Strategies and effectiveness of daily sleep and HRV monitoring

THE

November 2019 | Issue #37

PERFORMANCE DIGEST

A review of the latest sports performance research

Technology & Monitoring

15

[Abstract]

Strategies and effectiveness of daily sleep and HRV monitoring OBJECTIVE

WHAT THEY DID

Sleep is the most effective recovery strategy for an athlete whilst training or competing, and monitoring the quality and efficiency of sleep allows coaches to help optimise its benefits. Coupling additional objective, subjective, internal, and external measures to sleep monitoring data provides further context in managing an athlete’s level of fatigue and promoting readiness to perform.

Twenty elite female soccer players wore Primary findings in this study: wrist actigraph units and heart rate (HR) monitors to examine sleeping patterns ⇒ Overall, all players displayed good sleep quality and quantity, with some and HRV over nine consecutive days consistently obtaining less total sleep during an international tournament (6 than recommended. training sessions and 3 matches). Training and match loads were quantified by  After the one evening match during session-rating of perceived exertion, as the tournament, the highest number well as GPS data (e.g. total distance of athletes slept for less than 7 h, covered, exposure time, and high-speed where on other days, the athletes running). obtained adequate sleep duration (i.e. 7:41 ± 0:48 h on training days, and 8:26 Players were hosted in a hotel, their meals ± 0:41 h after day matches). were provided daily, travel was minimal (to  Overnight HRV results presented and from training and matches), and small fluctuations, however, two training schedules were set at the players appeared to present a higher discretion of the coaching staff. Team and variation, while simultaneously individual analysis was performed to displaying a reduced average HRV identify the averages of the various compared to teammates. measures, potential relationships, and any  Some athletes compensated low variation between the data collected sleep duration with extended sleep on across the nine days. the subsequent day.

This study examined the sleep patterns of elite female soccer players during a weeklong tournament, along with their nocturnal heart rate variability (HRV), and training loads.

Practical Takeaways 

When monitoring a group of athletes, it is important to inspect each athlete’s profile to create an individualised approach to balancing training load and improving readiness to guide sleep education and intervention strategies.

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Sleep duration of <7 h is insufficient and sleep efficiency (i.e. percentage of time in bed that was spent asleep) ≤74% indicates inappropriate sleep quality for young adult athletes.

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Encouraging athletes to implement 30-60 min of additional sleep each night and implement daytime naps can help athletes capitalise on benefits of sleep.

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Examining weekly coefficient of variation for HRV results may provide valuable information regarding potential response to training. The higher the HRV, and the less variation (i.e. <3% deviation), the more aerobically fit and resilient the athlete is, improving the likelihood of sufficient recovery.

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Monitoring the sleep patterns of your athletes daily and watching it change over weeks and months, helps to identify athlete variation in total sleep time and HRV scores as potentially maladaptive, stressed, and limiting their performance potential. Alternatively, athletes that show little variation, achieving optimal sleep duration and efficiency, are able to progress and handle training and competition loads with greater confidence.

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WHAT THEY FOUND

Cody’s Comments “This collaboration of data collection provides support for the training activities leading into the tournament, as the athletes avoided extreme fluctuation or disturbance in sleep and autonomic function. Further examining the GPS data, highlights the well managed training volumes and intensities during the week, as athletes experienced the highest loads during match-play and practice sessions were appropriately prescribed. The greatest disturbance of sleep occurred as a result of a late evening match. This highlights the entertainment side of sport that athletes are victims of at the professional level, with late games being inevitable to allow for broadcasting or fan attendance. This suggests that steps should be taken by the coaching staff to allow for extended sleep by modifying the subsequent day’s schedule. Lastly, although it is time consuming and somewhat invasive, monitoring at this level is extremely beneficial to providing the greatest possible care and training prescription for an athlete and team’s performance. It is vital to get all parties involved to be supportive in the monitoring process, intervening, educating, and adjusting along the way.”

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