Nutritional Interventions to Improve Sleep in Team-Sport Athletes: A Narrative Review

Abstract

Athletes often experience sleep disturbances and poor sleep as a consequence of extended travel, the timing of training and competition (i.e., early morning or evening), and muscle soreness. Nutrition plays a vital role in sports performance and recovery, and a variety of foods, beverages, and supplements purportedly have the capacity to improve sleep quality and quantity. Here, we review and discuss relevant studies regarding nutrition, foods, supplements, and beverages that may improve sleep quality and quantity. Our narrative review was supported by a semi-systematic approach to article searching, and specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, such that articles reviewed were relevant to athletes and sporting environments. Six databases—PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, and Google Scholar—were searched for initial studies of interest from inception to November 2020. Given the paucity of sleep nutrition research in the athlete population, we expanded our inclusion criteria to include studies that reported the outcomes of nutritional interventions to improve sleep in otherwise healthy adults. Carbohydrate ingestion to improve sleep parameters is inconclusive, although high glycemic index foods appear to have small benefits. Tart cherry juice can promote sleep quantity, herbal supplements can enhance sleep quality, while kiwifruit and protein interventions have been shown to improve both sleep quality and quantity. Nutritional interventions are an effective way to improve sleep quality and quantity, although further research is needed to determine the appropriate dose, source, and timing in relation to training, travel, and competition requirements.

In-Season Nutrition Strategies and Recovery Modalities to Enhance Recovery for Basketball Players: A Narrative Review

“…A more comprehensive discussion on nutrition and travel may be found elsewhere [189,[193][194][195]. Although it is beyond the scope of this review to discuss micronutrients and supplements, the authors would like to acknowledge the role of cherries and other phytonutrients in the management of sleep and soreness in team sports [196,197]. From our experience, we have seen these micronutrients and supplements used by basketball teams, especially at the professional level, usually in juice extract form, but they are also incorporated into food menus and drink smoothies.…”

“…From our experience, we have seen these micronutrients and supplements used by basketball teams, especially at the professional level, usually in juice extract form, but they are also incorporated into food menus and drink smoothies. The reader is referred to the following reviews for further inquiry [196][197][198].…”

Comment on Gratwicke et al. Nutritional Interventions to Improve Sleep in Team-Sport Athletes: A Narrative Review. Nutrients 2021, 13, 1586

“…We recently read with great interest the recent paper by Gratwicke, M et al (2021), "Nutritional Interventions to Improve Sleep in Team-Sport Athletes: A Narrative Review", within the journal Nutrients [1]. We applaud the research team for attempting to highlight the interaction between chrononutrition and sleep.…”

Current and Novel Reviews in Sports Nutrition

“…For this Special Issue, research leaders in sports nutrition were approached and invited to submit current reviews in their areas of expertise [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. The topics are novel and wide-ranging, and include updates and insights on protein [ 11 , 12 ], dietary patterns and nutritional interventions to support sleep, older athletes, and sports performance [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], pre-exercise nutrition [ 16 ], supplementation with betaine, iron, and creatine [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], and sports nutrition research methodologies for body composition and muscle glycogen analysis [ 20 , 21 ]. A major emphasis in all of the papers was a focus on strengths and weaknesses for various sports nutrition strategies, and insights for future research.…”

“…The systematic review and meta-analysis by Chapman et al [ 12 ] concluded that protein supplementation improves strength and muscle mass during intensive and long-term training. Nutritional interventions, such as supplementation with tart cherry juice, kiwifruit, 20–40 grams of protein rich in tryptophan, and glycine late in the day were recommended as useful sleep-enhancement strategies for athletes in the narrative review by Gratwicke et al [ 13 ]. Strasser et al [ 14 ] focused on nutritional guidelines for older adults, including adequate energy and protein intake for countering losses in bone and muscle mass.…”