Papers by Michele Lastella
Journal of Athletic Training
Context Athletes' sleep is the most important recovery strategy and has received growing atte... more Context Athletes' sleep is the most important recovery strategy and has received growing attention. However, athletes may experience sleep disruptions due to numerous factors, such as training and competition workloads, travel, changes in sleep-wake schedules, and sleeping environments. They often spend nights in unfamiliar hotels, and sharing a bed, room, or both with another person might affect sleep duration and quality. Objective To analyze the effect of sleeping in shared (SRs) versus individual (IRs) rooms on objective and subjective sleep and on slow-wave-sleep–derived cardiac autonomic activity during an official training camp in elite youth soccer players. Training and match workloads were characterized. Design Observational case study. Setting Hotel accommodations. Patients or Other Participants Thirteen elite male youth soccer players. Results Players slept longer in IRs than in SRs (+1:28 [95% CI = 1:18, 1:42] hours:minutes; P < .001). Sleep efficiency was higher ...
Review question / Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the impact of sleep ... more Review question / Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the impact of sleep interventions on athletes’ performance. Condition being studied: Athletic performance after a sleep intervention (e.g., sleep hygiene, sleep extension or nap). Eligibility criteria: This review will be conducted based on the PRISMA guidelines and the PICOS approach.Articles will be eligible if they were published or in-press in peer-reviewed journals (i.e., abstracts published in conference proceedings, books, theses, and dissertations will be not considered), published in English language, and abstract was available for screening. No gender or age restriction will be applied. The PICOS approach will be established as follows: Population: Individual or team sports athletes; Intervention: Strategies to improve or extend sleep; Comparators: Control group or a baseline phase without sleep intervention; Outcomes: Subjective and/or objective measurement of sleep and physical and/or cognitive ...
Frontiers in Sports and Active Living, 2020
Mental Health and Physical Activity, 2018
Frontiers in Psychology, 2021
Editorial on the Research Topic The Reciprocal Relationship Between Sleep and Stress in Elite Ath... more Editorial on the Research Topic 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.
Sleep Medicine, 2019
Introduction: Elite athletes typically report obtaining less than the recommended target of eight... more Introduction: Elite athletes typically report obtaining less than the recommended target of eight hours of sleep per night, but little is known about how much sleep they need each night to feel rested. The aim of this study was to identify the subjective sleep need of elite athletes and to compare it with an objective measurement of habitual sleep duration. Methods: A total of 175 elite athletes from 12 sports wore an activity monitor and completed a sleep diary for a minimum of four nights during a normal phase of training. The data from the activity monitor and sleep diary were used to calculate habitual sleep duration for each athlete. Sleep need was assessed prior to data collection with the question 'how many hours of sleep do you need to feel rested?'. Sleep deficit was then calculated for each athlete by subtracting habitual sleep duration from sleep need. Paired t-tests were conducted to detect a difference between sleep need and sleep duration. Results: On average, athletes' subjective sleep need was 8.3±0.9h and their mean habitual sleep duration was 6.7±0.8h. There was a significant difference between sleep duration and sleep need [t(168) =-19.2, p<0.0001]; and this difference was observed in most sports (basketball, road cycling, rugby union, track cycling, triathlon, Australian Rules football, soccer, cricket, swimming) but not all (mountain biking, race walking). The mean sleep deficit (i.e., discrepancy between sleep need and sleep duration) was 1.6±1.0h. Only 3% of athletes met their required sleep need. Conclusions: A majority of elite athletes fall short of their sleep need by one hour or more. Insufficient or inadequate sleep, defined here as a failure to meet a required sleep need on a regular basis, could have important consequences for an elite athlete, particularly in terms of their ability to train effectively and/or compete at their best.
International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport
BMJ Open
IntroductionProlonged sitting and inadequate sleep are a growing concern in society and are assoc... more IntroductionProlonged sitting and inadequate sleep are a growing concern in society and are associated with impairments to cardiometabolic health and cognitive performance. However, the combined effect of prolonged sitting and inadequate sleep on measures of health and cognitive performance are unknown. In addition, the circadian disruption caused by shiftwork may further impact workers’ cardiometabolic health and cognitive performance. This protocol paper outlines the methodology for exploring the impact of simultaneous exposure to prolonged sitting, sleep restriction and circadian disruption on cardiometabolic and cognitive performance outcomes.Methods and analysisThis between-subjects study will recruit 208 males and females to complete a 7-day in-laboratory experimental protocol (1 Adaptation Day, 5 Experimental Days and 1 Recovery Day). Participants will be allocated to one of eight conditions that include all possible combinations of the following: dayshift or nightshift, sitt...
Clocks & Sleep
Sport-specific skills display diurnal variation across various team sports such as badminton and ... more Sport-specific skills display diurnal variation across various team sports such as badminton and tennis serving accuracy and soccer dribbling, volleying, and chipping execution. However, the effects of athlete chronotype on in-game sport-specific skill performance according to time of day across team sports is not well understood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the effect of player chronotype on in-game basketball performance during evening games. Professional male basketball players (n = 11) completed a morningness–eveningness questionnaire and were categorized according to chronotype (morning-type: n = 4; neither-type: n = 6; evening-type: n = 1). Box score data from the 2019/20 season were utilized to determine individual in-game performance during evening games played after 18:00 h. Composite metrics (i.e., effective field goal percentage, offensive rating, defensive rating, and player efficiency) were used as indicators of player performance. Non-significant (...
For many Australians, the beach is key to leisure and pleasure, an integral part of their culture... more For many Australians, the beach is key to leisure and pleasure, an integral part of their culture, and a symbol of their national sporting identity. There is ample evidence across a history of iconic sporting competitions, including, for instance, the Sydney 2000 Olympics. Football, or soccer, is the world’s most popular game. It has a simplicity that allows it to be played almost anywhere, even on the beach. In a country where recreational and professional sporting activities thrived, the story of beach soccer is an anomaly. This chapter considers the sport’s rapid growth outside Australia and seeks to understand why the local version has not realised a greater presence on the beaches of a self-proclaimed sporting nation’s landscape.
COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, can cause shortness of breath, lung damage,... more COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, can cause shortness of breath, lung damage, and impaired respiratory function. Containing the virus has proven difficult, in large part due to its high transmissibility during the pre-symptomatic incubation. The study's aim was to determine if changes in respiratory rate could serve as a leading indicator of SARS-CoV-2 infections. A total of 271 individuals (age = 37.3 {+/-} 9.5, 190 male, 81 female) who experienced symptoms consistent with COVID-19 were included - 81 tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 190 tested negative; these 271 individuals collectively contributed 2672 samples (days) of data (1856 healthy days, 231 while infected with COVID-19 and 585 while infected with something other than COVID-19). To train a novel algorithm, individuals were segmented as follows; (1) a training dataset of individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 (n=57 people, 537 samples); (2) a validation dataset of individuals who tested posit...
Biosensors
The aims of this study were to: (1) compare actigraphy (ACTICAL) and a commercially available sle... more The aims of this study were to: (1) compare actigraphy (ACTICAL) and a commercially available sleep wearable (i.e., WHOOP) under two functionalities (i.e., sleep auto-detection (WHOOP-AUTO) and manual adjustment of sleep (WHOOP-MANUAL)) for two-stage categorisation of sleep (sleep or wake) against polysomnography, and; (2) compare WHOOP-AUTO and WHOOP-MANUAL for four-stage categorisation of sleep (wake, light sleep, slow wave sleep (SWS), or rapid eye movement sleep (REM)) against polysomnography. Six healthy adults (male: n = 3; female: n = 3; age: 23.0 ± 2.2 yr) participated in the nine-night protocol. Fifty-four sleeps assessed by ACTICAL, WHOOP-AUTO and WHOOP-MANUAL were compared to polysomnography using difference testing, Bland–Altman comparisons, and 30-s epoch-by-epoch comparisons. Compared to polysomnography, ACTICAL overestimated total sleep time (37.6 min) and underestimated wake (−37.6 min); WHOOP-AUTO underestimated SWS (−15.5 min); and WHOOP-MANUAL underestimated wake ...
Journal of Sports Sciences
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of Ramadan fasting on sleep quality and d... more The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of Ramadan fasting on sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in team sport referees. Seventy-eight male amateur team sport referees (age: 31.1 ± 10.8 years) participated in this study. Participants responded to the Arabic version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) questionnaires before (10-days prior) and during (last 7-days) the month of Ramadan.PSQI and ESS scores increased significantly during Ramadan (both p < .001, ES = 0.56 and 0.54, respectively) with 83.3% of participants scoring ≥5 in the PSQI. The percentage of participants suffering from severe excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS score ≥ 16) was 3.8% before vs. 7.7% during Ramadan (p < 0.001). Sleep duration decreased by ~ 1 h during Ramadan (p < .001, ES = 0.61) and was associated with a delay in bedtime of ~ 2 h (p < 0.001, ES = 0.7) and of wake-up time of ~ 1 h (p < 0.001, ES = 0.5). The score for daytime dysfunction and subjective sleep perception, as components of the PSQI, increased (both p < 0.001; ES = 0.79, ES = 0.57, respectively), whereas the score for the use of sleep medication decreased during vs. before Ramadan (p = 0.041, ES = 0.47). Ramadan fasting impaired sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness in team sport referees. Future studies, using objective assessment tools, are warranted.
Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds
Trash talking is a contentious and prevalent practice in traditional sports but few studies have ... more Trash talking is a contentious and prevalent practice in traditional sports but few studies have examined its practice in esports – a computer-mediated form of sports competition in videogaming. This study used practice theory to identify different forms and dialectical relationships of trash talking in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Fifty hours of structured observations of professional tournaments were conducted followed by semi-structured interviews with fifteen spectators/casual gamers. Inductive analysis of data based on practice theory-related constructs identified varying perspectives on trash talk, and six distinct forms. Trash talk was directed towards players from opposing players, coaches, fans, casters and analysts. ‘Teabagging’ was the most controversial, but a predominantly positive ethos for trash talk was found, such that it was a distinct part of this esports scene. Theoretical and practice-oriented implications are discussed and a conceptualization of the practi...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
This study aimed to describe habitual sleep and nocturnal cardiac autonomic activity (CAA), and t... more This study aimed to describe habitual sleep and nocturnal cardiac autonomic activity (CAA), and their relationship with training/match load in male youth soccer players during an international tournament. Eighteen elite male youth soccer players (aged 14.8 ± 0.3 years; mean ± SD) participated in the study. Sleep indices were measured using wrist actigraphy, and heart rate (HR) monitors were used to measure CAA during night-sleep throughout 5 consecutive days. Training and match loads were characterized using the session-rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE). During the five nights 8 to 17 players slept less than <8 h and only one to two players had a sleep efficiency <75%. Players’ sleep duration coefficient of variation (CV) ranged between 4 and 17%. Nocturnal heart rate variability (HRV) indices for the time-domain analyses ranged from 3.8 (95% confidence interval, 3.6; 4.0) to 4.1 ln[ms] (3.9; 4.3) and for the frequency-domain analyses ranged from 5.9 (5.6; 6.5) to 6.6 (6.3;...
Applied Sciences
This study examined the effectiveness of a circadian adaptation schedule in male cricketers after... more This study examined the effectiveness of a circadian adaptation schedule in male cricketers after an 8.5 h eastward time zone change. Ten participants (aged 18.7 ± 0.9 y) were randomly assigned to a control group or an intervention group. Participants in the intervention group followed a light exposure schedule in which they were instructed to seek light in the three hours preceding, and avoid light in the three hours following their estimated core body temperature minimum. The rate of adaptation was assessed using the nightly excretion rate of urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin (aMT6s). General linear mixed models were conducted to assess the effect of condition (i.e., control and light intervention) on nocturnal secretion of aMT6s. Significant main effects of day (F(7, 35) = 10.4, p < 0.001) were reflected by an increase in nocturnal melatonin excretion (i.e., all participants gradually adapted to the destination time zone). Subjective jet lag decreased by day (F(7, 54) = 22.9, p &l...
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Esports is becoming increasingly professionalized, yet research on performance management is rema... more 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 < 0.01) and trained longer per day than the Australian or Unit...
Clocks & Sleep
The primary aims of the present study were to examine the impact of chronotype on sleep/wake beha... more The primary aims of the present study were to examine the impact of chronotype on sleep/wake behaviour, perceived exertion, and training load among professional footballers. Thirty-six elite female professional football player’s (mean ± SD: age, 25 ± 4 y; weight, 68 ± 7 kg) sleep and training behaviours were examined for 10 consecutive nights during a pre-season period using a self-report online player-management system and wrist activity monitors. All athletes completed the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (rMEQ) on the first day of data collection. Eleven participants were morning types, seventeen participants were intermediate types, and three participants were evening types. Separate linear mixed models were conducted to assess differences in sleep, perceived exertion, and training behaviours between chronotype groups. Morning types woke up earlier (wake time: 07:19 ± 01:16 vs. 07:53 ± 01:01, p = 0.04) and reported higher ratings of perceived exertion compared to intermedia...
Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
ABSTRACT Sargent, C, Lastella, M, Schwerdt, S, and Roach, GD. An individualized intervention incr... more ABSTRACT Sargent, C, Lastella, M, Schwerdt, S, and Roach, GD. An individualized intervention increases sleep duration in professional athletes. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2021-Athletes typically obtain less sleep than is generally recommended for healthy adults. The aim of this study was to determine whether individualized feedback could increase sleep duration in professional cricket players in the 3 weeks before the start of the domestic season. Players were randomly assigned to a control group (i.e., no individual feedback; n = 8) or an intervention group (i.e., individual feedback about bedtime, wake time, and sleep duration; n = 7). Night-time sleep and daytime naps were monitored using wrist activity monitors in conjunction with self-report sleep diaries for 1 week before, and 1 week after, the feedback intervention. Cumulative sleep duration was calculated as the sum of the sleep duration for a night-time sleep episode and any naps that occurred on the following day. Differences in cumulative sleep duration before and after the intervention were examined using a mixed-effects analysis of variance. There was an interaction between group and week for cumulative sleep duration (p = 0.039; η2 = 0.6; large). The average cumulative sleep duration was longer (+36 minutes) in the intervention group in week 2 compared with week 1. Individualized feedback can be used to increase sleep duration in professional cricket players. In future, it will be important to determine whether improvements in sleep duration can be maintained throughout the season.
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Papers by Michele Lastella