TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1985//
TI  - Circadian rhythms in competitive sabre fencers: internal desynchronization and performance
JO  - Chronobiology international
A1  - Reinberg, A.
A1  - Proux, S.
A1  - Bartal, J. P.
A1  - Levi, F.
A1  - Bicakova-Rocher, A.
SP  - 195
EP  - 201
VL  - 2
IS  - 3
N2  - During a 7-10 day span, circadian rhythms of sleep-wake, self-rated fatigue and mood, oral temperature, eye-hand skill and right and left hand grip strength were investigated in eight subjects: five males (21-28 years of age), members of the French sabre fencing team selected for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and three females (19-26 years of age) practicing fleuret (foil) fencing as a sports activity. On the average six measurements/day/variable/subject were performed. The single cosinor method showed that a circadian rhythm was detectable for only 26 out of the 56 time series (46.4%). Power spectrum analysis gave almost the same figure (19 out of 48: 39.5%) with regard to rhythms with tau = 24 hr indicating that with one exception (subject JFL) rhythms were internally desynchronized including differences tau between right and left hand grip strength rhythms for three subjects. <br><br>RESULTS suggest: (a) a physiologic synchronization of circadian rhythms may be a predictor of good performance; (b) however, internal desynchronization as shown previously may be a trivial phenomenon and thus does not imply in itself alterations of either health or performance; (c) chronobiologic methods should be recommended for a better understanding of changes in performance by those participating in competitive and other sports.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0742-0528
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -