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Background Athletes experience various situations and conditions that can interfere with their sleep, which is crucial for optimal psychological and physiological recovery as well as subsequent performance. Conventional sleep screening and intervention approaches may not be efficacious for athletes given their lifestyle, the demands of training and travel associated with interstate/international competition. Objectives The present systematic review aimed to summarize and evaluate sleep intervention studies targeting subsequent performance and recovery in competitive athletes. Based on the findings, a secondary aim was to outline a possible sleep intervention for athletes, including recommendations for content, mode of delivery and evaluation. Methods A systematic review was conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines in May 2016 with an update completed in September 2017. Ten studies met our inclusion criteria comprising a total of 218 participants in the age range of 18–24 years with athletes from various sports (e.g., swimming, soccer, basketball, tennis). A modified version of the quality assessment scale developed by Abernethy and Bleakley was used to evaluate the quality of the studies. Results The included studies implemented several sleep interventions, including sleep extension and napping, sleep hygiene, and post-exercise recovery strategies. Evidence suggests that sleep extension had the most beneficial effects on subsequent performance. Consistent with previous research, these results suggest that sleep plays an important role in some, but not all, aspects of athletes’ performance and recovery. Conclusion Future researchers should aim to conduct sleep interventions among different athlete populations, compare results, and further establish guidelines and intervention tools for athletes to address their specific sleep demands and disturbances.

Sport psychology as an academic pursuit is nearly two centuries old. An enduring goal since inception has been to understand how psychological techniques can improve athletic performance. Although much evidence exists in the form of meta-analytic reviews related to sport psychology and performance, a systematic review of these meta-analyses is absent from the literature. We aimed to synthesize the extant literature to gain insights into the overall impact of sport psychology on athletic performance. Guided by the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews, we reviewed relevant articles identified via the EBSCOhost interface. Thirty meta-analyses published between 1983 and 2021 met the inclusion criteria, covering 16 distinct sport psychology constructs. Overall, sport psychology interventions/variables hypothesized to enhance performance (e.g., cohesion, confidence, mindfulness) were shown to have a moderate beneficial effect ( d = 0.51), whereas variables hypothesized to be detrimental to performance (e.g., cognitive anxiety, depression, ego climate) had a small negative effect ( d = -0.21). The quality rating of meta-analyses did not significantly moderate the magnitude of observed effects, nor did the research design (i.e., intervention vs. correlation) of the primary studies included in the meta-analyses. Our review strengthens the evidence base for sport psychology techniques and may be of great practical value to practitioners. We provide recommendations for future research in the area.

Prescribing the frequency, duration, or volume of training is simple as these factors can be altered by manipulating the number of exercise sessions per week, the duration of each session, or the total work performed in a given time frame (e.g., per week). However, prescribing exercise intensity is complex and controversy exists regarding the reliability and validity of the methods used to determine and prescribe intensity. This controversy arises from the absence of an agreed framework for assessing the construct validity of different methods used to determine exercise intensity. In this review, we have evaluated the construct validity of different methods for prescribing exercise intensity based on their ability to provoke homeostatic disturbances (e.g., changes in oxygen uptake kinetics and blood lactate) consistent with the moderate, heavy, and severe domains of exercise. Methods for prescribing exercise intensity include a percentage of anchor measurements, such as maximal oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2max ), peak oxygen uptake ( V ˙ O 2peak ), maximum heart rate (HR max ), and maximum work rate (i.e., power or velocity— W ˙ max or V ˙ max , respectively), derived from a graded exercise test (GXT). However, despite their common use, it is apparent that prescribing exercise intensity based on a fixed percentage of these maximal anchors has little merit for eliciting distinct or domain-specific homeostatic perturbations. Some have advocated using submaximal anchors, including the ventilatory threshold (VT), the gas exchange threshold (GET), the respiratory compensation point (RCP), the first and second lactate threshold (LT 1 and LT 2 ), the maximal lactate steady state (MLSS), critical power (CP), and critical speed (CS). There is some evidence to support the validity of LT 1 , GET, and VT to delineate the moderate and heavy domains of exercise. However, there is little evidence to support the validity of most commonly used methods, with exception of CP and CS, to delineate the heavy and severe domains of exercise. As acute responses to exercise are not always predictive of chronic adaptations, training studies are required to verify whether different methods to prescribe exercise will affect adaptations to training. Better ways to prescribe exercise intensity should help sport scientists, researchers, clinicians, and coaches to design more effective training programs to achieve greater improvements in health and athletic performance.

Interval training is a simple concept that refers to repeated bouts of relatively hard work interspersed with recovery periods of easier work or rest. The method has been used by high-level athletes for over a century to improve performance in endurance-type sports and events such as middle- and long-distance running. The concept of interval training to improve health, including in a rehabilitative context or when practiced by individuals who are relatively inactive or deconditioned, has also been advanced for decades. An important issue that affects the interpretation and application of interval training is the lack of standardized terminology. This particularly relates to the classification of intensity. There is no common definition of the term “high-intensity interval training” (HIIT) despite its widespread use. We contend that in a performance context, HIIT can be characterized as intermittent exercise bouts performed above the heavy-intensity domain. This categorization of HIIT is primarily encompassed by the severe-intensity domain. It is demarcated by indicators that principally include the critical power or critical speed, or other indices, including the second lactate threshold, maximal lactate steady state, or lactate turnpoint. In a health context, we contend that HIIT can be characterized as intermittent exercise bouts performed above moderate intensity. This categorization of HIIT is primarily encompassed by the classification of vigorous intensity. It is demarcated by various indicators related to perceived exertion, oxygen uptake, or heart rate as defined in authoritative public health and exercise prescription guidelines. A particularly intense variant of HIIT commonly termed “sprint interval training” can be distinguished as repeated bouts performed with near-maximal to “all out” effort. This characterization coincides with the highest intensity classification identified in training zone models or exercise prescription guidelines, including the extreme-intensity domain, anaerobic speed reserve, or near-maximal to maximal intensity classification. HIIT is considered an essential training component for the enhancement of athletic performance, but the optimal intensity distribution and specific HIIT prescription for endurance athletes is unclear. HIIT is also a viable method to improve cardiorespiratory fitness and other health-related indices in people who are insufficiently active, including those with cardiometabolic diseases. Research is needed to clarify responses to different HIIT strategies using robust study designs that employ best practices. We offer a perspective on the topic of HIIT for performance and health, including a conceptual framework that builds on the work of others and outlines how the method can be defined and operationalized within each context.

In this opinion piece I reiterate the concepts of near and far transfer as previously described in the psychological literature. I show that despite very limited evidence, many technologies, tools and methods make questionable claims of eliciting far transfer from generic perceptual and/or cognitive training to sports performance. Specifically, this commentary illustrates with studies on stroboscopic vision, neurofeedback training and executive functions that the claims made for the beneficial effects of these training methods are currently unsubstantiated. I conclude that greater scrutiny by researchers is needed in order to assist practitioners to make better-informed decisions about tools, methods and technologies that may aid sports performance.

It is widely accepted that warming-up prior to exercise is vital for the attainment of optimum performance. Both passive and active warm-up can evoke temperature, metabolic, neural and psychology-related effects, including increased anaerobic metabolism, elevated oxygen uptake kinetics and post-activation potentiation. Passive warm-up can increase body temperature without depleting energy substrate stores, as occurs during the physical activity associated with active warm-up. While the use of passive warm-up alone is not commonplace, the idea of utilizing passive warming techniques to maintain elevated core and muscle temperature throughout the transition phase (the period between completion of the warm-up and the start of the event) is gaining in popularity. Active warm-up induces greater metabolic changes, leading to increased preparedness for a subsequent exercise task. Until recently, only modest scientific evidence was available supporting the effectiveness of pre-competition warm-ups, with early studies often containing relatively few participants and focusing mostly on physiological rather than performance-related changes. External issues faced by athletes pre-competition, including access to equipment and the length of the transition/marshalling phase, have also frequently been overlooked. Consequently, warm-up strategies have continued to develop largely on a trial-and-error basis, utilizing coach and athlete experiences rather than scientific evidence. However, over the past decade or so, new research has emerged, providing greater insight into how and why warm-up influences subsequent performance. This review identifies potential physiological mechanisms underpinning warm-ups and how they can affect subsequent exercise performance, and provides recommendations for warm-up strategy design for specific individual and team sports.

Wearable technologies are small electronic and mobile devices with wireless communication capabilities that can be worn on the body as a part of devices, accessories or clothes. Sensors incorporated within wearable devices enable the collection of a broad spectrum of data that can be processed and analysed by artificial intelligence (AI) systems. In this narrative review, we performed a literature search of the MEDLINE, Embase and Scopus databases. We included any original studies that used sensors to collect data for a sporting event and subsequently used an AI-based system to process the data with diagnostic, treatment or monitoring intents. The included studies show the use of AI in various sports including basketball, baseball and motor racing to improve athletic performance. We classified the studies according to the stage of an event, including pre-event training to guide performance and predict the possibility of injuries; during events to optimise performance and inform strategies; and in diagnosing injuries after an event. Based on the included studies, AI techniques to process data from sensors can detect patterns in physiological variables as well as positional and kinematic data to inform how athletes can improve their performance. Although AI has promising applications in sports medicine, there are several challenges that can hinder their adoption. We have also identified avenues for future work that can provide solutions to overcome these challenges.

Although its true function remains unclear, sleep is considered critical to human physiological and cognitive function. Equally, since sleep loss is a common occurrence prior to competition in athletes, this could significantly impact upon their athletic performance. Much of the previous research has reported that exercise performance is negatively affected following sleep loss; however, conflicting findings mean that the extent, influence, and mechanisms of sleep loss affecting exercise performance remain uncertain. For instance, research indicates some maximal physical efforts and gross motor performances can be maintained. In comparison, the few published studies investigating the effect of sleep loss on performance in athletes report a reduction in sport-specific performance. The effects of sleep loss on physiological responses to exercise also remain equivocal; however, it appears a reduction in sleep quality and quantity could result in an autonomic nervous system imbalance, simulating symptoms of the overtraining syndrome. Additionally, increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines following sleep loss could promote immune system dysfunction. Of further concern, numerous studies investigating the effects of sleep loss on cognitive function report slower and less accurate cognitive performance. Based on this context, this review aims to evaluate the importance and prevalence of sleep in athletes and summarises the effects of sleep loss (restriction and deprivation) on exercise performance, and physiological and cognitive responses to exercise. Given the equivocal understanding of sleep and athletic performance outcomes, further research and consideration is required to obtain a greater knowledge of the interaction between sleep and performance.

Purpose of Review Sleep is an essential human behavior that plays a key role in proper biopsychosocial development as well as short- and long-term biological, physical, psychological, and cognitive health. Sleep plays a key role in athletic performance, influencing an athlete’s ability to train, recover, and perform, as well as their overall wellness. Over the recent decade, the awareness of sleep’s import has penetrated just about every professional sport domain. The purpose of the review was to identify and synthesize the literature published within the past 5 years (2018–2022) that relates to sleep and performance in professional athletes. Literature related to nonprofessional, high-level athletes (e.g., collegiate; Olympic) was omitted as well as those associated with non-traditional professional sports (e.g., eSports). Recent Findings Results from 38 articles were incorporated into this review, which covered (1) the sleep’s role in the training, physical injury prevention and recovery, competitive performance, and mental health of professional athletes, (2) common sleep problems and disorders in professional athletes, and (3) the impact of unique challenges from training, travel, competition, and other factors on sleep health. Additionally, we provide an orientation to utilized strategies and interventions to assist with sleep health in professional athletes, as well as conclude with a commentary on critical steps forward. Summary Sleep plays a critically important role in the training, recovery, performance, and overall wellness of professional athletes. Professional athletes are vulnerable to a variety of sleep-related problems and disorders, due to unique factors related to training, travel, and competition, among other factors. Improved, standardized research methodology and partnerships between professional athletes, coaches, teams, and organizations and researchers are necessary to advance the knowledge of sleep and performance in professional athletes, including identifying sport-specific differences and variation across individual characteristics, as well as developing individualizable, dynamic, and appropriate interventions for improving sleep health among professional athletes.

The aim of this study was to describe the physical demands during U18 elite basketball games according to the game quarter and to identify a smaller subset of variables and threshold scores that distinguish players' physical performance in each quarter. Data was collected from ninety-four players who participated in the study (age: 17.4 ± 0.74 years; height: 199.0 ± 0.1 cm; body mass: 87.1 ± 13.1 kg) competing in the Euroleague Basketball Next Generation Tournament. Players' movements during the games were measured using a portable local positioning system (LPS) (WIMU PRO®, Realtrack Systems SL, Almería, Spain) and included relative distance (total distance / playing duration), relative distance in established speed zones, high-intensity running (18.1-24.0 km·h-1) and sprinting (> 24.1 km·h-1). player load, peak speed (km·h-1) and peak acceleration (m·s-2) number of total accelerations and total decelerations, high intensity accelerations (> 2 m·s-2) and decelerations (< -2 m·s-2). There was an overall decrease in distance covered, player load, number of high intensity accelerations and decelerations between the first and last quarter of the games in all playing positions. A classification tree analysis showed that the first quarter had much influence of distance covered (above 69.0 meters), distance covered <6.0 km·h-1 and accelerations (> 2 m·s-2), whereas the fourth quarter performance had much influence of distance covered (below 69.0) and distance covered 12.1-18.0 km·h-1. A significant reduction in physical demands occurs during basketball, especially between first and last quarter for players in all playing positions during basketball games of under 18 elite players.