The effect of the evening meal (timing and content) on sleep quantity and quality measures in the Wellington Phoenix female U20 academy football team : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand
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2024
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Massey University
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Intro: Obtaining sufficient sleep quantity and quality is fundamental for physical recovery and mental well-being of high-performance football athletes. Nutritional strategies to improve sleep for athletes are emerging in the literature. Evening dietary factors such as energy, carbohydrate, protein, and fat intake, and the timing of which they are consumed, has been shown to support sleep quantity and quality. However, the evidence in the athletic population remains highly variable and inconclusive and research on this topic in football athletes, particularly female footballers, is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the evening meal timing, energy intake, and macronutrient composition (e.g. carbohydrate, protein, and fat) on the quantity and quality of sleep for players in the Wellington Phoenix Female U20 Academy Football Team. Methods: Twenty-five members of the Wellington Phoenix Female U20 Academy Football Team (17.6 ± 1.1 years) participated in this study. Participants completed three 24-hour food records and wore a WHOOP® wristband continuously to track their sleep on one light training day (LTD), one heavy training day (HTD), and one pre-game rest day (PGRD) over one week during the Capital Football Talent Development Programme League season. Evening dietary intake was determined by FoodWorks10 Software using the New Zealand and Australian food composition databases. Sleep onset time, total sleep time (TST), and wake periods (WP) were measured by WHOOP®. Comparison of dietary and sleep measures for each data collection day was conducted by a one-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test. Pearson’s correlation coefficient tests were used to determine the correlation between sleep and dietary values. For data that were non-parametric, displayed as median (25th, 75th percentiles), Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The average evening meal intakes were energy 638.9 kcal, 95% CI [569.9, 718.6]; carbohydrate 59.2 g, 95% CI [51.5, 68.1]; protein 32.3 g, 95% CI [28.7, 36.4]; and fat 23.6 g (25th, 75th percentiles: 15.3, 38.9). The average sleep quantity and quality were TST 468.0 ± 65.3 minutes and WP 12.7 ± 5.6, respectively. Of note, 22.2% to 81.8% of players gained suboptimal TST across the three training days according to recommended sleep guidelines. The average -me between the evening meal and sleep start was 221.7 minutes (25th, 75th percentiles: 167.9, 271.6). No significant differences were found in energy, protein, fat, TST, WP, and -me between the three training days. The evening carbohydrate intake was higher on the HTD compared to the LTD (p=0.026). On the PGRD, for every 1 kcal increase in evening energy intake, TST increased by 0.14 minutes (b=0.14, 95% CI [0.04, 0.23], p=0.008), while for every 1 g increase in evening fat intake, TST increased by 1.40 minutes (b=1.40, 95% CI [0.03, 0.34], p=0.021). For every 1% increase in evening carbohydrate intake, TST increased by 1.84 minutes (ß=1.84, 95% CI [0.01, 3.59], p=0.041). Conclusion: This study confirms that poor sleep quantity is prevalent in adolescent footballers who are part of the Wellington Phoenix Female U20 Academy Football Team. This research provides valuable insight into the evening meal habits of adolescent female footballers and shows a positive influence of evening energy, carbohydrate, and fat intake on TST on a PGRD. Therefore, future research may need to review energy and carbohydrate strategies to aid sleep for athletes before competitions or events.