Case Report: Effect of low energy availability and training load on sleep in a male combat sport athlete

PURPOSE: The aim of this case report was to describe the sleep responses in a male combat sport athlete, who was engaging in both chronic (CWL) and acute (AWL) weight loss practices in order to reduce body mass for a national competition. METHODS: During the first seven weeks of training (Phases 1 and 2), the athlete adhered to a daily energy intake (EI) equating to their resting metabolic rate (1700 kcal·day(−1)) followed by a reduction in EI (915–300 kcal·day(−1)) in the 5 days before weighing in (Phase 3). Nocturnal sleep was monitored throughout the 8-week training period using wristwatch actigraphy and frequent measurements of body mass/composition, daily exercise energy expenditure and training load (TL) were taken. RESULTS: The athlete was in a state of low energy availability (LEA) during the entire training period. There was a very large decrease in LEA status during phase 3 compared with phases 1 and 2 (3 vs. 20 kcal·kgFFM·day(−1)) and there was a small decrease in TL during phase 3 compared with phase 2 (410 vs. 523 AU). The athlete's sleep efficiency increased throughout the training period, but total sleep time displayed a small to moderate decrease in phase 3 compared with phases 1 and 2 (386 vs. 429 and 430 min). However, correlational analysis demonstrated trivial to small, non-significant relationships between sleep characteristics and the athlete's LEA status and TL. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that CWL and AWL practices that cause fluctuations in LEA and TL may be implemented without compromising the sleep of combat sport athletes.