The impact of cognitive fitness and gender on sleep quantity and timing and mental health of competitive athletes

Introduction Mental fitness is increasingly considered key to an athlete's competitive arsenal. Its active ingredients include cognitive fitness factors, such as impulse control, and recovery factors, such as sleep, which may differ between male and female athletes. Our study investigated: 1) gender differences in cognitive fitness;and 2) the associations of gender and cognitive fitness with sleep and mental health in competitive athletes during the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods 84 athletes competing at levels from regional/state to international (42F, mean age=23.2) completed a questionnaire battery containing validated measures of: a) depression, anxiety, and stress;b) sleep (Total Sleep Time, Sleep Latency, mid-sleep time on training- and competition-free days);and c) self-control, intolerance of uncertainty, and impulsivity (representing cognitive fitness constructs). Results Female athletes reported significantly higher depression, anxiety, and stress, a later mid-sleep time on free days, lower self-control, higher intolerance of uncertainty, and higher positive urgency impulsivity compared with male athletes. Self-control was negatively associated, and intolerance of uncertainty was positively associated, with depression, anxiety, and mid-sleep time on free days. Discussion Female athletes in our sample reported poorer mental health and cognitive fitness, and later sleeping times on free days. Greater cognitive fitness was associated with better mental health, independent of gender. Overall, these findings are consistent with prior work in community samples. Future work should examine the source(s) of these gender differences. If replicated, our findings would suggest a need to develop interventions aimed at improving athlete well-being, potentially with a particular focus on female athletes.

The COVANOS trial - insight into post-COVID olfactory dysfunction and the role of smell training.

BACKGROUND: Olfactory dysfunction is a cardinal symptom of COVID-19 infection, however, studies assessing long-term olfactory dysfunction are limited and no randomised-controlled trials (RCTs) of early olfactory training have been conducted. METHODOLOGY: We conducted a prospective, multi-centre study consisting of baseline psychophysical measurements of smell and taste function. Eligible participants were further recruited into a 12-week RCT of olfactory training versus control (safety information). Patient-reported outcomes were measured using an electronic survey and BSIT at baseline and 12 weeks. An additional 1-year follow-up was open to all participants. RESULTS: 218 individuals with a sudden loss of sense of smell of at least 4-weeks were recruited. Psychophysical smell loss was observed in only 32.1%; 63 participants were recruited into the RCT. The absolute difference in BSIT improvement after 12 weeks was 0.45 higher in the intervention arm. 76 participants completed 1-year follow-up; 10/19 (52.6%) of participants with an abnormal baseline BSIT test scored below the normal threshold at 1-year, and 24/29 (82.8%) had persistent parosmia. CONCLUSIONS: Early olfactory training may be helpful, although our findings are inconclusive. Notably, a number of individuals who completed the 1-year assessment had persistent smell loss and parosmia at 1-year. As such, both should be considered important entities of long-Covid and further studies to improve management are highly warranted.