promising young talents—they both experience similar pressures related to competition, recovery, sleep, and mental readiness.

Rather than simply promoting the product, both athletes discuss how Pulsetto fits into their personal recovery routines, helping them relax, improve sleep quality, and prepare mentally for the demands of professional basketball.

Matas Buzelis describes pressure as an opportunity, explaining that the excitement after games often makes it difficult to unwind. He says using Pulsetto before bedtime helps him relax, fall asleep more easily, and make recovery a consistent part of his daily routine.

Jonas Valančiūnas shares that his biggest challenge is an active mind filled with thoughts about upcoming games and responsibilities. He uses Pulsetto before sleeping to quiet those thoughts, emphasizing that quality rest has a direct impact on how he performs the following day.

Their experiences reinforce Pulsetto's philosophy that recovery should be viewed as an active process. Just as athletes build physical strength through consistent training, the company believes resilience and stress management can also improve with regular practice.

The Research Behind Stress Fitness
Pulsetto's technology uses non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation to help strengthen the body's natural ability to cope with stress over time, rather than simply addressing stress after it builds up. According to a peer-reviewed study indexed on PubMed and published in the American Journal of Physiology, participants who used the device for four weeks experienced notable improvements, including a 56% reduction in depressive symptoms, a 45% decrease in anxiety, a 41% improvement in sleep disturbances, and a 36.7% reduction in cortisol, the body's primary stress hormone.

Dr. Jone Pukėnaitė, Pulsetto's Medical & Science Lead, explains that while athletes have long recognized recovery as essential to high performance, emerging research into vagus nerve stimulation suggests the nervous system itself can become more resilient through consistent training. Better sleep, stress regulation, and recovery, she says, are not fixed traits but abilities that can be developed over time.

Recovery Beyond Professional Sports
Although the campaign features professional basketball players, Pulsetto says its message is intended for everyone. Whether someone is preparing for a championship game, an important business presentation, a major exam, or simply navigating everyday responsibilities, the body's response to stress follows similar patterns. The company believes that regular nervous system training can help anyone recover more effectively and build greater resilience.

The "Calm Is a Habit. Train For It." campaign spans multiple platforms and includes a flagship promotional film, athlete interviews, social media videos, and a collection of campaign photography. Through these efforts, Pulsetto aims to introduce the concept of Stress Fitness to a wider audience and encourage a broader discussion about recovery as a skill that can be strengthened through consistent practice.

Good mental health is essential for overall health. The Mental Health Action Plan stresses the significance of acknowledging that the mental health requirements of athletes are just as vital to their performance and well-being as their physical health needs. Good mental health encompasses more than just the absence of mental health symptoms or disorders.
 
The Mental Health Action Plan is a comprehensive strategy that will serve as a guide for the IOC to promote mental well-being across its four areas of responsibility, guided by the principles of human rights, equity, evidence-based practice, and collaboration. These areas include the IOC as an organization, the IOC as the owner of the Olympic Games, the IOC as the leader of the Olympic Movement, and Olympism in society.
 
There are five thematic focus areas with corresponding key objectives and actions to be achieved by 2026 across these four spheres:
 
Culture and leadership: Championing a policy environment that recognizes the importance of mental health and well-being.

Measurement and research: Contributing to more thorough and reliable mental health epidemiology in elite athletes and under-researched groups, with attention to cross-cultural differences.

Reduce prevalence and improve well-being: Developing expert-led tailored tools and initiatives to improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma, build mental resilience, and reduce sport-specific stressors.

Improve care: Fostering psychologically safe athletic environments that reduce barriers to help-seeking, including through early recognition of when further support may be needed and establishing pathways to care.

Improve access to sport: Promoting and supporting the mental health benefits of accessing sport and Olympism in Society, especially in resource-limited settings.

The Mental Health Action Plan is an ambitious roadmap for promoting mental well-being in the world of sports. By working towards these key targets by 2026, the IOC hopes to make a significant impact on the lives of athletes and communities around the world.
 
The IOC places a high priority on the well-being of athletes. The focus on protecting and promoting the mental health of elite athletes began in 2019 with the publication of the IOC Consensus Statement on mental health in elite athletes and the establishment of the IOC Mental Health Working Group.
 
Recommendation 5 of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 calls for increased mental health support for elite athletes and their entourages, while Recommendation 10 focuses on using sport to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and create a healthier world. These efforts have significantly increased the resources available through Athlete365, including the dedicated #MentallyFit section and the IOC Mental Health in Elite Athletes Toolkit.
 
The Mental Health Action Plan demonstrates the IOC’s commitment to integrating expert-led support for athletes’ well-being across multiple IOC programs, working on complementary topics such as gender equality and safeguarding, with the support of Olympic Solidarity. The plan also draws on the principles of Olympism365, the IOC’s strategy aimed at strengthening the role of sport as an enabler of the UN SDGs, with a focus on building partnerships with organizations around the world to promote the mental benefits of physical activity and sport.
 
The IOC is committed to providing leadership to the Olympic Movement in this area and raising awareness among National Olympic Committees and International Federations through resources such as the Certificate and Diploma in Mental Health in Elite Sport.