Mood, sleep, fatigue and recovery profiles from the first all-female UK military team rowing 3000 miles across the Atlantic

INTRODUCTION: Atlantic rowing challenges test the limits of human endurance. We examined the effects on mood, sleep, fatigue and recovery during a 3000 mile Atlantic rowing race, with implications for women in combat roles in the military. METHODS: Four female British Army personnel (mean age 32.3±4.3 years) completed the 'World's Toughest Row', an unsupported, 3000 mile race across the Atlantic in 46 days. Validated questionnaires included: Brief Assessment of Mood (BAM), Subjective Assessment of Fatigue (SAF), Total Quality of Recovery (TQR) and sleep (Pittsburgh Insomnia Rating Scale). Descriptive statistics, generalised estimating equations and correlations were used for analysis. RESULTS: Participant mean height: (168.0±6.8 cm), pre-race weight (67.4±3.8 kg), post-race weight (57.0±6.0 kg), Δ body mass loss (10.3±3.3 kg; 15.5%). Results from the BAM showed that tension and fatigue decreased towards the middle and end of the race (p=0.001), with depressive mood only on days 16 and 40 (p=0.001). Significant differences on SAF (p=0.001) were observed at the end and TQR towards mid to end of the race (p=0.001). Mean sleep time was 3.8 hours (±0.95; range 3.3-4.5 hours). A strong negative correlation was observed between lower levels of perceived recovery and higher levels of fatigue when individuals slept between 3 and 3.5 hours (r=-0.67; p=0.001), as well as on days when individuals slept between 4 and 4.5 hours (r=-0.61; p=0.006). Longer sleep duration was correlated with greater perception of rest quality (r=0.51; p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The team successfully completed an extreme endurance rowing race, adding to military understanding that arduous challenges are feasible, despite short periods of sleep deprivation, without negatively affecting overall performance. Meticulous pre-race selection, training and preparation helped to achieve this, providing further evidence that female service personnel are capable of completing extended, arduous missions.