Higher training loads affect sleep in endurance runners: Can a high-heat-capacity mattress topper mitigate negative effects?

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impact of a training program on sleep among endurance runners and the benefits of chronically using a high-heat-capacity mattress topper (HMT). Twenty-one trained male athletes performed a 2-week usual training regimen, sleeping on a Low-heat-capacity Mattress Topper (LMT), followed by 2-week overload and taper periods. From overload, participants were assigned into two groups based on the mattress topper used: HMT (n = 11) or LMT (n = 10). Irrespective of the group, overload increased general stress and stress-reaction symptoms evaluated by questionnaires, with no decline in performance on a graded-exercise treadmill test, the majority of participant being “non-overreached” (n = 14). From a daily perspective, each additional 100 A.U. in training load, assessed using the session rating of perceived exertion, was associated with an impairment in subsequent sleep efficiency (β = -0.2%; p < 0.01), wake after sleep onset (β =  +0.4 min; p < 0.05) and sleep onset latency (β =  +0.5 min; p < 0.05), which was unaffected by HMT use. Practitioners should be aware of sleep needs, especially during excessive training loads, whereas implementing individualised sleep strategies. Further studies should be conducted on potential benefits of HMT among athletes in various sleep conditions.

KEYWORDS:

• Recovery
• athletes
• training program
• Performance
• innovative bedding system
• muscle soreness

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to all the participants for their effort and involvement in this study. Special thanks to Alexandre Dubois for his contribution to the sleep analysis.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as potential conflicts of interest. The results of the present study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Geolocation information

75012, Paris, France.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2023.2285574

Additional information

Funding

MC received a PhD scholarship (CIFRE contract no 2020/0967) funded by Bultex and the French Agency of Research and Technology. The Laboratory Sport, Expertise and Performance is a partner of the French-speaking network ReFORM, recognized as a Research Centre for the Prevention of Injury and Illness and the Protection of Athletes by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). As a member of the IOC Medical Research Network, FIIRST has received funding from the IOC to establish long-term research.