Effects of Sleep Restriction on Self-Reported Putting Performance in Golf.

In the present study, we aimed to explore the effects of sleep restriction (SR) on self-reported golf putting skills. Eleven collegiate golfers participated in a self-reported, counterbalanced experimental study under two conditions: (a) a SR condition in which sleep on the night prior to putting was restricted to 4-5 hours, and (b) a habitual normal sleep (NS) condition on the night before the putting test. Following each sleep condition, participants engaged in ten consecutive putting tests at 7 am, 11 am, and 3 pm. Participants reported their subjective sleepiness before each time frame, and their chronotype, defined as their individual circadian preference, was scored based on a morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ). Participants restricted sleep to an average period of 267.6 minutes/night (SD = 51.2) in the SR condition and 426.2 (SD =38.0) minutes/night in the NS condition. A two-way analysis of variance revealed a significant main effect of the sleep condition on the lateral displacement of putts from the target (lateral misalignment) (p = 0.002). In addition, there was a significant main effect of time on distance from the target (distance misalignment) (p = 0.017), indicating less accuracy of putting in the SR condition. In the SR condition, the MEQ score was positively correlated with distance misalignment at 3 pm (ρ = 0.650, p = 0.030), suggesting that morningness types are susceptible to the effects of SR on putting performance. Our findings suggest that golfers should obtain sufficient sleep to optimize putting performance.

Usefulness of Post-labeling Delay for the Assessment of Bright Vessel Appearance by Arterial Spin Labeling.

Objective: This study was performed to clarify the differences in blood flow strength, blood vessel diameter, and post-labeling delay (PLD) by physical experiments, and to examine whether bright vessel appearance (BVA) can be observed by arterial spin labeling (ASL). Methods: We introduced simulated blood flow (25 cm/sec, 12.5 cm/sec) using a specially made phantom of fixed tubes in a plastic container. At each speed, we scanned at several points of PLD using ASL imaging. We measured the signal in the tube to obtain a signal intensity (SI). We revised the T1 level from the SI and obtained SIblood. We used SItissue with normal perfusion measured from obtained clinical images by ASL and compared it with SIblood. Results: In tubes with a narrow inner diameter, the signal slightly decreased. SI also decreased under slow flow compared with fast flow. At each flow rate, SIblood significantly exceeded SItissue. Conclusion: PLD distinguishes spin in brain tissue from 1525 msec to 2525 msec, and it can be observed. As spin signal decreases when the flow rate is slow, attention is necessary for observation. Assessment at PLD1525-2525 msec where normal perfusion was obtained suggested that BVA can be observed.