A importância do sono na recuperação física de atletas - uma revisão narrativa

Abstract

Introduction: Sleep has a phase with rapid eye movements (REM) and one without rapid eye movements (NREM). NREM sleep contains 3 phases. During stage 3 of NREM sleep, growth hormones are secreted, stimulating protein synthesis. Sleep is necessary for recovery, but athletes seem to have a quality and amount of poor sleep. Objective: This study aimed to inform about the importance of sleep in the physical recovery of athletes. Methodology: The search for articles was performed on the Scielo and Medline platforms by means of the descriptors: sleep AND recovery AND athletes from 2008 to 2018. Articles were selected that reported the quality and quantity of sleep in athletes in general, relationship of sleep with recovery and performance. The exclusion criteria were: to use or report about athletes with concussion, about the Ramadan period or about senior or junior athletes. Results: 128 articles were found and 116 were excluded. 17 articles were deleted because of concussion, 15 on junior, 3 on junior and senior, 3 on Ramadan, 1 being Swedish, 1 being Spanish and 76 not meeting eligibility criteria. Twelve articles were selected, being 5 literature reviews, 2 experimental studies and 5 observational studies. Conclusion: It is concluded that the quality and amount of sleep of athletes are below the desired level. This can have harmful effects on athletic performance, especially when poor sleep often occurs. Sleep monitoring can be done through questionnaires, sleep diaries, polysomnography, or pulse activity monitor.