In the two previous publications, we considered the negative impact of lack of sleep and rapid time zone changes on sports performance. Now let's focus on the factors that lead to poor sleep and the counteracting solutions:

1. Travel (long-haul flight [1] / bus [2]). Leads to a significant decrease in the sleep quality [1] and duration [2]. Solution: bank sleep prior competitions and travel. For travel west adjust sleep later, get light later, and shift meals later. For travel east adjust sleep earlier, get light early, and shift meals earlier
2. Poor sleep environment [7]. Noise and lighting are the main aspects that caused team sports players to experience problems in falling to sleep [7]. Solution: eliminate electronic devices usage 2 hours before bed, use blackout curtains, wear eye mask and ear plugs
3. Nervousness [5, 11]. Athletes tend to experience high levels of arousal the night before and the night after the competition, which has a negative impact on sleep quality and duration [5, 11]. Solution: mental work with a psychologist, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, warm bath or shower, stretching, breathing techniques
4. Night games & training sessions [3]. Night games are associated with both internal and external factors that may impair sleep. Internal factors, including the significant physiological and metabolic strain, delay parasympathetic reactivation [12]. External factors such as light exposure have acute alerting effects and suppress melatonin production, interfering circadian rhythm [13]. Solution: paper book reading, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, autogenic training, warm bath or shower, stretching, breathing techniques
5. Video games [10]. When played for more than 60 min, video games have a negative impact on sleep quality [9]. The more video games individuals play, the higher their levels of fatigue and insomnia, the more likely they are to need more time to fall asleep, and use sleeping pills more often [8]. Solution: eliminate playing the day before the game and on the game day. On the other days, limit playing time to under 60 minutes and finish not later than 2 hours prior to going to bed
6. Caffeine, alcohol, or nicotine consumption [6, 21]. It shortens REM sleep (deep sleep), prolongs non-REM sleep (light sleep), and negatively impacts the sleep quality [6, 21]. Solution: reduce or completely eliminate caffeine and alcohol consumption. Use nutrients that could positively impact sleep:

• Carbohydrates. A high glycemic index (GI) meal consumed 4 hours before bed significantly reduced sleep onset latency compared to a low GI meal and the same meal consumed 1 hour before bed [14].
• Melatonin. Low doses (0.3 mg or 1 mg) of exogenous melatonin positively affect sleep [15]. In another study, a food-based supplement containing 5 mg melatonin, 225 mg magnesium, and 11.25 mg zinc significantly improved subjective sleep quality scores in the intervention group and total sleep duration [16]
• Tryptophan-rich protein. Relatively small doses (250 mg) of tryptophan can positively impact sleep:

reduces time awake during the night (22.1%), increases subjective sleep quality (11.8%)[17]

• Tart Cherries. Tart cherries contain high concentrations of melatonin and have both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties [18]. Ingestion of 2 × servings of 30 mL concentrate results in significantly elevated total melatonin content, increased total sleep duration (+34 min), improved sleep quality (82.3%) [19], and reduces insomnia [20]

7. Concussions [4]. It is associated with a 2x higher risk of insomnia and sleep disturbances such as difficulty falling asleep, restlessness, and lower sleep duration [4]. Solution: proper evaluation and treatment [22]

Thank you!