PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

OBJECTIVE: In a convenience sample of athletes, we conducted a survey of COVID-19-mediated lockdown (termed 'lockdown' from this point forward) effects on: (i) circadian rhythms; (ii) sleep; (iii) eating; and (iv) training behaviors.; METHODS: In total, 3911 athletes [mean age: 25.1 (range 18-61) years, 1764 female (45%), 2427 team-sport (63%) and 1442 elite (37%) athletes] from 49 countries completed a multilingual cross-sectional survey including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Insomnia Severity Index questionnaires, alongside bespoke questions about napping, training, and nutrition behaviors.; RESULTS: Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (4.3±2.4 to 5.8±3.1) and Insomnia Severity Index (4.8±4.7 to 7.2±6.4) scores increased from pre- to during lockdown (p<0.001). Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was predominantly influenced by sleep-onset latency (p<0.001;+29.8%), sleep efficiency (p<0.001;-21.1%), and total sleep time (p<0.001;-20.1%), whilst Insomnia Severity Index was affected by sleep-onset latency (p<0.001;+21.4%), bedtime (p<0.001;+9.4%), and eating after midnight (p<0.001;+9.1%). During lockdown, athletes reported fewer training sessions per week (-29.1%; d=0.99). Athletes went to bed (+75min; 5.4%; d=1.14) and woke up (+150min; 34.5%; d=1.71) later during lockdown with an increased total sleep time (+48min; 10.6%; d=0.83). Lockdown-mediated circadian disruption had more deleterious effects on the sleep quality of individual-sport athletes compared with team-sport athletes (p<0.001; d=0.41), elite compared with non-elite athletes (p=0.028; d=0.44) and older compared with younger (p=0.008; d=0.46) athletes.; CONCLUSIONS: These lockdown-induced behavioral changes reduced sleep quality and increased insomnia in athletes. Data-driven and evidence-based recommendations to counter these include, but are not limited to: (i) early outdoor training; (ii) regular meal scheduling (whilst avoiding meals prior to bedtime and caffeine in the evening) with appropriate composition; (iii) regular bedtimes and wake-up times; and (iv) avoidance of long and/or late naps. © 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.