Concordance of Chronotype Categorisations Based on Dim Light Melatonin Onset, the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire, and the Munich Chronotype Questionnaire.

Chronotype reflects circadian timing and can be determined from biological markers (e.g., dim light melatonin onset; DLMO), or questionnaires (e.

A Validation Study of a Commercial Wearable Device to Automatically Detect and Estimate Sleep.

The aims of this study were to: (1) compare actigraphy (ACTICAL) and a commercially available sleep wearable (i.e., WHOOP) under two functionalities (i.

To Nap or Not to Nap? A Systematic Review Evaluating Napping Behavior in Athletes and the Impact on Various Measures of Athletic Performance.

Purpose: The objective of this systematic review was to 1) determine how studies evaluated napping behavior in athletes (frequency, duration, timing and measurement); 2) explore how napping impacted physical performance, cognitive performance, perceptual measures (eg, fatigue, muscle soreness, sleepiness and alertness), psychological state and night-time sleep in athletes.

Methods: Five bibliographic databases were searched from database inception to 11 August 2020. Observational and experimental studies comprising able-bodied athletes (mean age ≥12 years), published in English, in peer-reviewed journal papers were included.

The effects of Ramadan intermittent fasting on sleep-wake behaviour and daytime sleepiness in team sport referees.

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.

Wrist-Based Photoplethysmography Assessment of Heart Rate and Heart Rate Variability: Validation of WHOOP.

Heart rate (HR) and HR variability (HRV) infer readiness to perform exercise in athletic populations. Technological advancements have facilitated HR and HRV quantification via photoplethysmography (PPG). This study evaluated the validity of WHOOP's PPG-derived HR and HRV against electrocardiogram-derived (ECG) measures.

Loud and clear? Train horn practice at railway level crossings in Australia.

The road environment has changed markedly over the years. Train horns are ostensibly used to alert road users and are typically mandatory on approach to railway level crossings. However, they have increasingly been seen as a nuisance.

Sleep disturbances in caregivers of children with medical needs: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The sleep of individuals who provide unpaid care for children with medical needs is likely to be significantly impacted by this role. Sleep may be affected by the practical tasks undertaken during the night (e.g.

Ghost trains: Australian rail in the early stages of the global COVID-19 pandemic.

The rail industry, as with all sectors worldwide, has faced disruptions due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. This commentary considers how rail organizations in Australia have engaged within the early stages of the crisis, outlining the challenges faced and how they were addressed. Relying on our observations, and anecdotes obtained from others across the Australian rail industry, we identified a range of impacts including determining service delivery levels (and the associated running of "ghost trains"), implementing hygiene measures and social distancing, managing training and medical assessments, and changes in the behavior of passengers and members of the public (including aggression toward staff and increased instances of trespass).

Sleep Indices and Cardiac Autonomic Activity Responses during an International Tournament in a Youth National Soccer Team.

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.

The Effect of Game-Related Contextual Factors on Sleep in Basketball Players.

Fox, JL, Scanlan, AT, Stanton, R, and Sargent, C. The effect of game-related contextual factors on sleep in basketball players. J Strength Cond Res 36(10): 2942-2945, 2022-The purpose of this study was to determine whether contextual factors including game location, game outcome, and score-line margin influence subsequent nightly sleep duration and quality in basketball players.

Analyzing changes in respiratory rate to predict the risk of COVID-19 infection.

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.

Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations.

Elite athletes are particularly susceptible to sleep inadequacies, characterised by habitual short sleep (<7 hours/night) and poor sleep quality (eg, sleep fragmentation). Athletic performance is reduced by a night or more without sleep, but the influence on performance of partial sleep restriction over 1-3 nights, a more real-world scenario, remains unclear. Studies investigating sleep in athletes often suffer from inadequate experimental control, a lack of females and questions concerning the validity of the chosen sleep assessment tools.

Finding DLMO: estimating dim light melatonin onset from sleep markers derived from questionnaires, diaries and actigraphy.

Determination of circadian phase is required to diagnose and treat circadian abnormalities, but the measurement of dim light melatonin onset (DLMO), the most common phase marker, is laborious. As sleep timing reflects circadian phase, measurement of sleep markers (e.g.

Optimisation and Validation of a Nutritional Intervention to Enhance Sleep Quality and Quantity.

Background: Disturbed sleep may negatively influence physical health, cognitive performance, metabolism, and general wellbeing. Nutritional interventions represent a potential non-pharmacological means to increase sleep quality and quantity.

Objective: (1) Identify an optimal suite of nutritional ingredients and (2) validate the effects of this suite utilising polysomnography, and cognitive and balance tests.

The likelihood of crashing during a simulated post-work commute decreases across a week of consecutive night shifts.

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of working multiple, consecutive night shifts on crash risk during the morning commute. Participants (36 F, 36 M, aged 23.1 ± 3.

A validation study of the WHOOP strap against polysomnography to assess sleep.

The aim of the study was to compare the WHOOP strap - a wearable device that estimates sleep based on measures of movement and heart rate derived from actigraphy and photoplethysmography, respectively. Twelve healthy adults (6 females, 6 males, aged 22.9 ± 3.

Delivering Simulation Activities Safely: What if We Hurt Ourselves?

Although a focus on the learner rightly remains in any teaching environment, the psychological safety of everyone involved in the conduct of experiential learning and critical academic scholarship is important. Education literature suggests that faculty are just as prone to psychological harm as their learners. This commentary describes adverse experiences from a simulation-based education event that took place at an Australasian interprofessional and cross-domain simulation workshop.

How to manage travel fatigue and jet lag in athletes? A systematic review of interventions.

Objectives: We investigated the management of travel fatigue and jet lag in athlete populations by evaluating studies that have applied non-pharmacological interventions (exercise, sleep, light and nutrition), and pharmacological interventions (melatonin, sedatives, stimulants, melatonin analogues, glucocorticoids and antihistamines) following long-haul transmeridian travel-based, or laboratory-based circadian system phase-shifts.

Design: Systematic review Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), and non-RCTs including experimental studies and observational studies, exploring interventions to manage travel fatigue and jet lag involving actual travel-based or laboratory-based phase-shifts. Studies included participants who were athletes, except for interventions rendering no athlete studies, then the search was expanded to include studies on healthy populations.

Finger Twitches are More Frequent in REM Sleep Than in Non-REM Sleep.

Introduction: Abnormal rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is often symptomatic of chronic disorders, however polysomnography, the gold standard method to measure REM sleep, is expensive and often impractical. Attempts to develop cost-effective ambulatory systems to measure REM sleep have had limited success. As elevated twitching is often observed during REM sleep in some distal muscles, the aim of this study was to assess the potential for a finger-mounted device to measure finger twitches, and thereby differentiate periods of REM and non-REM (NREM) sleep.

The effect of sleep restriction, with or without high-intensity interval exercise, on myofibrillar protein synthesis in healthy young men.

Key Points: Sleep restriction has previously been associated with the loss of muscle mass in both human and animal models. The rate of myofibrillar protein synthesis (MyoPS) is a key variable in regulating skeletal muscle mass and can be increased by performing high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE), although the effect of sleep restriction on MyoPS is unknown. In the present study, we demonstrate that participants undergoing a sleep restriction protocol (five nights, with 4 h in bed each night) had lower rates of skeletal muscle MyoPS; however, rates of MyoPS were maintained at control levels by performing HIIE during this period.

Human-Animal Co-Sleeping: An Actigraphy-Based Assessment of Dogs' Impacts on Women's Nighttime Movements.

Humans regularly enter into co-sleeping arrangements with human and non-human partners. Studies of adults who co-sleep report that co-sleeping can impact sleep quality, particularly for women. Although dog owners often choose to bedshare with their dogs, we know relatively little about the nature of these relationships, nor the extent to which co-sleeping might interfere with sleep quality or quantity.

Insufficient Sleep in Young Athletes? Causes, Consequences, and Potential Treatments.

Sleep is essential in the preparation for, and the recovery from, training and competition. Despite being important for all individuals, young athletes are considered an at-risk group for reduced sleep duration and quality. The purpose of this review is to synthesise current literature relating to sleep duration and quality in young (14-25 years) athletes.

Getting mixed signals: Connotations of teamwork as performance shaping factors in network controller and rail driver relationship dynamics.

Signal passed at danger (SPAD) events have been a perennial issue in rail and requires continued scholarship. Much of the literature has tended to focus on activities within the train cab, placing the spotlight on "error" within the rail driving role; however a train is not propelled by a single person but by a team. This study set out to understand how network controllers perceive the relationship dynamic between the network controller and rail driver, and how these views shape system performance.