Variations In Sleep And Psychomotor Performance In Paralympic Swimmers During Different Periods Of Sports Training

PURPOSE: Monitor and compare sleep and psychomotor performance in Paralympic swimmers during different periods of sports training. METHODS: Ten Paralympic swimmers were monitored while preparing for the main competition of the year. The sports training was managed by the coaches, without the influence of the researchers, and the preparation was divided into the following order: base period (6 weeks), strength (7 weeks), power (5 weeks), and taper (11 days), totaling ~5 months. The external load (volume - distance covered each week in the pool; intensity - swimming speed zones) for each training period was recorded using the coach's spreadsheet for qualitative analysis. The evaluation of sleep parameters was carried out using actigraphy, collecting data from the last ten days in each training period, and the variables analyzed were total sleep time (TST), sleep onset latency, sleep efficiency, and time awakening after sleep onset. Psychomotor performance was assessed on the last day of each training period, and the method used was the Psychomotor Vigilance Test, which lasts 5 min, with visual stimuli occurring at random intervals of 2 to 10 s to evaluate the average, minimum, and maximum reaction time. In addition to the number of lapses (> 500 ms). To compare training periods, one-way ANOVA with repeated measures and Tukey post-hoc was used, considering p value <0.05 and eta squared effect size (η2). RESULTS: The external load was greater in the force period, while the taper period was the moment with the lowest external load. Regarding sleep, TST was lower in the strength period (± 405 min) when compared to the base (± 466 min; p = 0.01; η2 = 0.30) and taper (± 455 min; p < 0.01; η2 = 0.30). The average reaction time was worse in the strength period (± 328 ms) compared to the base period (± 293 ms; p = 0.01; η2 = 0.95), power (± 271 ms; p < 0.01; η2 = 0.95) and taper (± 257 ms; p < 0.01; η2 = 0.95), as well as the base period was worse compared to tapering (p = 0.01; η2 = 0.95). In addition, the number of lapses was greater in the strength period (± 3) compared to the power (± 1; p = 0.02; η2 = 0.42) and taper (± 0; p < 0.01; η2 = 0.42). CONCLUSIONS: Paralympic swimmers had lower TST and worse psychomotor performance in the strength period. The authors thank the support given by Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa da UFMG, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) (Processo: 405140/2021-5), CAPES, Ministério do Esporte (Processo: 71000.056251/2020-49), CPB, CTE/UFMG, CEPE e CEMSA.