Introduction
Muslim sportsmen are required to fast from sunrise to sunset every day during Ramadan. Most athletes will continue to train during Ramadan, and others may be forced to participate in competitions at homeland (Budak, 2006). They will, however, participate in religious, cultural, and social events during Ramadan. According to existing studies, high-level athletes may maintain performance during Ramadan if their physical training, food and hydration consumption, and sleep are all appropriate and well-controlled (Chtourou, 2022; Buitelaar, 1993). Individualized athlete monitoring may aid in the prevention of weariness and overtraining, as well as the risk of illness and injury.
Perceptions of an Athlete’s Performance and Ramadan
To maximize the training response, the time and intensity of training may need to be adjusted. Individual and team sports, as well as situations that are mostly Muslim and those that are predominantly non-Muslim, may benefit from training close to or after sunset (ben Ammar et al., 2021). Late-day training allows for post-workout food therapy to improve responses to the training stimulus, recovery, and maybe avoid muscle injury. Sleep deprivation has a range of detrimental effects on health and performance, therefore athletes should make sure they receive adequate sleep throughout Ramadan. Coaches and players in non-Muslim majority environments, especially in team sports, should be aware of the requirements of their teammates who may be fasting (Beals, 2004). When planning sporting events, event organizers should consider the needs of Muslim athletes.
Ramadan observance necessitates a one-month fast from both food and drink from dawn to sunset. This type of intermittent fasting is likely to have an impact on a competitive athlete’s training and performance. According to a poll of 734 16-year-old sportsmen, 29% said their performance was worse during Ramadan (Gad et al., 2022). During the day, food and drink intake is allowed, but meals must be limited to two rather than three or more, with no opportunity for midday snacks (Flanagan & Cuppett, 2017). With a late evening meal and an early breakfast reducing the typical hours of sleep, one may expect a drop in overall calorie intake and a shift in diet composition.
A dynamic reduction in muscular and hepatic glycogen reserves, a progressive fall in both liquid assets and blood glucose levels over the hours of daylight, the risk of dehydration during the sustained effort, low availability of metabolites for both anaerobic and endurance activity, and cerebral implications of falling blood glucose such as a deterioration of mood state, an elevated perception of effort, and a reduce in cognitive pessimism are all possible practical issues.
During the Olympics
However, the severity of any negative effects is determined on the type and amount of competition, as well as the length of the daily fast. It is significantly better when Ramadan falls during the summer months, and it is much better when competing at high latitudes rather than tropical latitudes. The temperature and humidity are particularly high at Arabia and North Africa during the month of Ramadan. Given the fact that the 2012 Olympic Games are indeed being hosted in London during Ramadan, the topic is timely (Goldblatt, 2016). Studies on the physiological effects of Ramadan have been frequently published in Arabic and Eastern Mediterranean regional journals. Unfortunately, it has not always been clear if the individuals under investigation were athletes, and if so, what sport they were competing in and at what level. In certain situations, subjects demonstrated a considerable drop in body mass (Close et al., 2022; Dunford & Doyle, 2014; Iqrasense, 2013). For practical reasons, most studies do not include a control group, making it unable to discriminate between the effects of seasonal changes in the environment and activity vs intermittent fasting.
Ramadan’s effects on BMI, calorie consumption, and the percentages of glucose, fat, and carbohydrates in the diet have all been widely examined in the past. In general, only minor changes have been made to these variables (Hausswirth, 2019; Hoffman, 2019; Hong & Rao, 2020). Changes in sports performance (anaerobic and endurance performance, muscular strength, mood state and effort perceptions, and a danger of team collaboration degradation) are the subject of the current study (Jagim et al., 2022; Jennings, 2012; Khalili et al., 2022). The physiological basis for these changes is examined, as well as techniques for reducing the detrimental impact on athletes competing in international tournaments who prefer to observe Ramadan.
Non-disabled Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset every year during Ramadan, the Islamic month of fasting. During the night, eating and drinking are permitted with no limits on the amount or type of food or liquids eaten. In the tropics, this entails a daily fast of 12-14 hours. Muslims typically consume the majority of their daily nutritional intake in two sittings, the first soon before sunrise (i.e., the sahur feast) and the second just after the day’s fast is broken (i.e., the iftar meal) (Khan, 2018). Fasting and sports participation during Ramadan is not a new topic, and most Muslim athletes have not stopped from training and competing throughout Ramadan at the Olympic Games in London (Lanham-New et al., 2011). However, adhering to socio-religious rituals at this time might cause interruptions in the athlete’s normal routine, which can have physiological and psychological effects.
Muslims make over 88 percent of Malaysia’s national athletes. During the month of Ramadan, these athletes continue to train, and the effects of Ramadan fasting on training and exercise performance are varied. According to several research, strength, anaerobic, and high-intensity aerobic versions are all harmed. Lack of food and hydration, as well as a daily sleep deficit, were mentioned as probable variables that might affect exercise performance during Ramadan (Maughan et al., 2012; McKone, 2013; Murphy et al., 2022; Piattoly, 2022). Furthermore, Muslim athletes have reported an increase in subjective symptoms of exhaustion, malaise, lethargy, and mood swings, which may contribute to their difficulty to maintain physical efforts, particularly during high-intensity exercise.
Other studies, on the other hand, have found that Ramadan fasting had no effect on Muslim athletes’ exercise performance. This discovery might be explained by the fact that these Muslim sportsmen can cope with the psychological and physical effects of Ramadan fasting. This means adjusting and changing their normal lifestyle and behavior patterns (Mahmood et al., 2022). Consuming extra food and hydration throughout the permitted period of the day, as well as minimizing non-essential physical activity, are examples of such tactics (Baranauskas et al., 2022). Maintaining a healthy mental attitude toward the Ramadan fast by focusing on quality rather than quantity of exercise and sleeping early or napping throughout the day.
Conclusion
It was also suggested that Muslim athletes have fasted and trained concurrently for many years and have found unique demands and tactics that they are comfortable with via “trial and error” (Pritchett & Meyer, 2018). The participants in that research were senior-level national athletes, and there were less than 170 difficulties (Bouhlel & Shephard, 2015; Chantler et al., 2022). Due to their comparatively short years of competition and training exposure, junior athletes may have less knowledge and expertise to cope with the disruptions of Ramadan fasting when compared to Senior athletes. There hasn’t been a large-scale survey to discover elements that could influence junior-level national athletes’ training or competition during Ramadan fasting. As a result, the goal of this research was to learn more about people’s subjective perceptions of Ramadan fasting’s influence on sports performance and training, as well as the behavioral and training modifications that accompany it. Coaches and players will benefit from the information acquired from this survey, according to the investigation.
Most Malaysian Muslim junior-level athletes did not believe that fasting during Ramadan would harm their competitive sports performance, according to the statistics. The same group of athletes had differing perspectives on the influence of the Ramadan fast on their training quality (Ramadan et al., 2022; Shephard, 2012; Singh et al., 2011; Zargar et al., 2013). Despite many of them experienced daytime tiredness, the majority of the athletes did not believe their sleep habits had been altered (Soleimanifar et al., 2022; Tsouros & Efstathiou, 2007). Most athletes say they ate the same amount of food before and throughout Ramadan, while virtually everyone believes they drank more water during Ramadan. The disparate results are likely due to individual variances in the athletes’ adaptation and coping techniques throughout Ramadan fasting and training. The findings of this study may aid coaches in better planning and maybe assisting their players in adopting specialized techniques to deal better throughout Ramadan while training and competing.
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