The Impact of a 14-Day Altitude Training Camp on Olympic-Level Open-Water Swimmers’ Sleep
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15512863 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jacopo Antonino Vitale (0000-0002-7537-079X, Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, corresponding author), Cristian Ieno (0000-0001-6201-7535, Foro Italico University of Rome), R Baldassarre (0000-0002-0937-029X, Italian Swimming Federation, 00135 Rome, Italy), Marco Bonifazi (0000-0001-6937-9109, University of Siena), Francesca Vitali (0000-0002-7991-1290, University of Verona), Antonio La Torre (0000-0002-4987-2024, University of Milan), Maria Francesca Piacentini (0000-0002-1927-7478, Vrije Universiteit Brussel) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 4253-4253 |
| Publication date | 2022-04-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph19074253 |
| PMID | 35409934 |
| OpenAlex | W4223648505 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 33 |
Despite the common belief that sleep quality at altitude is poor, the scientific evidence to support this notion is still modest. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate possible changes of actigraphy-based and subjective sleep parameters in a group of elite open-water swimmers during a 14-day altitude training camp (ATC) at 1500 m. The study subjects were five Olympic-level open-water swimmers (mean age: 25.0 ± 3.2 years; 3 females and 2 males). All subjects wore a wrist activity monitor and filled a sleep diary for 18 consecutive nights, 4 nights before and 14 nights during ATC. The data were then analyzed at four different time points: before ATC (PRE), the first two days of ATC (T1), and after one (T2) and two weeks of ATC (T3). Training load, assessed as the covered distance (km), session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE), and heart rate (HR), was monitored during the week before and the first and second week of ATC. No significant differences in objective and subjective scores of sleep quality were detected, whereas the sleep onset time (p = 0.018; η2p = 0.83, large) and sleep offset time (p < 0.001; η2p = 0.95, large) significantly differed among PRE, T1, T2, and T3: elite athletes started to sleep and woke up ≃ 1 h earlier the first two days of ATC compared to PRE (sleep onset time: p = 0.049; sleep offset time: p = 0.016). Further, an increase in the training volume during the two weeks of the ATC was observed, with the most time spent in a low-intensity regime and an increase in time spent in a high-intensity regime compared to PRE. Sleep quality was not negatively influenced by a 14-day altitude training camp at 1500 m in a group of Olympic-level elite swimmers despite an increase in perceived exertion during training sessions. Nonetheless, early sleep onset and sleep offset times were observed for the first two nights of ATC: elite athletes started to sleep and woke up ≃ 1 h earlier compared to the baseline nights
Actigraphy · Audiology · Blood pressure · Circadian rhythm · Heart rate · Insomnia · Physical therapy · Psychiatry · Rating of perceived exertion · Sleep (system call · Sleep quality · High Altitude and Hypoxia · Medicine · Psychology · Sleep and related disorders · Sleep and Wakefulness Research · Internal Medicine
National Sleep Foundation’s updated sleep duration recommendations
Defining Training and Performance Caliber
National Sleep Foundation's sleep quality recommendations
Recommended effect size statistics for repeated measures designs
The Pittsburgh sleep quality index as a screening tool for sleep dysfunction in clinical and non-clinical samples
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |