Training Practices And Sleep Patterns Of Athletes During Ramadan Fasting: An International Survey

PURPOSE: To explore the training practices and sleep patterns of athletes while training during Ramadan fasting. METHODS: A total of 105 Muslim athletes (age 18-47 y); 63% males; sports: skill (11%), power (18%), combat (18%), endurance (8%), and ‘mixed’ (44%); including world-class (15%) and international (39%) levels; from 10 countries (68% Asia) completed an online survey on their beliefs on Ramadan training, training practices and sleep patterns (Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, PSQI). RESULTS: A majority of Muslim athletes (76%) fasted during the entire Ramadan days and perceived the first Ramadan week (64%) to be most challenging for training, followed by the fourth (16%) and third (10%) weeks. Some athletes believed that Ramadan fasting would decrease strength and power (44%), endurance (35%), body fat (71%), and body weight (74%), while about half reported that sport-specific skills (44%) were unaffected. Decreases in performance were believed to be due to a lack of food (56%), fluid (82%), and sleep (51%). Interestingly, Ramadan fasting made athletes mentally (65%) and emotionally (54%) stronger and more motivated (44%). Compared to pre-Ramadan, athletes’ warm-up duration was maintained or decreased (63/16%, respectively); plyometric session (51/26%); speed and agility (49/28%); speed endurance (41/33%); long endurance (31/45%); technical skills (51/11%); and HIIT (33/42%). Most athletes trained up to 3 hours before (86%) and during (82%) Ramadan; trained 4-7 sessions/week before (51%) and during (49%); maintained training intensity (38%) or decreased it (39%) up to 40%. Heavy training sessions were either maintained as usual (38%), changed to night hours (22%), or completed before breaking fast (24%). During Ramadan, 78% of athletes had PSQI scores of ≥5.0, which indicates poor sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: Most athletes observed full fasting while training during Ramadan, facing substantial challenges (including disruptions in sleep patterns), particularly during the first week. Despite beliefs about reduced physical capabilities, many reported increased mental and emotional strength. Athletes adapted their training routines by maintaining exercises (e.g., explosive, technical) or reducing elements such as endurance-based exercise and training intensity. National Sports Institute of Malaysia