Partial sleep restriction impairs static postural control in elite judo athletes

ABSTRACT

The present study evaluates the effect of partial sleep restriction on postural control in judokas. Fourteen elite-level judokas performed three static postural control tests (the Unilateral Stance (US, on the Right and Left Foot); the modified Clinical Test for the Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB, on a firm and an unstable surface) stance with the eyes opened and then closed, and the Weight-Bearing Squat test (WBS)) after (i) a reference-normal-sleep-night (RN) and (ii) 4-h of partial sleep restriction at the end (SREN) (i.e., sleep from 22h30 to 03h00) or the beginning (SRBN) (i.e., sleep from 03:00h to 07:00h) of the night. Concerning US, sway velocity increased significantly after SRBN and SREN, in comparison with RN (p < 0.001) and was significantly higher in closed vs. open eyes during SRBN, SREN and RN (p < 0.001). For mCTSIB, sway velocity increased significantly during SBND and SRBN, compared to RN (p < 0.001) and was higher with eyes open than eyes closed in the foam surface during SRBN, SREN and RN (p < 0.0001). For WBS, there were no significant between conditions differences. In conclusion, partial sleep restriction of 4-h may negatively affect the postural control of judokas.

KEYWORDS:

• Sleep
• balance
• postural control
• Judo

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to all the participants for their maximal effort and cooperation. This study was financially supported by the Ministry of Higher Teaching and Scientific Research, Tunisia.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.