The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite Athletes
Background: Poor sleep and resultant under-recovery can negatively impact training adaptations, increase the risk of injury and reduce subsequent performance. Due to the ‘food first’ approach adopted by many athletes, there is scope for investigation of ‘functional food’ based interventions (i.e., k...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-05-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/10/2274 |
| _version_ | 1797598808405704704 |
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| author | Rónán Doherty Sharon Madigan Alan Nevill Giles Warrington Jason Gordon Ellis |
| author_facet | Rónán Doherty Sharon Madigan Alan Nevill Giles Warrington Jason Gordon Ellis |
| author_sort | Rónán Doherty |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Poor sleep and resultant under-recovery can negatively impact training adaptations, increase the risk of injury and reduce subsequent performance. Due to the ‘food first’ approach adopted by many athletes, there is scope for investigation of ‘functional food’ based interventions (i.e., kiwifruit contains melatonin which plays a role in circadian rhythm regulation) designed to promote athlete recovery and/or enhance sleep quality and quantity. Methods: Following the baseline assessment (Week 1) all subjects began the intervention (Weeks 2–5). During the 4-week intervention, participants were asked to consume 2 medium-sized green kiwifruit (<i>Actinidia Deliciosa</i>) an hour before bed. Participants completed a questionnaire battery at baseline and post-intervention, and a daily sleep dairy for the duration of the study. Results: The results demonstrated a positive impact of kiwifruit consumption on key aspects of sleep and recovery in elite athletes. From baseline to post-intervention, there were clinically significant improvements in sleep quality (i.e., improved PSQI global scores and sleep quality component scores) and improvements in recovery stress balance (reduced general stress and sports stress scales). Moreover, the intervention improved sleep as evidenced by significant increases in total sleep time and sleep efficiency % and significant reductions in number of awakenings and wake after sleep onset. Conclusion: The findings broadly suggested that kiwifruit does impact positively on sleep and recovery in elite athletes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:26:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-318584313bfc4946b038b532e9bf8d69 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T03:26:14Z |
| publishDate | 2023-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-318584313bfc4946b038b532e9bf8d692023-11-18T02:44:05ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432023-05-011510227410.3390/nu15102274The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite AthletesRónán Doherty0Sharon Madigan1Alan Nevill2Giles Warrington3Jason Gordon Ellis4Sports Lab North West, Atlantic Technological University Donegal, Letterkenny Campus, Port Road, F92 FC93 Letterkenny, IrelandSport Ireland Institute, National Sport Campus, Abbotstown, D15 PNON Dublin, IrelandFaculty of Education, Health and Wellbeing, University of Wolverhampton, Walsall Campus, Walsall WV1 1LY, UKSport and Human Performance Research Centre, University of Limerick, V94 T9PX Limerick, IrelandNorthumbria Centre for Sleep Research, Northumbria University, Newcastle NE7 7XA, UKBackground: Poor sleep and resultant under-recovery can negatively impact training adaptations, increase the risk of injury and reduce subsequent performance. Due to the ‘food first’ approach adopted by many athletes, there is scope for investigation of ‘functional food’ based interventions (i.e., kiwifruit contains melatonin which plays a role in circadian rhythm regulation) designed to promote athlete recovery and/or enhance sleep quality and quantity. Methods: Following the baseline assessment (Week 1) all subjects began the intervention (Weeks 2–5). During the 4-week intervention, participants were asked to consume 2 medium-sized green kiwifruit (<i>Actinidia Deliciosa</i>) an hour before bed. Participants completed a questionnaire battery at baseline and post-intervention, and a daily sleep dairy for the duration of the study. Results: The results demonstrated a positive impact of kiwifruit consumption on key aspects of sleep and recovery in elite athletes. From baseline to post-intervention, there were clinically significant improvements in sleep quality (i.e., improved PSQI global scores and sleep quality component scores) and improvements in recovery stress balance (reduced general stress and sports stress scales). Moreover, the intervention improved sleep as evidenced by significant increases in total sleep time and sleep efficiency % and significant reductions in number of awakenings and wake after sleep onset. Conclusion: The findings broadly suggested that kiwifruit does impact positively on sleep and recovery in elite athletes.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/10/2274sleepnutritionrecoveryathletes |
| spellingShingle | Rónán Doherty Sharon Madigan Alan Nevill Giles Warrington Jason Gordon Ellis The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite Athletes Nutrients sleep nutrition recovery athletes |
| title | The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite Athletes |
| title_full | The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite Athletes |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite Athletes |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite Athletes |
| title_short | The Impact of Kiwifruit Consumption on the Sleep and Recovery of Elite Athletes |
| title_sort | impact of kiwifruit consumption on the sleep and recovery of elite athletes |
| topic | sleep nutrition recovery athletes |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/10/2274 |
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