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Running on Empty: Self-Reported Sleep/Wake Behaviour during Ultra-Marathon Events Exceeding 100 Miles

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posted on 2024-02-23, 05:25 authored by Dean MillerDean Miller, Darren Bianchi, Antonio LastellaAntonio Lastella
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 (p ≤ 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.

History

Volume

12

Issue

7

Start Page

792

End Page

801

Number of Pages

10

eISSN

2254-9625

ISSN

2174-8144

Publisher

MDPI AG

Publisher License

CC BY

Additional Rights

cc-by

Language

en

Peer Reviewed

  • Yes

Open Access

  • Yes

Acceptance Date

2022-07-08

Author Research Institute

  • Appleton Institute

Era Eligible

  • Yes

Medium

Electronic

Journal

European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education

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