Open water swimming ultra-marathon events ≥10 km have become increasingly popular amongst master athletes. However, very little is known about the timing of training sessions and the impact on sleep. This study aimed to examine sleep behaviours, sleep problems and disorders and the relationship with training timings. This study used a longitudinal observational design for 42 nights with 24 masters' swimmers (n = 13 females), aged 39 ± 11 years, body mass index of 26 ± 3 kg/m2 during a training squad for an ocean ultra-swim (19.7 km) in Western Australia. Objective measures of sleep were obtained from a wrist-activity monitor, the Readiband™ (Fatigue Science Inc., Canada). Swimmers completed a survey instrument related to sleep problems, disorders, chronotype, anthropometric and demographic information. Generalised linear mixed models were fitted to examine relationships between predictor variables and sleep responses. Body mass index was associated with a decline in Total Sleep Time (TST), each one-unit increase in BMI was associated with 5 min less TST (p = 0.04). Swimmers with a “high risk” of sleep apnea had 21 min more wake time (p = 0.04) and 5% lower Sleep Efficiency (p = 0.04). Sleep Offset on the morning of a morning training session was earlier by 48 min (p < 0.001) resulting in less TST by 39 min (p < 0.001). This study provides evidence that coaches need to consider sleep behaviours and problems before designing training schedules. Swimmers need to plan and allocate an adequate sleep opportunity and those who have a suspected sleep disorder or problem should seek the support of a sleep physician.
Sleep for recovery is an essential factor for performance in athletes. One such group is recreational ultra-marathon swimmers (>10km). We aimed to compare measures of sleep before and after a sleep hygiene education intervention during a 16-week training programme. Using a prospective study design, the experiment was conducted in two phases (pre- and post-intervention), whereby pre- and post-intervention data were collected for 42 nights after the sleep hygiene education. This study had 24 masters’ swimmers (n = 13 females), aged 39 ± 11 years, and body mass index (BMI) of 26 ± 3 kg/m2 during a training squad for an ocean ultra-marathon swimmer (19.7 km) in Perth, Western Australia. Objective measures of sleep were obtained from a wrist activity monitor, the Readiband™ (Fatigue Science Inc., Canada). Participants underwent a 2-hour sleep hygiene education session. Generalised linear mixed models were fitted to examine relationships between predictor variables and sleep responses. Sleep onset and offset increased by 12 minutes post-intervention ( p < 0.001). For nights before morning training, sleep onset increased by 12 minutes and offset by 24 minutes post-intervention. Females increased sleep onset by 18 minutes and delayed sleep offset by 12 minutes sleep ( p < 0.05) post-intervention. The sleep hygiene education was insufficient in making meaningful improvements to measures of sleep. Individual sleep hygiene education and continuous reinforcement of sleep for recovery during a training programme may be required to observe improvements. Coaches should aim to design training schedules to minimise the impact on swimmer’s sleep opportunity and swimmers need to involve family in the planning of rest periods during a training programme.
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