Train hard, sleep well? Perceived training load, sleep quantity and sleep stage distribution in elite level athletes

Effects of training and competition on the sleep of elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In a study of athletes from several sports, neither TST nor SE was associated with day-to-day variation in load 42. However, in rugby league players, a small correlation between within-player load and both TST and SE (r=0.11, respectively) was reported 30.…”

“…The mean age of athletes ranged from 16 to 28 years; however, one case study recruited a 31-year-old athlete 53. Athletes were recruited from 21 sports including soccer (n=14),25 36–38 42 46 47 5052 53 60 64 72 73 Australian rules football (n=11),23 33 39 45 50 52 57–59 63 70 cycling (n=6),42 48–50 54 63 rugby league (n=6),29–31 39 68 69 swimming (n=5),32 50 62 63 71 rugby union (n=5),24 34 50 52 66 netball (n=6),741 55 56 61 74 basketball (n=3),50 63 67 rowing (n=3),43 44 51 mountain biking (n=3),42 50 63 triathlon (n=3),42 50 63 American football,75 76 race walking (n=2),50 63 ice hockey,77 diving (n=1),51 running (n=1),40 volleyball (n=1),42 judo (n=1),13 handball (n=1),42 canoeing (n=1),51 speed skating (n=1),51 synchronised swimming (n=1)65 and ballet (n=1) 35. ‘Competitive-elite’ athletes were recruited by 65% (n=35) of studies,23–25 29–34 36 38 39 42 45 48–53 55–59 63 65–70 74 75 77 and 37% (n=20) recruited ‘semi-elite’ athletes (online supplementary file 2).…”

Relationships between resting heart rate, heart rate variability and sleep characteristics among female collegiate cross‐country athletes

“…Other evidence has indicated that the percentage of time spent in slow wave sleep (%SWS) increased when athletes performed high-intensity training and decreased during the tapering period (Taylor, Rogers, & Driver, 1997). Also, a larger portion of SWS could reflect higher need for recovery in elite male and female athletes (Knufinke et al, 2018), further supporting the restorative effects of sleep during time periods consisting of a greater physical demand.…”

Does the Short Period of Resistance Training May Improve the Sleep Quality? Pilot Study

“…Among the possible mechanisms that lead to the improvement of sleep quality as a result of the exercises practice, it can be considered that the distribution of sleep stages is modified by physical exercise, since sleep is adjusted to the daily needs recovery of the organism; and, therefore, large proportions of deep sleep reflect a high recovery demand (17)(18)(19) . Additionally, during the NREM sleep stage, the ideal environment for anabolic functions, such as increased growth hormone secretion (GH), appears to be associated with slow wave sleep (8) .…”

“…However, although studies have suggested that exercise improves sleep quality (10,15,17,18) other studies (20,21) suggest that the effects of exercise are only modest or that they point to the fact that the effects depend on whether subjects are physically trained or not. Indeed, since the divergence between the outcomes related to the effect of physical exercise on sleep and, also, that the latter is an essential element for QoL and health, it is possible that a physical exercise program may influence the sleep quality in sedentary individuals?…”