Actigraphy-Based Sleep Parameters in Wheelchair Basketball Athletes: Influence of Training and Competition Load.

Objective This study aimed to analyze the actigraphy-based sleep parameters in wheelchair basketball (WB) athletes during the 3 weeks leading up to the playoffs, the week of playoffs, and the week after playoffs. Secondarily, the relationship between training load, sleep, and recovery was evaluated. Methods During 5 consecutive weeks, 10 male elite WB athletes wore a triaxial accelerometer. The session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) and athletes' quality of recovery were also measured. Results There were no significant differences ( p > 0.05) in any of the studied parameters between the 3 weeks leading up to the playoffs, the week of playoffs, and the week after playoffs. No significant relationship between training load, sleep parameters, and recovery values was detected. Discussion The WB competition does not affect sleep quantity and quality.

The effect of school year and summer break in health-related cardiorespiratory fitness: A 2-year longitudinal analysis.

This study aimed to assess the trends of health-related cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) during two school years with a 3-month summer break in children and adolescents. A 2-year longitudinal study, including 440 6th to 8th graders (218 boys), mean age 12.3 years, was conducted. The Progressive Aerobic Cardiovascular Endurance Run (PACER) was used to assess CRF. Physical activity was measured using accelerometers. Repeated measures linear models were used to analyses differences and trends in VO2peak and health-related CRF. Overall differences between time-point VO2peak were significant for both boys (p<0.001) and girls (p=0.003). Pairwise comparisons showed that VO2peak improved from the beginning to the end of the same school year for boys (school-year 1: 1.53 ml/kg/min, 95%CI=0.98, 2.09; school-year 2: 1.81 ml/kg/min, 95%CI=1.28, 2.34) and girls (school-year 1: 0.85 ml/kg/min, 95%CI=0.43, 1.27; school-year 2: 1.05 ml/kg/min, 95%CI=0.73, 1.36), while, differences in CRF during summer break were not significant. However, significance was only maintained for girls when performing monthly adjusted analysis. Improvements in CRF were observed during school year and remained unchanged during summer break. These findings provide relevant information for the health education community, suggesting the need for additional efforts to counteract the summer break effects on CRF, especially for girls.

Trends of Healthy Lifestyles Among Adolescents: An Analysis of More Than Half a Million Participants From 32 Countries Between 2006 and 2014.

The purpose of this study was to provide data regarding the prevalence and trends of adolescents' healthy lifestyles from 32 countries between 2006 and 2014 by sex and age interval. The data used in the present study were derived from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) 2006, 2010, and 2014 international database. Healthy lifestyle was assessed using the combination of daily physical activity, daily fruit and vegetable consumption, <2 h daily on screen-based behaviors, abstinence from alcohol, and abstinence from tobacco products. Healthy lifestyle measures were based on self-report. The final sample comprised 519,371 adolescents (aged between 10 and 16 years old). The prevalence of healthy lifestyle behaviors increased between 2006 and 2014. The healthy lifestyle score worsened with advancing age for boys and girls. Comparing countries, for boys, the highest values were observed in adolescents from Ireland (5.2%, 95% CI: 3.9, 6.4), and for girls, the highest values were observed in adolescents from Iceland (4.2%, 95% CI: 3.6, 4.7). The present study showed a slight trend to an improved healthy lifestyle among adolescents, although much more has to be done. A joint effort from multiple areas of knowledge must be made to improve adolescent health policies, since lifestyles in adolescence play an important role for the development of vulnerability and health in later life.

Physical activity, dietary habits and sleep quality before and during COVID-19 lockdown: A longitudinal study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the health public authorities to impose a lockdown as an epidemiological containment strategy. This study aimed to provide information regarding the impact of the mandatory confinement on the physical activity, eating disorders risk, sleep quality and well-being on a Spanish sample. An online survey that included the Minnesota Leisure Time Physical Activity Questionnaire, the Eating Attitude Test-26, and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was administered two days after the state of alarm was stablished in Spain and five days after such measures began to be eased. Out of the 693 people who answered the first questionnaire, 161 completed the second one. These participants spent a total of 48 days locked at home, a period during which a significant worsening in all the variables assessed except for the risk of developing eating disorders, was observed: weight (kg), 67.3 ± 14.8 vs 67.7 ± 15.1, p = 0.012; physical activity (MET minutes per week), 8515.7 ± 10260.0 vs 5053.5 ± 5502.0, p < 0.001; sleep problems (total score), 6.2 ± 3.5 vs 7.2 ± 3.9, p < 0.001; self-perceived well-being (score), 4 (3-4) vs 3 (3-4), p < 0.001. The confinement had a significant differential effect on physically active participants, who experienced a significant decline (p < 0.05) on their physical activity levels, quality of sleep and well-being; whereas physically inactive participants did not experience significant changes. Findings from this longitudinal study indicate that a lockdown period due to COVID-19 had a negative impact on the physical activity levels, sleep quality and well-being in a group of physically active Spanish adults. Public health authorities should be aware that people who usually lead an active lifestyle, might be particularly susceptible to such disruptions.