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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the collated integration of practitioner expertise, athlete values and research evidence aimed to optimise the decision-making process surrounding sport performance. Despite the academic interest afforded to sport science research, our knowledge of how this research is applied in elite sport settings is limited. This current opinion examines the existing evidence of the translation of sport science research into the field, with a tailored focus on the current perceptions of practitioners, researchers and coaches. Recent studies show that practitioners and researchers report they ascertain sport science knowledge differently, with coaches preferring personal interactions compared with coaching courses or scientific journals. The limited peer-reviewed research shows that coaches perceive their knowledge is greater in fields such as tactical/technical areas, rather than physical fitness or general conditioning. This likely explains coaches' greater perceived value in research dedicated to technical and tactical expertise, as well as mental training and skill acquisition. Practitioners place a large emphasis on the need for research in physical fitness areas, which is likely due to their occupational focus. There are many perceived barriers of sport science research application, including funding, time, coach/player/staff 'buy in' and research questions that may not apply to the setting. We contend that researchers and practitioners may benefit in producing research, ascertaining knowledge and disseminating findings in alternative methods that better align with coaches' needs. In addition, educational strategies that focus on real-world context and promote social interaction between coaches, practitioners, organisational personnel and researchers would likely benefit all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of both training and active service, military members can be exposed to prolonged periods of sleep loss. Given the extent of physical and cognitive performances viewed as critical to successful military performance, such sleep disruption may present risk to health and performance. The primary aim of this narrative review was to investigate evidence on the effect of inadequate sleep on measures of aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, muscular strength and muscular endurance in military personnel. Sleep loss appears to have the greatest negative impact on aerobic capacity, muscular endurance and military-specific performance in military populations. The findings showed varied results for handgrip strength and anaerobic capacity, with sleep loss inducing a decrease in mean power of the upper body. In comparison to other measures of performance, lower-body muscular strength appeared to be resilient to sleep restriction. However, due to the limited evidence and inter-individual variability in results there is no clear consensus on the specific volume of sleep loss that induces significant or meaningful performance decrements. The difficulties of conducting well-designed and -controlled interventions in military populations are appreciated. However, due to the low quality of reporting and lack of control for confounders (i.e. physical activity, load carriage, prior sleep debt, motivation and energy intake) in the majority of studies, it is difficult to establish the relationship between sleep loss and physical performance in military populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]