A study published within the journal Sports Medicine – Open provides priceless information in regards to the importance of adequate sleep and sleep management strategies in ultramarathon runners.
Study: Sleep and Ultramarathon: Exploring Patterns, Strategies, and Repercussions of 1,154 Mountain Ultramarathons Finishers. Image Credit: EshanaPhoto / Shutterstock
Background
An adequate quantity of sleep is a prerequisite for optimal physical performance. Sleep deprivation of 24 – 30 hours can reduce response time and cognitive performance. An improvement in cognitive and motor performance has been observed in individuals following sleep management strategies.
Besides performance, sleep deprivation can negatively affect recovery after a high-intensity training session. Athletes involved in high-intensity sports, resembling offshore sailing and ultramarathon, steadily experience sleep deprivation as a consequence of irregular training timing, travel, and prolonged event duration.
On this study, scientists have investigated sleep patterns and management strategies in ultramarathon runners and assessed the repercussions of sleep deprivation during and after the ultramarathon.
Study design
The study was conducted on 1,154 runners from two ultramarathons: a 165-kilometer race with 9,576 meters of positive elevation and a 111-kilometer race with 6,433 meters of elevation.
The participants were asked to finish a survey questionnaire, which collected information on demographic characteristics, training characteristics, usual sleep profile, circadian typology, and sleep management strategies. The questionnaire was sent to the participants post-race to retrospectively collect the data from the pre-race, during-race, and after-race periods.
The participants were categorized into three groups based on the variety of nights they spent through the race: one night, two nights, and three nights. The scientists defined “spending an evening within the race” as runners remaining within the race for a minimum of 4 hours between 6:00 PM and 6:00 AM.
Necessary observations
About 86% of the study participants were men, and the mean age of the participants was 43 years. The age and gender of the participants were representative of overall race starters. The common finish time was 50 hours for the 165-kilometer race and 34 hours for the 111-kilometer race.
The common every day sleep duration of the participants was 7.5 hours. Nonetheless, they desired a mean sleep duration of 8 hours every day. About 19% of the participants reported having a history of sleep disorder-related symptoms, including insomnia, sleep apnea, and sleep disorder-related depressive syndrome. About 5% reported taking sleeping pills.
About 58% of the participants reported implementing a minimum of one sleep management strategy in preparation for the race. About 18% of the participants reported deliberately experiencing sleep deprivation during their practice sessions for the race.
About 61% of the participants reported modifying their normal sleep patterns one week before the race. Amongst them, about 55% reported increasing their every day sleep duration, 5% reported modifying their sleep schedule, and 1% reported reducing their every day sleep duration. Furthermore, about 46% of the participants reported experiencing one night of partial sleep deprivation through the week before the race.
A lot of the participants reported a mean total sleep debt of fifty minutes before the race. About 29% of the participants reported having sleep disorder-related symptoms one night before the race. About 13% of the participants reported using sleeping pills or other alternative therapies to get sleep the night before the race.
Sleep during race
About 84% and 53% of the 165-kilometer and 111-kilometer ultramarathon participants reported taking a minimum of one nap through the race, respectively. Throughout the 165-kilometer race, the cumulative sleep duration for every participant was 76 minutes. Throughout the 111-kilometer race, the cumulative sleep duration for every participant was 27 minutes.
A big correlation was observed between the cumulative sleep duration and finish time in each races. Most participants (82%) reported taking short naps lasting lower than half-hour through the race. Regarding nap timing, about 80% of participants reported taking naps through the night, whereas only 15% reported taking daytime naps.
Repercussions of sleep deprivation
About 80% of the participants reported experiencing a minimum of one symptom related to sleep deprivation. A variation in symptom prevalence was observed depending on the variety of nights spent on the race. Probably the most reported symptoms were reduced alertness and hallucination.
A lower prevalence of sleep deprivation-related falls was observed amongst participants with increased average every day sleep duration before the race.
Post-race recovery
The participants reported regaining a traditional state of wakefulness without drowsiness inside two days after the race. About 22% of the participants believed that sleep deprivation through the race increased the chance of accidents in on a regular basis life.
Study significance
The study highlights the importance of sleep management in improving performance and alleviating the opposed health effects of sleep deprivation in ultramarathon runners.
The study finds that increasing every day sleep duration before a race effectively reduces the chance of sleep deprivation-related falls through the race.
The study identifies “short naps” as the most well-liked sleep management strategy through the race.