Download PDF
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Sleep Sci 2022; 15(04): 441-447
DOI: 10.5935/1984-0063.20220076
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS

Sleep and nutritional profile of endurance and ultra-endurance running athletes

Nadia Esteves dos Santos
1   Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas - Limeira - São Paulo - Brazil
,
Natalia Vilela Silva Daniel
1   Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas - Limeira - São Paulo - Brazil
,
Beatriz Franco
2   Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação Física - Campinas - São Paulo - Brazil
,
Andre Marana Bastos
1   Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas - Limeira - São Paulo - Brazil
,
Taisa Belli
1   Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas - Limeira - São Paulo - Brazil
,
Andrea Maculano Esteves
1   Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciências Aplicadas - Limeira - São Paulo - Brazil
› Author Affiliations
› Further Information
   Permissions and Reprints

Sleeping and eating before and during an ultramarathon can directly affect an athlete’s performance, who may also have their physiological adaptations and recovery process hindered by sleeping problems. Endurance and ultra-endurance athletes may have different sleep and nutrition profiles. Thus, this study aimed to describe the sleep profile (during preparation) and nutritional profile (during competition) of endurance (10-20km) and ultra-endurance (50-100km) running athletes. For this, 16 healthy volunteers answered questionnaires related to sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index), chronotype (morningness-eveningness questionnaire), and sleepiness (excessive daytime sleepiness questionnaire). Immediately after a competition, a form prepared by the research team about nutritional variables and volunteers’ food records during the competition was applied. According to test scoring criteria (Pittsburgh sleep quality index >5; sleepiness >10), endurance running athletes showed low sleep quality. In addition, all athletes showed consumption of carbohydrates and lipids below the recommended, but excessive consumption of proteins. A positive association between sleepiness and sodium intake in endurance runners was observed (r=0.862; p=0.027). Sleep efficiency and race time showed a negative correlation only for ultra-endurance athletes (r=-0.834; p=0.039). The data obtained show that endurance athletes presented more sleep pattern alterations, however, endurance and ultra-endurance athletes showed inadequate nutritional consumption during the competition.

Running - Athletes - Sleep - Nutrition Personnel


Publication History

Received: 13 August 2021

Accepted: 25 March 2022

Article published online:
01 December 2023

© 2023. Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Revinter Publicações Ltda.
Rua do Matoso 170, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20270-135, Brazil

 

  • REFERENCES

  • 1 Belli T, Macedo DV, Araújo GG, Reis IGM, Scariot PPM, Lazarim FL, et al. Mountain ultramarathon induces early increases of muscle damage, inflammation, and risk for acute renal injury. Front Physiol. 2018;9:1368.
  • 2 Costa RJS, Knechtle B, Tarnopolsky M, Hoffman MD. Nutrition for ultramarathon running: trail, track, and road. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2019 Mar;29(2):130-40.
  • 3 Martin T, Arnal PJ, Hoffman MD, Millet GY. Sleep habits and strategies of ultramarathon runners. PloS One. 2018;13(5):e0194705.
  • 4 Hoffman MD, Goulet EDB, Maughan RJ. Considerations in the use of body mass change to estimate change in hydration status during a 161 kilometer ultramarathon running competition. Sports Med. 2018 Feb;48(2):243-50.
  • 5 Hirshkowitz M, Whiton K, Albert SM, Alessi C, Bruni O, DonCarlos L, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health. 2015 Mar;1(1):40-3.
  • 6 Thun E, Bjorvatn B, Flo E, Harris A, Pallesen S. Sleep, circadian rhythms, and athletic performance. Sleep Med Rev. 2015 Oct;23:1-9.
  • 7 Saugy J, Place N, Millet GY, Degache F, Schena F, Millet GP. Alterations of neuromuscular function after the World’s Most challenging mountain ultra-marathon. PLoS One. 2013 Jun;8(6):e65596.
  • 8 Filardi M, Morini S, Plazzi G. Pre-race sleep management strategy and chronotype of offshore solo sailors. Nat Sci Sleep. 2020;12:263-9.
  • 9 Skein M, Duffield R, Edge J, Short MJ, Mundel T. Intermittent-sprint performance and muscle glycogen after 30 h of sleep deprivation. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2011;43(7):1301-11.
  • 10 Dattilo M, Antunes HKM, Medeiros A, Mônico Neto M, Souza HS, Tufik S, et al. Sleep and muscle recovery: endocrinological and molecular basis for a new and promising hypothesis. Med Hypotheses. 2011 Aug;77(2):220-2.
  • 11 Tiller NB, Roberts JD, Beasley L, Chapman S, Pinto JM, Smith L, et al. International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: nutritional considerations for single-stage ultra-marathon training and racing. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2019 Nov;16(1):50.
  • 12 Costa RJ, Knechtle B, Tarnopolsky M, Hoffman MD. Nutrition for ultramarathon running: trail, track, and road. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2019 Mar;29(2):130-40.
  • 13 Silva NVD, Santos NE, Gobatto CA, Hoffmann LM, Esteves AM, Belli T. Nutritional strategies of an athlete with type 1 diabetes mellitus during a 217-km ultramarathon. Wilderness Environ Med. 2022 Mar;331(1):128-33.
  • 14 Kimber NE, Ross JJ, Mason SL, Speedy DB. Energy balance during an ironman triathlon in male and female triathletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2002 Mar;12(1):47-62.
  • 15 Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM, American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and athletic performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016;48(3):543-68.
  • 16 Watson AM. Sleep and athletic performance. Curr Sports Med Rep. 2017 Nov/Dec;16(6):413-8.
  • 17 Benedito-Silva AA, Menna-Barreto LS, Marques N, Tenreiro S. A self-assessment questionnaire for the determination of morningnesseveningness types in Brazil. In: Hayes DK, Pauly JE, Reiter RJ, orgs. Chronobiology: its role in clinical medicine, general biology and agriculture, part B. New York: Wiley-Liss; 1990, pp. 89-98.
  • 18 Buysse DJ, Reynolds CF, Monk TH, Berman SR, Kupfer DJ. The Pittsburgh sleep quality index: a new instrument for psychiatric practice and research. Psychiatry Res. 1989 May;28(2):193-213.
  • 19 Johns MW. A new method for measuring daytime sleepiness: the Epworth sleepiness scale. Sleep. 1991 Dec;14(6):540-5.
  • 20 World Health Organization (WHO). Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. Report of a WHO consultation. Geneva: WHO; 1997.
  • 21 Ministério da Saúde (BR). Instituto de Alimentação e Nutrição. Secretaria de Programas Especiais. Registro Fotográfico para Inquéritos Dietéticos - Utensílios e Porções. Campinas: Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Alimentação (NEPA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP); 1996.
  • 22 Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Alimentação (NEPA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Tabela brasileira de composição de alimentos. 4a ed. rev. e ampl. Campinas: NEPA/UNICAMP; 2011.
  • 23 Harris JA, Benedict FG. A biometric study of human basal metabolism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1918;4(12):370-3.
  • 24 Cohen J. Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences. New York: Routledge Academic; 1988.
  • 25 Ohayon M, Wickwire EM, Hirshkowitz M, Albert SM, Avidan A, Daly FJ, et al. National Sleep Foundation’s sleep quality recommendations: first report. Sleep Health. 2017;3(1):6-19.
  • 26 Thomas DT, Erdman KA, Burke LM. American College of Sports Medicine Joint Position Statement. Nutrition and Athletic Performance. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2016 Mar;48(3):543-68.
  • 27 Institute of Medicine (US). Dietary reference intakes. The essential guide to nutrient requirements. Washington: The National Academies Press; 2006.
  • 28 Brager AJ, Demiral S, Choynowski J, et al. Earlier shift in race pacing can predict future performance during a single-effort ultramarathon under sleep deprivation. Sleep Sci. 2020;13(1):25-31.
  • 29 Dal Pupo JS, Arins KM, Guglielmo AGL, Santos SG. Características fisiológicas de corredores meio-fundistas de diferentes níveis competitivos. Rev Educ Física/UEM. 2011;22(1):119-27.
  • 30 Hoffman MD, Hew-Butler T, Stuempfle KJ. Exercise-associated hyponatremia and hydration status in 161-km ultramarathoners. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2013 Apr;45(4):784-91.
  • 31 Grandner MA, Jackson N, Gerstner JR, Knutson KL. Sleep symptoms associated with intake of specific dietary nutrients. J Sleep Res. 2014 Feb;23(1):22-34.
  • 32 Perea C, Moura MG, Stulbach T, Caparros DR. Adequação da dieta quanto ao objetivo do exercício. RBNE. 2015;9(50):129-36.