Sleep in marathon and ultramarathon runners: a brief narrative review

Frontiers in Neurology

Neurology

Katja Weiss¹  Beat Knechtle²  Georgia Trakada³  Pantelis T. Nikolaidis⁴ 

[1] Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland;Institute of Primary Care, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland;Medbase St. Gallen Am Vadianplatz, St. Gallen, Switzerland;Medical School, University of Athens, Athens, Greece;School of Health and Caring Sciences, University of West Attica, Athens, Greece;

关键词: exercise;    athletic performance;    marathon running;    sleep deprivation disorders;    sleep extension duration;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fneur.2023.1217788

 received in 2023-05-05, accepted in 2023-09-11,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

IntroductionSleep is considered a fundamental biological function in humans necessary for recovery from daily physical activities. Considering the increasing popularity of long-distance running and participation in races such as marathons and ultramarathons, the aim of the present study was to review the relationship of such strenuous physical activities with sleep.MethodsA search of Scopus was performed on 24/6/2023 using the syntax [ABS (sleep) AND ABS (marathon)] to identify relevant papers, the references of which were hand-searched to find additional sources.ResultsOptimal sleep has been shown to affect injury prevention and susceptibility to infection positively. In turn, participation in a marathon race may influence nocturnal autonomic modulation and disturb homeostasis. Ultramarathon races may have such a long duration that results in sleep deprivation even for several days, where sleep duration is quite below the physiological range. It seems that for ultramarathons of short duration, continuous running and sleep deprivation are beneficial for performance. In contrast, for races longer than 200 miles, it is necessary to develop sleep strategies to sustain performance.ConclusionIn summary, the longer the distance of a running race, the greater the importance of an optimal sleep for race performance as well as the impact of a race on sleep.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Nikolaidis, Weiss, Knechtle and Trakada.