Effects on athletic performance

Both partial and complete sleep deprivation have plausible adverse effects on athletic performance, training, and injuries. Research conclusions range widely from no effects to very significant effects, with the absence of any study describing beneficial effects after sleep deprivation. Therefore, an optimal sleep strategy clearly represents a potential performance advantage for athletes. 

As discussed in section 10.6, fatty acids are the major fuel for red muscle fibres, which are the main type involved in moderate exercise. Children who lack one or other of the enzymes required for carnitine synthesis, and are therefore reliant on a dietary intake, have poor exercise tolerance because they have an impaired ability to transport fatty acids into the mitochondria for -oxidation. Provision of supplements of carnitine to the affected children overcomes the problem. Extrapolation from this rare clinical condition has led to the use of carnitine as a so-called ergogenic aid to improve athletic performance. A number of studies have shown that relatively large supplements of carnitine increase the muscle content of carnitine to only a small extent, and most studies have shown no significant effect on athletic performance or endurance. This is not surprising — carnitine is readily synthesized from lysine and methionine, and there is no evidence that any dietary intake is required. 

Vitamin C Present findings indicate that meissive doses of vitamin C are not only ineffective in improving the performance of athletes, but may have a negative effect on athletic performance by disturbing the equilibrium between oxygen transport and oxygen utilization. 

The two series of eicosanoids are illustrated in Table 1.2. The products, depending on their local serum concentrations or amoimts secreted, have elfects on ndgh-boring cells and tissues. It is the actions of these eicosanoids of one type or anotha-that may have important effects on athletic performance, almost exclusively in the highly trained competitive athletes (see below). 

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See also in sourсe #XX -- [ ]

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