Showing papers by "Anton M.L. Coenen published in 2018"

Self-reported sleep quantity, quality and sleep hygiene in elite athletes.

Abstract: Summary Sleep is essential for recovery and performance in elite athletes. While actigraphy-based studies revealed suboptimal sleep in athletes, information on their subjective experience of sleep is scarce. Relatively unexplored is also the extent to which athletes’ sleep is adversely affected by environmental conditions and daytime behaviours, that is sleep hygiene. This study aimed to provide insight in sleep quantity, quality and its putative association with sleep hygiene. Participants were 98 elite (youth) athletes competing at the highest (inter-)national level. Sleep quantity, quality and sleep hygiene were assessed once covering a 1-month period by using established (sub)clinical questionnaires, and repeatedly during 7 consecutive days. Sleep quality was generally healthy, although 41% of all athletes could be classified as ‘poor sleeper’, and 12% were identified as having a sleep disorder. Daily self-monitoring revealed sleep durations of 8:11 ± 0:45 h, but elevated wake after sleep onset of 13 ± 19 min. Sleep quality, feeling refreshed, and morning vigor were moderate at best. Regarding sleep hygiene, general measures revealed irregular sleep–wake patterns, psychological strain and activating pre-sleep behaviours. At the daily level, blue-light exposure and late-evening consumption of heavy meals were frequently reported. General sleep hygiene revealed significant associations with sleep quality (0.45 0.50; P < 0.001). Results indicate that there is ample room for optimization, specifically in onset latency and in wake after sleep onset. Subtle improvements in sleep seem possible, and optimizing sleep hygiene, such as regular sleep–wake patterns and reducing psychological strain, may facilitate this sleep upgrading process.

Effects of Natural Between-Days Variation in Sleep on Elite Athletes' Psychomotor Vigilance and Sport-Specific Measures of Performance.

Abstract: Performance capacity in athletes depends on the ability to recover from past exercise While evidence suggests that athletic performance decreases following (partial) sleep deprivation and increases following sleep extension, it is unclear to which extent natural variation in sleep impacts performance Sleep quantity and, for the first time, sleep stages were assessed among 98 elite athletes on three non-consecutive nights within a 7-day monitoring period, along with performance tests that were taken on standardized times each following morning Performance assessment included psychomotor performance (10-minute psychomotor vigilance task) and sport-specific tests of fine (eg, accuracy) and gross motor skills (eg, endurance, power) Mixed-effects models were employed to assess the effect of sleep quantity (total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency (SOL), wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency) and sleep stage duration (light, deep, REM) on performance Average TST was 7:30 ± 1:05 hours, with a mean variation of 57 minutes across days Longer TSTs were associated with faster reaction times (p = 004) Analyses indicated small and inconsistent effects of sleep quantity (TST, SOL) and sleep staging (light sleep) on gross motor performance, and no effects on fine motor skill performance Results indicate that natural variation in sleep quantity impacts psychomotor vigilance to a greater extent than athletic performance Small or absent effects can be a consequence of the rather small variation in non-manipulated sleep It is suggested that one night of compromised sleep may not be immediately problematic, but that more extreme sleep loss or accumulated sleep debt may have more severe consequences