NORTHERN IRISH TEAM USE SA INNOVATION AT COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Team Northern Ireland have turned to a South African innovation to help their athletes, who competed in the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Australia, get critical performance enhancing sleep.

The importance of sleep in athletic performance has become the focus of attention for sports physicians around the world as individuals and teams look for anything that will give them the advantage over their rivals. Sleep helps the body repair itself so if an athlete is not getting enough sleep, then they will not be able to perform at their peak.

Developed by a South African specialist ophthalmologist, SleepSpec are scientifically engineered glasses with amber tinted lenses which filter out blue light that is known to suppress production of the hormone melatonin which is needed to induce sleep.

At night, as the sun sets the body produces melatonin. When the sun rises, light – in particular blue light – increases stopping the production of melatonin, causing the body to wake up. Known as the circadian, this sleep/awake cycle is responsible for controlling ones’ sleep patterns.

Nowadays, however artificial light from lights and particularly from electronic devices, means that the brain struggles to distinguish the change from day to night. As a result, melatonin production is suppressed, and our bodies are unable to move effectively into sleep mode.

SleepSpec works by filtering out blue light and allowing the body to produce melatonin naturally, inducing quality sleep and recovery and because they can be used to at any time of the day or night, they can help the body adapt to new time zones, reducing the effects of jetlag, which also affects athletic performance.

According to Damian Martin, Northern Ireland Team Physiologist who has been working with the country’s boxing squad, there is a lot of focus on rest and recovery in terms of delivering better performance. They also needed a natural, drug-free way of helping the athletes reduce the effect of jetlag.

“My colleague Dr Richard McCann, who provides physiological support to the NI international soccer team, circulated an article to our department which demonstrated how Premier League side Bournemouth FC were using SleepSpec during travel to away games. This in combination with the published literature was used to inform our decision to use SleepSpec travel packs to complement the overall travel management program for the entire Commonwealth Games squad,” explains Martin.

REM sleep provides energy to both the brain and body. If sleep is cut short or disturbed, the body doesn’t have time to repair memory, consolidate memory, and release hormones including melatonin, a powerful anti-oxidant which helps cells get rid of free radicals and other toxins.

According to the American National Sleep Foundation, sleep deprivation has also been seen to decrease production of glycogen and carbohydrates that are stored for energy use during physical activity. Therefore, less sleep increases the possibility of fatigue, low energy, and poor focus at game time. It may also slow recovery post-game.

Of the benefits, Martin says all athletes and staff were given the glasses to wear. “So far we have received extremely positive feedback from most athletes and support staff particularly the boxing, swimming and netball teams.

“SleepSpec has helped to restrict light exposure at specific times throughout the travel period at the Commonwealth Games and has helped facilitate the readjustment of our athletes’ internal body clock, minimising disturbance to normal training and reducing the potential impact of travel fatigue and jet lag. ”

Locally SleepSpec have been used by the Lions Super Rugby Team for the past three years. Team Physician Dr Rob Collins explains that recovery has become a focus area over the past number of years, which has resulted in sleep being emphasised. “We monitor sleep of every athlete every day – amount and quality of sleep is individual, so we look for changes from the athlete’s norm as a sign to prevent injuries. Many of our athletes have definitely found that SleepSpecs have assisted them in sleeping better.”

SleepSpec are a range of amber-tinted glasses which absorb sleep-disturbing blue light enabling the body to produce the hormone Melatonin, which is needed to induce sleep. The range can be used to promote good sleep habits and for the management of jetlag when travelling across time zones.

Ground Floor Mediclinic Morningside, Cnr Hill & Rivonia Road, Morningside, Sandton, 2196, South Africa

SleepSpec Contact
Kerry-Ann Scrase
The Word Workshop
+27 82 882 7599
kerry@wordworkshop.co.za
www.sleepspec.com

Sport Northern Ireland Contact
Debbie McGrory
Communications Officer
Sport Northern Ireland
T: 02890381222
DebbieMcGrory@sportni.net
www.sportni.net

This release was published on openPR.