Poor sleep quality and insufficient sleep of a collegiate student-athlete population.

OBJECTIVE: Poor and inadequate sleep negatively impact cognitive and physical functioning and may also affect sports performance. The study aim is to examine sleep quality, sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness in collegiate student-athletes across a wide range of sports. DESIGN: Questionnaire. SETTING: University setting. PARTICIPANTS: 628 athletes across 29 varsity teams at Stanford University. MEASUREMENTS: Athletes completed a questionnaire inquiring about sleep quality via a modified Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), sleep duration, and daytime sleepiness via Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Sleep quality on campus and while traveling for competition was rated on a 10-point scale. RESULTS: Collegiate athletes were classified as poor sleepers (PSQI 5.38 ± 2.45), and 42.4% of athletes experience poor sleep quality (reporting PSQI global scores >5). Athletes reported lower sleep quality on campus than when traveling for competition (7.1 vs 7.6, P< .001). Inadequate sleep was demonstrated by 39.1% of athletes that regularly obtain <7 hours of sleep on weekdays. Fifty-one percent of athletes reported high levels of daytime sleepiness with Epworth scores ≥10. Teen student-athletes in the first and second year of college reported the highest mean levels of daytime sleepiness. Greater total sleep time was associated with daytime functioning including lower frequency of difficulty waking up for practice or class (P< .001) and lower frequency of trouble staying awake during daily activities (P< .001). CONCLUSIONS: Collegiate athletes frequently experience poor sleep quality, regularly obtain insufficient sleep, and commonly exhibit daytime sleepiness.

The effects of creatine monohydrate supplementation with and without D-pinitol on resistance training adaptations.

Coingestion of D-pinitol with creatine (CR) has been reported to enhance creatine uptake. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether adding D-pinitol to CR affects training adaptations, body composition, whole-body creatine retention, and/or blood safety markers when compared to CR ingestion alone after 4 weeks of resistance training. Twenty-four resistance trained males were randomly assigned in a double-blind manner to creatine + pinitol (CRP) or creatine monohydrate (CR) prior to beginning a supervised 4-week resistance training program. Subjects ingested a typical loading phase (i.e., 20 g/d-1 for 5 days) before ingesting 5 g/d-1 the remaining 23 days. Performance measures were assessed at baseline (T0), week 1 (T1), and week 4 (T2) and included 1 repetition maximum (1RM) bench press (BP), 1RM leg press (LP), isokinetic knee extension, and a 30-second Wingate anaerobic capacity test. Fasting blood and body composition using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) were determined at T1 and T3. Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Creatine retention increased (p < 0.001) in both groups as a result of supplementation but was not different between groups (p > 0.05). Significant improvements in upper- and lower-body strength and body composition occurred in both groups. However, significantly greater increases in lean mass and fat-free mass occurred in the CR group when compared to CRP (p <0.05). Adding D-pinitol to creatine monohydrate does not appear to facilitate further physiological adaptations while resistance training. Creatine monohydrate supplementation helps to improve strength and body composition while resistance training. Data from this study assist in determining the potential role the addition of D-pinitol to creatine may aid in facilitating training adaptations to exercise.

Effects of Zinc Magnesium Aspartate (ZMA) Supplementation on Training Adaptations and Markers of Anabolism and Catabolism.

This study examined whether supplementing the diet with a commercial supplement containing zinc magnesium aspartate (ZMA) during training affects zinc and magnesium status, anabolic and catabolic hormone profiles, and/or training adaptations. Forty-two resistance trained males (27 +/- 9 yrs; 178 +/- 8 cm, 85 +/- 15 kg, 18.6 +/- 6% body fat) were matched according to fat free mass and randomly assigned to ingest in a double blind manner either a dextrose placebo (P) or ZMA 30-60 minutes prior to going to sleep during 8-weeks of standardized resistance-training. Subjects completed testing sessions at 0, 4, and 8 weeks that included body composition assessment as determined by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, 1-RM and muscular endurance tests on the bench and leg press, a Wingate anaerobic power test, and blood analysis to assess anabolic/catabolic status as well as markers of health. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Results indicated that ZMA supplementation non-significantly increased serum zinc levels by 11 - 17% (p = 0.12). However, no significant differences were observed between groups in anabolic or catabolic hormone status, body composition, 1-RM bench press and leg press, upper or lower body muscular endurance, or cycling anaerobic capacity. Results indicate that ZMA supplementation during training does not appear to enhance training adaptations in resistance trained populations.