A recent study examined the relationship between energy availability and sleep quality in elite swimmers.
This is especially relevant in sports with high training volumes and multiple daily sessions.
Looking at recovery as a whole
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Anyone who chronically consumes too little energy risks more than performance problems. Recovery, sleep and resilience can also suffer.
Coaches should therefore not treat sleep, nutrition and training load as separate systems, but monitor them together.
High training volume changes energy requirements
Competitive swimmers can reach substantial energy expenditure through multiple pool and land sessions each week. If this load is not matched by sufficient energy intake, the energy available for other bodily functions can fall.
The problem is not caused only by deliberate dieting. A full school or work day, missed meals between sessions or inadequate food provision at training camps can also lead athletes to consume too little over extended periods.
Sleep as part of the overall picture
Poor sleep should therefore not be viewed solely as an isolated problem. Training load, stress, energy intake and daily structure can be interconnected.
For coaches, even simple monitoring can be useful: sleep duration, subjective recovery, mood, training quality and noticeable changes in body weight can provide clues that something has moved out of balance.
Persistent problems require professional support from sports medicine and qualified nutrition professionals. Especially in elite sport, the goal should not be the lowest possible body weight, but adequate fuelling for training, health and development.
SCIENTIFIC SOURCE
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42070107/