SNR #145: Ian Dunican, PhD - Sleep, Training Timing & Performance in Elite Athletes

Episode 145: Sleep & performance researcher Ian Dunican of the Australian Institute of Sport, discusses some of his work examining the effects of sleep, circadian disruption, training timing and travel schedules on the performance and recovery of elite level athletes. 

Ian Dunican is currently undertaking PhD research at University of Western Australia (UWA) and Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) investigating, among other things, the impact of evening use of electronic devices on sleep and next day athletic performance, the effects of jet lag and transmeridian travel on athletic performance, and the prevalence of sleeping disorders amongst professional Rugby players.

 In this episode we discuss:

• What does the evidence base tell us about poor sleep and the impact for athletes?
• Athlete sleep patterns
• Work examining the effects of travel schedules on sleep and performance
• Fatigue Avoidance Scheduling Tool
• Training timing & schedules effect on performance and sleep
• Amateur athletes  sleep and circadian rhythm distruption due to shift work
• Is pre-training caffeine contraindicated for PM sessions?
• The effect of using electronic devices by elite athletes before sleep
• Future directions for research in this area