Bradley M Ritland1, Guido Simonelli2, Rodolphe J Gentili3, J Carson Smith3, Xin He4, Hyuk Oh3, Thomas J Balkin2, Bradley D Hatfield3. 1. Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742; Military Performance Division, United States Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, 10 General Greene Ave, Natick, MA 01760. Electronic address: bradley.m.ritland.mil@mail.mil. 2. Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, 503 Robert Grant Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910. 3. Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742. 4. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland, 4200 Valley Drive, College Park, MD 20742.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To examine habitual sleep health and investigate how habitual sleep duration impacts performance and motivation in Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) tactical athletes. DESIGN: Observational. SETTING: A large, state university. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-four young tactical athletes enrolled in ROTC. MEASUREMENTS: Participants wore wrist actigraph devices and completed sleep diaries for 7 days prior to completing a cognitive/motor test battery. RESULTS: The mean objective total sleep time of the participants was 6.17 ± 0.69 hours, with only 7.4% of participants averaging ≥7 hours of sleep per day. A mean sleep quality rating between "Poor" and "Fair" was reported by 22.2% of participants. The mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale rating was 8.80 ± 3.24, with 27.8% of participants reporting scores >10. Controlling for age and gender, the average objective total sleep duration was significantly associated with performance on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (P = .026) and with motivation levels to perform the cognitive/motor battery (P = .016), but not with performance on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test, Flanker task, Trail Making Test, or Standing Broad Jump. CONCLUSIONS: ROTC tactical athletes habitually sleep less than the recommended 7 hours per day with roughly one-fourth reporting excessive daytime sleepiness and one-fifth reporting poor sleep quality, which may increase their risk for future adverse health outcomes. Longer sleep durations were associated with higher motivation levels and better cognitive processing speed performance; however, they were not associated with executive function, psychomotor vigilance, or broad jump performance. Published by Elsevier Inc.
OBJECTIVE: To examine habitual sleep health and investigate how habitual sleep duration impacts performance and motivation in Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) tactical athletes. DESIGN: Observational. SETTING: A large, state university. PARTICIPANTS: Fifty-four young tactical athletes enrolled in ROTC. MEASUREMENTS: Participants wore wrist actigraph devices and completed sleep diaries for 7 days prior to completing a cognitive/motor test battery. RESULTS: The mean objective total sleep time of the participants was 6.17 ± 0.69 hours, with only 7.4% of participants averaging ≥7 hours of sleep per day. A mean sleep quality rating between "Poor" and "Fair" was reported by 22.2% of participants. The mean Epworth Sleepiness Scale rating was 8.80 ± 3.24, with 27.8% of participants reporting scores >10. Controlling for age and gender, the average objective total sleep duration was significantly associated with performance on the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (P = .026) and with motivation levels to perform the cognitive/motor battery (P = .016), but not with performance on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test, Flanker task, Trail Making Test, or Standing Broad Jump. CONCLUSIONS: ROTC tactical athletes habitually sleep less than the recommended 7 hours per day with roughly one-fourth reporting excessive daytime sleepiness and one-fifth reporting poor sleep quality, which may increase their risk for future adverse health outcomes. Longer sleep durations were associated with higher motivation levels and better cognitive processing speed performance; however, they were not associated with executive function, psychomotor vigilance, or broad jump performance. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Authors: Brandon Merfeld; Austin Mancosky; Joel Luedke; Shalynn Griesmer; Jacob L Erickson; Victoria Carvalho; Andrew R Jagim Journal: Int J Exerc Sci Date: 2022-03-01