Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data
Introduction: Unassisted rowing across the Atlantic Ocean is an extreme undertaking challenging the human body in every possible way. The reported rowing journey lasted for 42 days in a small vessel with 12 rowers, each rowing for 12 h a day, broken into 3 h shifts. This schedule disrupts the natura...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:eebf5248ffa948ab9b3ad342e06a1ec6 2023-10-09T21:54:09+02:00 Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data Klaus Zeiner Babak Dabiri Ciara Burns Lena Kummer Eugenijus Kaniusas 2023-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438 https://doaj.org/article/eebf5248ffa948ab9b3ad342e06a1ec6 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-042X 1664-042X doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438 https://doaj.org/article/eebf5248ffa948ab9b3ad342e06a1ec6 Frontiers in Physiology, Vol 14 (2023) unassisted rowing resilience autonomic nervous system sleep heart rate variability circadian cycle Physiology QP1-981 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438 2023-09-24T00:38:32Z Introduction: Unassisted rowing across the Atlantic Ocean is an extreme undertaking challenging the human body in every possible way. The reported rowing journey lasted for 42 days in a small vessel with 12 rowers, each rowing for 12 h a day, broken into 3 h shifts. This schedule disrupts the natural circadian cycle and autonomic balance, affecting subjective and objective wellbeing and sleep quality, that lack continuous empirical quantification.Methods: With a self-reported questionnaire and objective heart rate variability measurements every second day in a single female rower, we monitor evolutions of the subjective sleep quality and mental wellbeing as well as autonomic body control over the journey duration. We evaluate the hypothesis that extreme rowing impairs subjective and objective data in a similar way over time and that 3 h shifts diminish the circadian rhythm of the autonomic body control.Results: The sleep quality was mainly influenced by wake ups during sleep, while mental wellbeing was predominantly influenced by physical exhaustion. The perceived sleep quality and wellbeing dropped 2–3 days after the start with the rower not yet accommodated, in the middle of the journey with major wake ups, and again 5–6 days prior to the end with major exhaustion of the participant. Evolutions of the subjective perceptions diverge from that of the heart rate variability. The body’s autonomic recovery during short sleep periods progressively decreases over the journey duration while the vagal activity rises and the sympathovagal balance shifts towards vagal tone. The shifts of 3 h weaken the circadian rhythm of the heart rate variability.Discussion: Our results demonstrate how human body meets extreme mental and physical exhaustion on the high seas. The gained physiological and psychological insights also offer a basis for effective preparation of undertakings involving extreme physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Physiology 14 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
unassisted rowing resilience autonomic nervous system sleep heart rate variability circadian cycle Physiology QP1-981 |
spellingShingle |
unassisted rowing resilience autonomic nervous system sleep heart rate variability circadian cycle Physiology QP1-981 Klaus Zeiner Babak Dabiri Ciara Burns Lena Kummer Eugenijus Kaniusas Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data |
topic_facet |
unassisted rowing resilience autonomic nervous system sleep heart rate variability circadian cycle Physiology QP1-981 |
description |
Introduction: Unassisted rowing across the Atlantic Ocean is an extreme undertaking challenging the human body in every possible way. The reported rowing journey lasted for 42 days in a small vessel with 12 rowers, each rowing for 12 h a day, broken into 3 h shifts. This schedule disrupts the natural circadian cycle and autonomic balance, affecting subjective and objective wellbeing and sleep quality, that lack continuous empirical quantification.Methods: With a self-reported questionnaire and objective heart rate variability measurements every second day in a single female rower, we monitor evolutions of the subjective sleep quality and mental wellbeing as well as autonomic body control over the journey duration. We evaluate the hypothesis that extreme rowing impairs subjective and objective data in a similar way over time and that 3 h shifts diminish the circadian rhythm of the autonomic body control.Results: The sleep quality was mainly influenced by wake ups during sleep, while mental wellbeing was predominantly influenced by physical exhaustion. The perceived sleep quality and wellbeing dropped 2–3 days after the start with the rower not yet accommodated, in the middle of the journey with major wake ups, and again 5–6 days prior to the end with major exhaustion of the participant. Evolutions of the subjective perceptions diverge from that of the heart rate variability. The body’s autonomic recovery during short sleep periods progressively decreases over the journey duration while the vagal activity rises and the sympathovagal balance shifts towards vagal tone. The shifts of 3 h weaken the circadian rhythm of the heart rate variability.Discussion: Our results demonstrate how human body meets extreme mental and physical exhaustion on the high seas. The gained physiological and psychological insights also offer a basis for effective preparation of undertakings involving extreme physical exhaustion and sleep deprivation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Klaus Zeiner Babak Dabiri Ciara Burns Lena Kummer Eugenijus Kaniusas |
author_facet |
Klaus Zeiner Babak Dabiri Ciara Burns Lena Kummer Eugenijus Kaniusas |
author_sort |
Klaus Zeiner |
title |
Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data |
title_short |
Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data |
title_full |
Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data |
title_fullStr |
Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the North Atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data |
title_sort |
mental and physiological wellbeing while rowing across the north atlantic: a single-case study of subjective versus objective data |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438 https://doaj.org/article/eebf5248ffa948ab9b3ad342e06a1ec6 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Frontiers in Physiology, Vol 14 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438/full https://doaj.org/toc/1664-042X 1664-042X doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438 https://doaj.org/article/eebf5248ffa948ab9b3ad342e06a1ec6 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2023.1244438 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Physiology |
container_volume |
14 |
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1779317616104439808 |