Schlaf und Wettkämpfe bei jungen AthletInnen

Background Sleep plays an important role for athletes, especially before competitions. Objectives In a sample of young athletes, the prevalence of disturbed sleep was determined. In addition, the subjective causes and effects of disturbed sleep before competitions were studied. Materials and method Overall, 46 students at the sports high school in Tenero, Switzerland, completed an online questionnaire. Results Over two-thirds of young athletes reported poorer sleep before important competitions or games. Of these athletes, 40% of these athletes stated that poor sleep before competitions/games affected their performance. Discussion From a subjective point of view, since poor sleep can impair performance in competitions, it is important to intensify research into this topic (experimental studies) and to develop sleep interventions for this target group.Hintergrund Schlaf spielt auch für SportlerInnen eine wichtige Rolle, vor allem vor Wettkämpfen. Ziel der Arbeit In einer Stichprobe von NachwuchsathletInnen soll erfasst werden, ob ein gestörter Schlaf vorliegt und welche Ursachen und Auswirkungen ein gestörter Schlaf vor Wettkämpfen aus subjektiver Sicht hat. Material und Methode Mittels eines Online-Fragebogens wurden 46 SchülerInnen eines Sportgymnasiums (Tenero, Schweiz) befragt. Ergebnisse Über zwei Drittel der jugendlichen Athletinnen berichten über einen schlechteren Schlaf vor wichtigen Wettkämpfen oder Spielen. 40 % dieser AthletInnen gaben an, dass der schlechte Schlaf vor dem Wettkampf/Spiel ihre Leistung beeinträchtigt hat. Diskussion Da aus subjektiver Sicht schlechter Schlaf die Wettkampfleistungen beeinträchtigen kann, ist es sinnvoll, dieses Thema intensiver zu beforschen (kontrollierte Studien) und Schlafinterventionen für diese Zielgruppe zu entwickeln

Schlafprobleme im Leistungssport

Obwohl «kerngesund», haben Leistungssporttreibende nicht nur mit Wettkämpfen, sondern auch mit Schlafproblemen zu kämpfen. Studien belegen einen beachtenswerten Einfluss des Schlafes auf die Leistungsfähigkeit im Training und im Wettkampf. Der folgende Artikel beschäftigt sich mit den Ursachen von Schlafproblemen im Sport sowie der Frage nach Behandlungsmöglichkeiten

Sleep and memory in mammals, birds and invertebrates

AbstractSleep supports memory consolidation. Based on studies in mammals, sleep-dependent consolidation has been conceptualized as ‘active system consolidation’. During waking, information is encoded into an initial store (hippocampus). During subsequent sleep, some of the newly encoded memories are selected to be reactivated and redistributed toward networks serving as long-term store (e.g., neocortex), whereby memories become transformed into more general, schema-like representations. Here we asked whether sleep in non-mammalian species might play a comparable role for memory. The literature review revealed that sleep produces enhancing effects on memory in all non-mammalian species studied. Furthermore, across species some of the hallmarking features of active system consolidation were identified: Studies of filial imprinting in chicks suggest that a redistribution of imprinting memory toward long-term storage sites occurs during sleep; song learning in birds appears to be driven by reactivations of song representations during sleep; studies of bees demonstrated the selectivity of sleep-dependent consolidation, benefiting extinction but not original classical conditioning. Although overall fragmentary, first evidence in non-mammalian species suggests active system consolidation might be an evolutionary conserved function of sleep

Sleep and muscle recovery – Current concepts and empirical evidence

Generally, sleep is thought of as a state of rest that helps to recover the body and brain from the physical and cognitive activities during wakefulness. The main characteristics of sleep in contrast to wakefulness support this idea: a barely present motor activity and a very low reactivity to both internal and external stimuli. The long-term atonic state of skeletal muscles is taken as an indication that important restorative processes on the musculoskeletal system take place during sleep – and the state of unconsciousness as well as inadequate responsiveness suggests that the central nervous system pauses to engage in important synaptic plasticity processes. About 40 years ago, therefore, in sleep research, the idea was that especially NREM sleep fosters synthetic processes of growth and repair in the body, and REM sleep was believed to be directed towards increases in synthetic processes within the brain, including the consolidation of memory (Horne, 1979). The opinion that SWS is mainly for body restitution was encouraged by the observation that after falling asleep during the early night period, human growth hormone (hGH) is present in relatively large amounts in the plasma (Born et al., 1988). Additionally, it was shown that after high loads of physical activity during the day, in the following night the percentage of SWS increased (Shapiro et al., 1981). Moreover, sleep deprivation seems to weaken muscle recovery by increasing protein breakdown, which adversely affects protein synthesis and promotes muscle atrophy (Dattilo et al., 2011, 2012). Muscle recovery would potentially be impaired because this process is strongly regulated by the anabolic and catabolic hormones mentioned above, which are strongly influenced by sleep. On the other hand, the heart muscle and the diaphragm (the main muscle for respiratory activity) prove that the vital contractile elements of a muscle maintain their function without rest over the lifespan. And if they did, it seems more likely to be the motor unit of the supporting and target muscles as a whole (including the reflex pathways) that needs rest (Fitts, 2008). Furthermore, the muscle protein synthetic response following resistance exercise seems rather time-dependent than state-dependent, e.g. amino acids are taken up in skeletal muscle tissue within hours independent of being awake or asleep (McGlory et al., 2017). However, the aforementioned release of hGH during the early hours of sleep and the results from sleep deprivation studies point in the direction that some regeneration processes are dependent on sleep, and most likely on SWS (Dattilo et al., 2011). The proposed hypothesis that bodily recovery and regeneration are sleep-dependent is widely used, but often lacks extensive supportive experimental evidence. In this presentation we will discuss the current concepts of muscle recovery during sleep and review the studies in that field. References Born, J., Muth, S., & Fehm, H. L. (1988). The significance of sleep onset and slow wave sleep for nocturnal release of growth hormone (GH) and cortisol. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 13(3), 233–243. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4530(88)90021-2 Dattilo, M., Antunes, H. K., Medeiros, A., Mônico-Neto, M., Souza, H. de S. Á., Lee, K. S., Tufik, S., & de Mello, M. T. (2012). Paradoxical sleep deprivation induces muscle atrophy. Muscle & Nerve, 45(3), 431–433. https://doi.org/10.1002/mus.22322 Dattilo, M., Antunes, H. K., Medeiros, A., Mônico Neto, M., Souza, H. S., Tufik, S., & de Mello, M. T. (2011). Sleep and muscle recovery: endocrinological and molecular basis for a new and promising hypothesis. Medical Hypotheses, 77(2), 220–222. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mehy.2011.04.017 Fitts, R. H. (2008). The cross-bridge cycle and skeletal muscle fatigue. Journal of Applied Physiology, 104(2), 551–558. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01200.2007 Horne, J. A. (1979). Restitution and human sleep: A critical review. Physiological Psychology, 7(2), 115–125. McGlory, C., Devries, M. C., & Phillips, S. M. (2017). Skeletal muscle and resistance exercise training; the role of protein synthesis in recovery and remodeling. Journal of Applied Physiology, 122(3), 541–548. https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.00613.2016 Shapiro, C. M., Bortz, R., Mitchell, D., Bartel, P., & Jooste, P. (1981). Slow-wave sleep: A recovery period after exercise. Science 214(4526), 1253–1254. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.730259

Measuring Sleep, Wakefulness, and Circadian Functions in Neurologic Disorders.

Neurologic disorders impact the ability of the brain to regulate sleep, wake, and circadian functions, including state generation, components of state (such as rapid eye movement sleep muscle atonia, state transitions) and electroencephalographic microarchitecture. At its most extreme, extensive brain damage may even prevent differentiation of sleep stages from wakefulness (eg, status dissociatus). Given that comorbid sleep-wake-circadian disorders are common and can adversely impact the occurrence, evolution, and management of underlying neurologic conditions, new technologies for long-term monitoring of neurologic patients may potentially usher in new diagnostic strategies and optimization of clinical management

SLEEPexpert+: Blending Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia with In-Person Psychotherapy—A Feasibility Study in Routine Care

Insomnia is characterized by frequent and persistent difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep, along with impaired daytime functioning. Blended treatments are increasingly popular for treating psychological disorders such as depression. Blended treatments combine elements of face-to-face therapy and online interventions. A single-arm pre-post study investigated the feasibility of a blended treatment combining face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia and internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (SLEEPexpert+). The findings show that the therapists have a positive attitude toward blended CBT-I (b-CBT-I) and that they feel supported by the online components of the treatment. Possible barriers to implementing blended treatments are integrating the online materials into the face-to-face sessions and adapting one’s therapeutic style to the blended treatment approach. No definitive statements about the effectiveness of the b-CBT-I treatment can be made. However, of the six presented cases, five patients showed notably higher sleep efficiency and fewer insomnia symptoms at the end of the therapy. Program usage data indicate that participants mainly used the online components at the beginning of their treatment. Future studies should investigate the effectiveness of b-CBT-I with a sufficiently powered randomized controlled trial comparing b-CBT-I with an adequate control group in routine care

The Swiss Sleep House Bern—A New Approach to Sleep Medicine

Sleep is essential for health, well-being, creativity, and productivity. Sleep loss and sleep–wake circadian disorders (SWCDs) affect at least one in three individuals but are underdiagnosed and undertreated for different reasons: First, the importance of sleep health and, second, the burden of sleep loss and SWCDs are underestimated. Third, education in sleep medicine is insufficient and health care-related sleep research is underdeveloped. Fourth, the validation and implementation of tele-sleep medicine approaches and novel devices to monitor SWCDs are still insufficient. Fifth, the reimbursement of sleep medicine in most countries is inadequate and the availability of specialized care is limited to a few centers. The Swiss Sleep House Bern (SSHB) was founded in 2022 to address these challenges and eventually promote better care for patients with SWCDs and improve sleep health for the broader population. The interdisciplinary and interprofessional team of the SSHB, which is integrated in the Bernese Interdisciplinary Sleep-Wake-Epilepsy Center, links sleep specialists with primary care providers to offer a rapid and accessible triage and first-level management of sleep complaints and SWCDs. The SSHB also promotes awareness and offers educational programs on sleep health and SWCDs, performs health care research, and fosters the implementation of new technologies, data science, and telemedicine into clinical routine