Tracking sleep in ultramarathon male runners before, during, and after a mountain race: Actigraphic evidence of sleep restriction.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to analyze athletes' sleep before, during, and after a race using actigraphy. METHODS: We evaluated 15 male athletes (45.1 ± 10.5 years), who participated in Brazil 135 Ultramarathon (135 km: n = 4; 217 km: n = 11). Wristwatch actigraph measured sleep before (7 days), during, and after the race (7 days). Sleep data were available for 13 athletes. RESULTS: Actigraphy indicated short sleep duration and suboptimal sleep parameters throughout the pre- and post-race periods, since most slept less than 8 hours, had low sleep efficiency, and high Wake After Sleep Onset. Mean total sleep time during the race was 96.67 ± 88.71 minutes and was not correlated with finish time (P = .81; r = 0.10; 95% CI -0.59 to 0.90). Except for one athlete, all reported symptoms attributed to insufficient sleep during the race, such as sleepiness (n = 5), loss of balance (n = 4), and hallucinations (n = 4). Athletes woke up later after the race compared with pre-race timepoints (P < .05). Nonsignificant trends showed more sleep the night before the race (432.2 minutes) compared with the prior week (409.8 minutes; mean difference 22.5 minutes; -74.3 to 29.3; P = .058), and greater total sleep time during the post-race week (461.4 minutes; 434-488) than on the night after (447.4 minutes; mean difference 14.0 minutes; -64.4 to 92.4; P = .058). CONCLUSIONS: Ultramarathon runners exhibited short sleep duration, reduced sleep during competition, and later wake-up times afterward. Nonsignificant trends suggested increased sleep on pre-race night and greater total sleep time during the post-race week compared with the first post-race night, which may reflect delayed recovery of sleep following the event.