Effect of the Quality of Dietary Proteins on the Sleep Young Elite Athletes and the Obese Adolescent

Summary

Adolescence is characterized by major transitions in sleep and circadian rhythm. This rapid pivotal period increases the risks of sleep debt and poor sleep quality, leading to pronounced diurnal fatigue and drowsiness . Some adolescent's populations are more vulnerable than others to poor sleep. Obesity and elite sports involvement are two factors that have been distinctly associated with disturbed sleep. Several studies show that obesity was associated with a decrease in sleep efficiency and increased arousals . On the other hand, recent studies point out that sleep problem is widespread in young athletes which substantially increase the risks of injury, burnout and concussions .

Despite the importance of sleep in holistic development, physical (i.e. recovery, metabolism, muscle growth, weight control), cognitive (i.e. learning, memory, decision-making, Vigilance) and athletic performances (Fullagar et al., 2015).

A wide range of recent papers emphasize that some nutrients take part in the regulation of internal clock and sleep quality. The effect of tryptophan (Trp) on sleep was lifted on the basis of the serotonergic hypothesis. Serotonin (5-HT) is synthesized from Trp circulating in the brain following two-step procedure in raphe neurons. Serotonin, in turn, is a precursor of melatonin and both molecules contribute to the regulation of sleep-wake behaviors. However, Trp is an essential amino acid, which means that it cannot be synthesized by the organism, and must exclusively be provided via degradation of proteins from the diet. The passage of tryptophan to the brain is assured through carrier disposed at the blood-brain barrier level. However, carrier transport depends on other competitive amino acids (LNAAs: leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, and tyrosine). Therefore, increased brain uptake of tryptophan does not depend only on Trp concentrations but rather on the blood Trp / LNAA ratio.

PROTMORPHEUS trial, was designed to examine how supplementation with proteins of different Trp/LNAA ratio affect sleep on adolescents (obese, athletes) with mild sleep disturbances.

Conditions

• Obese Adolescent
• Elite Adolescent Athletes

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

tryptophan

Each experimental session will be carried out over a week. Adolescents will take part randomly in three sessions. In order to limit inter-individual differences, the diet of the first 3 days will be fixed to the RDA followed by 3 days where dietary intake will be supplemented with different protein (PROT REF : ratio = 0,04 PROT1 : ratio = 0,07, session PROT2 : ratio = 0,11). Tryptophan (Trp) / Large neutral amino acids (Lnaa) ratio of proteins taken varies-double-blind between sessions. All proteins had the same dose and packages. Neither the researcher nor the participants were aware of the quality of the protein.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Livia Fantini · University Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

14 Years

Max Age

18 Years

Sex

MALE

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-11-04

Primary Completion

2021-03-01

Completion

2022-03-01

Countries

• France

Study Locations