About this Research Topic
Sleep is a basic requirement to preserve human health and well-being, which has a significant impact on physical development, emotional regulation, cognitive performance, and quality of life. Sleep is a multidimensional construct that is critical to the physiological and psychological restoration and adaptive process in athletes on short-, medium-, and long-term. For instance, some hormonal responses take place in the lead up to and during sleep (e.g. growth hormone, which plays an important role in muscle growth and repair). When considering the physiology of sleep for athletes, these responses may be influenced following training and competition, especially in comparison to non-athletes. Thus, it is clear that sleep should be considered a key factor in sporting success at all ages. As research on sleep in athlete populations has expanded over the years, there is an emerging awareness among athletes, coaches, and support staff about the importance of sleep.
While the importance of sleep for health, athletic performance, and recovery is frequently emphasized, many athletes obtain insufficient habitual sleep duration and quality. Athletes face a number of obstacles that reduce the likelihood of obtaining an adequate amount of sleep, such as training and competition schedules, difficult travel regimes, stress, and academic demands. Further, it has been suggested that athletes may require more sleep due to their unique physical and mental demands. In fact, as a physiological stressor responsible to activate hormonal systems, exercise may heavily influence the balance of anabolic and catabolic hormones essential to muscle adaptation and growth. Exercise may also induce circadian system synchronization, modifying hormones biorhythms and levels, and it should be acknowledged that sleep physiology may be different in athletes compared to non-athletes; this could be both at rest or in response to exercise. Therefore, more careful monitoring and intervention are required to identify individuals at risk and promote proper sleep to improve both performance and overall health. Although sleep can be monitored/measured by both objective and subjective tools, there is a need for developing valid, reliable tools to screen and monitor athlete sleep behaviours as the basis for understanding and developing effective interventions.
The intended scope of this Research Topic is to advance knowledge in the broad area of sleep in sports. We aim to publish a collection of articles (original research, case studies, reviews, general commentaries and perspectives) where the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Sleep and performance
- Sleep physiology and architecture
- Sleep and injury, and illness risk
- The impact of training and competition timing on sleep
- The impact of training and competition load on sleep
- The impact of competition travel on sleep and performance (for example, jetlag)
- Influence of age, sex, and sport type on sleep
- Sleep monitoring technology
- Strategies and interventions to improve sleep in athletes
While the importance of sleep for health, athletic performance, and recovery is frequently emphasized, many athletes obtain insufficient habitual sleep duration and quality. Athletes face a number of obstacles that reduce the likelihood of obtaining an adequate amount of sleep, such as training and competition schedules, difficult travel regimes, stress, and academic demands. Further, it has been suggested that athletes may require more sleep due to their unique physical and mental demands. In fact, as a physiological stressor responsible to activate hormonal systems, exercise may heavily influence the balance of anabolic and catabolic hormones essential to muscle adaptation and growth. Exercise may also induce circadian system synchronization, modifying hormones biorhythms and levels, and it should be acknowledged that sleep physiology may be different in athletes compared to non-athletes; this could be both at rest or in response to exercise. Therefore, more careful monitoring and intervention are required to identify individuals at risk and promote proper sleep to improve both performance and overall health. Although sleep can be monitored/measured by both objective and subjective tools, there is a need for developing valid, reliable tools to screen and monitor athlete sleep behaviours as the basis for understanding and developing effective interventions.
The intended scope of this Research Topic is to advance knowledge in the broad area of sleep in sports. We aim to publish a collection of articles (original research, case studies, reviews, general commentaries and perspectives) where the topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Sleep and performance
- Sleep physiology and architecture
- Sleep and injury, and illness risk
- The impact of training and competition timing on sleep
- The impact of training and competition load on sleep
- The impact of competition travel on sleep and performance (for example, jetlag)
- Influence of age, sex, and sport type on sleep
- Sleep monitoring technology
- Strategies and interventions to improve sleep in athletes
Keywords: Athletes, Sleep interventions, Sleep Technology, Performance, Health
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