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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of Ramadan fasting on sleep quality and daytime sleepiness in team sport referees. Seventy-eight male amateur team sport referees (age: 31.1 ± 10.8 years) participated in this study. Participants responded to the Arabic version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) questionnaires before (10-days prior) and during (last 7-days) the month of Ramadan. PSQI and ESS scores increased significantly during Ramadan (both p <.001, ES = 0.56 and 0.54, respectively) with 83.3% of participants scoring ≥5 in the PSQI. The percentage of participants suffering from severe excessive daytime sleepiness (ESS score ≥ 16) was 3.8% before vs. 7.7% during Ramadan (p < 0.001). Sleep duration decreased by ~ 1 h during Ramadan (p <.001, ES = 0.61) and was associated with a delay in bedtime of ~ 2 h (p < 0.001, ES = 0.7) and of wake-up time of ~ 1 h (p < 0.001, ES = 0.5). The score for daytime dysfunction and subjective sleep perception, as components of the PSQI, increased (both p < 0.001; ES = 0.79, ES = 0.57, respectively), whereas the score for the use of sleep medication decreased during vs. before Ramadan (p = 0.041, ES = 0.47). Ramadan fasting impaired sleep quality and increased daytime sleepiness in team sport referees. Future studies, using objective assessment tools, are warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the two different time-of-day effect on team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances. At two different time-of-day, fifteen young female team handball players performed different physical tests: HandGrip (HG) test, Ball-Throwing Velocity (BTV) test, Modified Agility T-test (MAT) and Repeated Shuttle-Sprint and Jump Ability (RSSJA) test. Rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale was determined following the termination of the last test. Measurements were performed at two separate testing sessions (i.e., in the morning (7:00–8:30 h) and in the early evening (17:00–18:30 h)) in a randomised and counter-balanced setting on non-consecutive days. The results showed that HG (P = 0.0013), BTV (P = 0.0027) and MAT (P < 0.001) performances were better in the evening compared with the morning. During RSSJA, both best and mean sprint times were shorter in the evening compared to the morning (P < 0.001). Moreover, during the latter test, mean jump performance was higher in the evening compared to the morning (P = 0.026). However, there was no morning–evening difference in the best jump performance during RSSJA. Likewise, jump performance decrement was not affected by the time-of-day of testing. On the other hand, RPE fluctuated, with morning nadirs and afternoon/early evening highest values. The findings suggest that in female team handball players, team-handball-related short-term maximal physical performances were better in the afternoon than in the morning. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]