Miller Dean J, Bianchi Darren, Lastella Michele
Appleton Institute for Behavioural Science, Central Queensland University, Adelaide, SA 5034, Australia.
Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ. 2022 Jul 11;12(7):792-801. doi: 10.3390/ejihpe12070058.
The aim of this study was to examine sleep/wake behaviour and sleep strategies before, during and after ultra-marathon running events exceeding 100 miles (161 km). A total of 119 athletes completed a web-based questionnaire regarding their habitual sleep/wake behaviour before, during, and after ultra-marathon participation. Event-specific data were grouped by race distance categories; 100-149 miles (161-240 km), 150-199 miles (241-321 km), and ≥200 miles (322 km). Athletes commonly reported not sleeping throughout the duration of their races (74%). However, for events that were ≥200 miles, athletes reported more sleep opportunities, longer sleep duration, and more total sleep when compared to events that were 100-149 miles in distance ( ≤ 0.001). This suggests that for races of shorter distances, the benefit of continuous racing outweighs the negative impact of continuous wakefulness/sleep deprivation. However, for longer races (≥200 miles), there is an apparent tradeoff between sleep deprivation and race strategy, whereby athletes cannot sustain a desired level of performance without obtaining sleep. This is consistent with established sleep/wake behaviour models suggesting that sleep need increases as wakefulness increases, or in this case, as race duration increases. For athletes participating in ultra-marathons, sleep management education and/or consultation with a sleep scientist prior to racing may be beneficial. Future research should examine the optimal strategies concerning the frequency and duration of sleep during ultra-marathons and the subsequent impact on performance.
本研究的目的是考察在超过100英里（161公里）的超级马拉松赛事之前、期间和之后的睡眠/觉醒行为及睡眠策略。共有119名运动员完成了一份关于他们在参加超级马拉松之前、期间和之后的习惯性睡眠/觉醒行为的网络问卷。特定赛事的数据按比赛距离类别分组；100 - 149英里（161 - 240公里）、150 - 199英里（241 - 321公里）和≥200英里（322公里）。运动员普遍报告在整个比赛期间都不睡觉（74%）。然而，对于距离≥200英里的赛事，与距离为100 - 149英里的赛事相比，运动员报告有更多的睡眠机会、更长的睡眠时间和更多的总睡眠时间（≤0.001）。这表明对于较短距离的比赛，持续比赛的益处超过了持续清醒/睡眠剥夺的负面影响。然而，对于更长距离的比赛（≥200英里），在睡眠剥夺和比赛策略之间存在明显的权衡，即运动员如果不获得睡眠就无法维持期望的表现水平。这与既定的睡眠/觉醒行为模型一致，该模型表明睡眠需求随着清醒时间的增加而增加，或者在这种情况下，随着比赛持续时间的增加而增加。对于参加超级马拉松的运动员来说，在比赛前进行睡眠管理教育和/或咨询睡眠科学家可能会有帮助。未来的研究应该考察关于超级马拉松期间睡眠频率和时长的最佳策略以及随后对表现的影响。
