TY  - JOUR
AB  - 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 (+?75 min; 5.4%; d?=?1.14) and woke up (+?150 min; 34.5%; d?=?1.71) later during lockdown with an increased total sleep time (+?48 min; 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.
AU  - Romdhani, M
AU  - Rae, DE
AU  - Nédélec, M
AU  - Ammar, A
AU  - Chtourou, H
AU  - Al Horani, R
AU  - Ben Saad, H
AU  - Bragazzi, N
AU  - Dönmez, G
AU  - Driss, T
AU  - Fullagar, HHK
AU  - Farooq, A
AU  - Garbarino, S
AU  - Hammouda, O
AU  - Hassanmirzaei, B
AU  - Khalladi, K
AU  - Khemila, S
AU  - Mataruna-Dos-Santos, LJ
AU  - Moussa-Chamari, I
AU  - Mujika, I
AU  - Muñoz Helú, H
AU  - Norouzi Fashkhami, A
AU  - Paineiras-Domingos, LL
AU  - Rahbari Khaneghah, M
AU  - Saita, Y
AU  - Trabelsi, K
AU  - Vitale, JA
AU  - Washif, JA
AU  - Weber, J
AU  - Souissi, N
AU  - Taylor, L
AU  - Chamari, K
DA  - 2021/12/08
DO  - 10.1007/s40279-021-01601-y
JO  - Sports Med
PB  - ADIS INT LTD
PY  - 2021/12/08
TI  - COVID-19 Lockdowns: A Worldwide Survey of Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Quality in 3911 Athletes from 49 Countries, with Data-Driven Recommendations.
Y1  - 2021/12/08
Y2  - 2026/07/01
ER  -