Comment on Gattoni et al: Sleep deprivation training to reduce the negative effects of sleep loss on endurance performance: a single case study (SPONET-ID 4074380) We read with great interest the case study by Gattoni et al on a novel and experimental intervention called sleep deprivation (SD) training, consisting of a weekly night of SD during 6 weeks prior an ultraendurance competition (ie, a 6-d running race). The topic is of high interest! SD is a major component of ultrarunning performance on distance >100 miles and has important health consequences on multiday ultramarathon since it induces an important decrease in velocity throughout the race, leading to a very low intensity in the final part of the race, that likely partly prevents cardiac and neuromuscular fatigue, compared with shorter events; in other words, the increasing sleepiness level has indirectly a "protective" effect by impacting the athlete`s pacing and consequently by limiting the load-induced physiological alterations during this type of event.
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