Editorial: The Reciprocal Relationship Between Sleep and Stress in Elite Athletes

Modern elite athletes are facing more mental, emotional and social demands than ever before, including, amongst others, pressure on personal relationships, media demands, sponsor needs and public interest (Walsh et al., 2021). The majority of elite athletes sleep less than the recommended night-time sleep duration of 7–9 h per night and obtain less than their self-assessed sleep need (Sargent et al., 2021). Many endogenous and environmental factors are able to negatively influence sleep duration and quality in athletes, including evening high-intensity training, pre-competition anxiety, mental fatigue or long-haul travel (Aloulou et al., 2021; Janse van Rensburg et al., 2021; Walsh et al., 2021). Unfortunately, poor sleep can have negative effects on both psychological and physiological aspects which can ultimately lead to an impairment of physical and mental performance (Fullagar et al., 2015; Filipas et al., 2021; Vitale et al., 2021). Thus, it was the aim of this Research Topic to explore the reciprocal relationship between sleep and stress, and to provide insights into potential contributions regarding athletic performance and health

Sex and Sleep: Perceptions of Sex as a Sleep Promoting Behavior in the General Adult Population

Objective: The main aim of this study was to explore the perceived relationship between sexual activities, sleep quality, and sleep latency in the general adult population and identify whether any gender differences exist.Participants/methods: We used a cross-sectional survey to examine the perceived relationship between sexual activity and subsequent sleep in the general adult population. Seven-hundred and seventy-eight participants (442 females, 336 males; mean age 34.5 ± 11.4 years) volunteered to complete an online anonymous survey at their convenience.Statistical Analyses: Chi square analyses were conducted to examine if there were any gender differences between sexual activities [i.e., masturbation (self-stimulation), sex with a partner without orgasm, and sex with a partner with orgasm] and self-reported sleep.Results: There were no gender differences in sleep (quality and onset) between males and females when reporting sex with a partner [χ(2)2 = 2.20, p = 0.332; χ(2)2=5.73, p = 0.057] or masturbation (self-stimulation) [χ(2)2 = 1.34, p = 0.513; χ(2)2 = 0.89, p = 0.640] involved an orgasm.Conclusions: Orgasms with a partner were associated with the perception of favorable sleep outcomes, however, orgasms achieved through masturbation (self-stimulation) were associated with the perception of better sleep quality and latency. These findings indicate that the public perceive sexual activity with orgasm precedes improved sleep outcomes. Promoting safe sexual activity before bed may offer a novel behavioral strategy for promoting sleep

Sleep characteristics and mood of professional esports athletes: A multi-national study

© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Esports is becoming increasingly professionalized, yet research on performance management is remarkably lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the sleep and mood of professional esports athletes. Participants were 17 professional esports athletes from South Korea (N = 8), Australia (N = 4), and the United States (N = 5) who played first person shooter games (mean age 20 ± 3.5 years, 100% male). All participants wore a wrist-activity monitor for 7–14 days and completed subjective sleep and mood questionnaires. Participants had a median total sleep time of 6.8 h and a sleep efficiency of 86.4% per night. All participants had significantly delayed sleep patterns (median sleep onset 3:43 a.m. and wake time 11:24 a.m.). Participants had a median sleep onset latency of 20.4 min and prolonged wake after sleep onset of 47.9 min. Korean players had significantly higher depression scores compared to the other groups (p \u3c 0.01) and trained longer per day than the Australian or United States teams (13.4 vs. 4.8 vs. 6.1 h, respectively). Depression scores were strongly correlated with number of awakenings, wake after sleep onset, and daily training time (p \u3c 0.05). As the first pilot sleep study in the esports field, this study indicates that esports athletes show delayed sleep patterns and have prolonged wake after sleep onset. These sleep patterns may be associated with mood (depression) and training time. Sleep interventions designed specifically for esports athletes appear warranted

Player chronotype does not affect shooting accuracy at different times of the day in a professional, male basketball team: a pilot study

Athlete chronotype has been documented to underpin diurnal variations in skill execution across various team sports. However, no research has explored the effects of athlete chronotype on basketball-specific skills at different times of the day. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore diurnal variations in basketball shooting accuracy according to chronotype. Professional, male basketball players (n = 13) completed a Morningness- Eveningness Questionnaire and were categorised into chronotypes using a tertile split technique (morning-types: n = 4; neither-types: n = 4; evening-types: n = 5). Players completed separate trials of a shooting accuracy test in the morning (08:00-09:30h) and afternoon (15:00-16:30h) with each trial consisting of 20 shots attempted from four court locations at either two- or three-point distances and one-shot location from the free-throw line (100 shots in total). Each shot attempt was scored using a 0-3-point scale with higher scores awarded to more accurate shots. Non-significant (p >0.05) differences in shooting scores were evident between morning and afternoon trials for each chronotype group, with small-large effects in shooting scores favouring the morning across groups. Moreover, non-significant (p >0.05) differences in shooting scores were apparent between chronotype groups in the morning (small-large effects) and afternoon (moderate-large effects). Shooting accuracy appears to remain consistent across morning and afternoon performances irrespective of player chronotype in a professional basketball team, suggesting coaches may not need to schedule training sessions involving shooting tasks at specific times of the day to optimise shooting accuracy in players

Case report: LAMC3-associated cortical malformations: Case report of a novel stop-gain variant and literature review

Background: Malformations of cortical development (MCDs) can lead to peculiar neuroradiological patterns and clinical presentations (i.e., seizures, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disability) according to the specific genetic pathway of the brain development involved; and yet a certain degree of phenotypic heterogeneity exists even when the same gene is affected. Here we report a man with an malformations of cortical development extending beyond occipital lobes associated with a novel stop-gain variant in LAMC3.Case presentation: The patient is a 28-year-old man suffering from drug-resistant epilepsy and moderate intellectual disability. He underwent a brain magnetic resonance imaging showing polymicrogyria involving occipital and temporal lobes bilaterally. After performing exome sequencing, a novel stop-gain variant in LAMC3 (c.3871C>T; p. Arg1291*) was identified. According to the cortical alteration of the temporal regions, temporal seizures were detected; instead, the patient did not report occipital seizures. Different pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions (i.e., vagus nerve stimulation) were unsuccessful, even though a partial seizure reduction was obtained after cenobamate administration.Conclusion: Our case report confirms that variants of a gene known to be related to specific clinical and neuroradiological pictures can unexpectedly lead to new phenotypes involving different areas of the brain

Managing travel fatigue and jet lag in athletes : a review and consensus statement

Athletes are increasingly required to travel domestically and internationally, often resulting in travel fatigue and jet lag. Despite considerable agreement that travel fatigue and jet lag can be a real and impactful issue for athletes regarding performance and risk of illness and injury, evidence on optimal assessment and management is lacking. Therefore 26 researchers and/or clinicians with knowledge in travel fatigue, jet lag and sleep in the sports setting, formed an expert panel to formalise a review and consensus document. This manuscript includes definitions of terminology commonly used in the field of circadian physiology, outlines basic information on the human circadian system and how it is affected by time-givers, discusses the causes and consequences of travel fatigue and jet lag, and provides consensus on recommendations for managing travel fatigue and jet lag in athletes. The lack of evidence restricts the strength of recommendations that are possible but the consensus group identified the fundamental principles and interventions to consider for both the assessment and management of travel fatigue and jet lag. These are summarised in travel toolboxes including strategies for pre-flight, during flight and post-flight. The consensus group also outlined specific steps to advance theory and practice in these areas.https://www.springer.com/journal/402792022-07-14hj2021Sports MedicineStatistic

The impact of stressors on the sleep of elite athletes

Lastella, AM ORCiD: 0000-0003-1793-3811In the realm of elite sport, athletes are often subject to a variety of stressors that negatively impact their sleep. Such stressors range from intensive training and competition phases through to coping with jet-lag and altitude ascent. This dissertation describes a series of studies designed to examine the impact that various stressors have upon the sleep/wake behaviour of elite athletes. The first study (Chapter 3) validated the use of wrist activity monitors against polysomnography (PSG), a technique considered the gold standard for objectively quantifying sleep and wakefulness in elite athletes. Analyses revealed that wrist activity monitors provide an accurate assessment of the sleep/wake behaviour of elite athletes. The findings from this study indicate that wrist activity monitors are suitable for monitoring sleep in elite athletes. However, if detailed information is required concerning the depth and quality of sleep, it is recommended that PSG is employed as a more precise assessment