Does Ramadan intermittent fasting affect the intraday variations of cognitive and high-intensity short-term maximal performances in young female handball players?

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to analyze the effect of Ramadan fasting (RF) on the morning-afternoon differences of cognitive and short-term maximal performances. . Fifteen young female handball players completed the attention (AT), simple reaction time (SRT), squat jump (SJ), Illinois agility (IAT) and 5-m shuttle run (5mSRT, to assess total (TD) and peak (PD) distances) tests at 08h00 and 1800 during ten days before Ramadan (BR), first ten days of Ramadan (F10R), last ten days of Ramadan (L10R) and ten days after Ramadan (AR). The results revealed that BR, SRT, AT, SJ, IA, TD and PD were greater in the afternoon compared to the morning (p<0.001). This morning-afternoon differences in physical and cognitive performances were reduced during F10R and were blunted or reversed during L10R (p<0.05). These findings suggest that the intraday differences in cognitive and physical performance in young female handball players might be blunted and/or reversed during RF.

KEYWORDS:

• Intermittent fasting
• intraday variation
• physical performance
• sleep
• cognitive performance
• team sports

Abbreviations list

RF	=	Ramadan Fasting
BMI	=	Body Mass Index
BR	=	Before Ramadan
F10R	=	First Ten days of Ramadan
L10R	=	Last Ten days of Ramadan
AR	=	After Ramadan
SRT	=	Simple Reaction Time
AT	=	Attention Test
SJ	=	Squat Jump
IAT	=	Illinois Agility Test
OT	=	Oral Temperature
RPE	=	Rating of Perceived Exertion
PD	=	Peak Distance
TD	=	Total Distance
PSQI	=	Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the participants for their voluntary involvement in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.