A examine printed within the journal Sports activities Medication – Open offers priceless details about the significance of sufficient sleep and sleep administration methods in ultramarathon runners.
Examine: Sleep and Ultramarathon: Exploring Patterns, Methods, and Repercussions of 1,154 Mountain Ultramarathons Finishers. Picture Credit score: EshanaPhoto / Shutterstock
Background
An sufficient amount of sleep is a prerequisite for optimum bodily efficiency. Sleep deprivation of 24 – 30 hours can scale back response time and cognitive efficiency. An enchancment in cognitive and motor efficiency has been noticed in people following sleep administration methods.
Apart from efficiency, sleep deprivation can negatively have an effect on restoration after a high-intensity coaching session. Athletes concerned in high-intensity sports activities, corresponding to offshore crusing and ultramarathon, ceaselessly expertise sleep deprivation as a consequence of irregular coaching timing, journey, and prolonged occasion length.
On this examine, scientists have investigated sleep patterns and administration methods in ultramarathon runners and assessed the repercussions of sleep deprivation throughout and after the ultramarathon.
Examine design
The examine was carried out on 1,154 runners from two ultramarathons: a 165-kilometer race with 9,576 meters of constructive elevation and a 111-kilometer race with 6,433 meters of elevation.
The individuals have been requested to finish a survey questionnaire, which collected info on demographic traits, coaching traits, traditional sleep profile, circadian typology, and sleep administration methods. The questionnaire was despatched to the individuals post-race to retrospectively gather the knowledge from the pre-race, during-race, and after-race durations.
The individuals have been categorized into three teams based mostly on the variety of nights they spent in the course of the race: one evening, two nights, and three nights. The scientists outlined “spending an evening within the race” as runners remaining within the race for no less than 4 hours between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM.
Vital observations
About 86% of the examine individuals have been males, and the imply age of the individuals was 43 years. The age and gender of the individuals have been consultant of general race starters. The common end time was 50 hours for the 165-kilometer race and 34 hours for the 111-kilometer race.
The common every day sleep length of the individuals was 7.5 hours. Nevertheless, they desired a mean sleep length of 8 hours every day. About 19% of the individuals reported having a historical past of sleep disorder-related signs, together with insomnia, sleep apnea, and sleep disorder-related depressive syndrome. About 5% reported taking sleeping capsules.
About 58% of the individuals reported implementing no less than one sleep administration technique in preparation for the race. About 18% of the individuals reported intentionally experiencing sleep deprivation throughout their follow periods for the race.
About 61% of the individuals reported modifying their regular sleep patterns one week earlier than the race. Amongst them, about 55% reported rising their every day sleep length, 5% reported modifying their sleep schedule, and 1% reported lowering their every day sleep length. Furthermore, about 46% of the individuals reported experiencing one evening of partial sleep deprivation in the course of the week earlier than the race.
A lot of the individuals reported a mean whole sleep debt of fifty minutes earlier than the race. About 29% of the individuals reported having sleep disorder-related signs one evening earlier than the race. About 13% of the individuals reported utilizing sleeping capsules or different different therapies to get sleep the evening earlier than the race.
Sleep throughout race
About 84% and 53% of the 165-kilometer and 111-kilometer ultramarathon individuals reported taking no less than one nap in the course of the race, respectively. Through the 165-kilometer race, the cumulative sleep length for every participant was 76 minutes. Through the 111-kilometer race, the cumulative sleep length for every participant was 27 minutes.
A major correlation was noticed between the cumulative sleep length and end time in each races. Most individuals (82%) reported taking brief naps lasting lower than half-hour in the course of the race. Concerning nap timing, about 80% of individuals reported taking naps in the course of the evening, whereas solely 15% reported taking daytime naps.
Repercussions of sleep deprivation
About 80% of the individuals reported experiencing no less than one symptom associated to sleep deprivation. A variation in symptom prevalence was noticed relying on the variety of nights spent on the race. Probably the most reported signs have been diminished alertness and hallucination.
A decrease prevalence of sleep deprivation-related falls was noticed amongst individuals with elevated common every day sleep length earlier than the race.
Publish-race restoration
The individuals reported regaining a standard state of wakefulness with out drowsiness inside two days after the race. About 22% of the individuals believed that sleep deprivation in the course of the race elevated the chance of accidents in on a regular basis life.
Examine significance
The examine highlights the significance of sleep administration in bettering efficiency and assuaging the hostile well being results of sleep deprivation in ultramarathon runners.
The examine finds that rising every day sleep length earlier than a race successfully reduces the chance of sleep deprivation-related falls in the course of the race.
The examine identifies “brief naps” as the preferred sleep administration technique in the course of the race.
