Science for practice

Effectiveness of Electrosleep in the Training of Qualified Weightlifters

V. S. Kopysov, All-Union Research Institute of Physical Culture (VNIIFK); A. D. Nagorny, Trudovye Rezervy All-Union Voluntary Sports Society

English summary of Tyazhelaya Atletika. Ezhegodnik 1982 (Moscow: Fizkultura i Sport, 1982), pp. 51–53: the text is paraphrased, not translated; data tables are given in full with English labels.

Background

Electrosleep: pulsed currents to the brain induce a sleep-like state, sedative or stimulating depending on the initial state, restoring neurovascular, neurohumoral and neuroendocrine regulation; harmless, simple, effective in about 86% of cases.
Used with wrestlers (V. A. Geselevich, 1969), track athletes (O. V. Dashkevich, 1977) and for time-zone travel (V. G. Shumsky, 1979), but not studied in weightlifting.

Pilot study

40 MS; ES-3 and ES-4 devices, 100–150 Hz, 3–8 mA; 350 sessions. Markers: anxiety (Spielberger–Khanin), skin resistance, heart rate.
Indications: sleep problems (common before competitions), overtraining, hyper- or hypotension, arrhythmia, neurotic reactions, sharply raised intensity.
Timing: 14:00–16:00, 19:00–21:00 or before night sleep; at meets, between snatch and clean-and-jerk.
82% fell asleep within 10–15 min at the first session; all felt relaxed and less anxious. Emotional state normalised faster than with passive rest (P < 0.05).

Table 1. Emotional-state indicators after electrosleep and after passive rest

Indicator	Initial	After electrosleep	P	After passive rest	P
Anxiety, points	48 ± 18	29 ± 10	< 0.05	44 ± 17	> 0.05
Heart rate, beats/min	81 ± 6	70 ± 4	< 0.05	77 ± *	> 0.05
Skin resistance, “ma” (unit as printed)	51 ± 14	34 ± 12	< 0.05	44 ± 12	> 0.05

* σ missing in the source.

Training-camp experiment

Two matched groups, four weeks, identical loads: 1400 lifts at 78.3% intensity. Group 1: 14 sessions of 30–40 min (afternoon nap, after intense sessions, before night sleep); group 2: none.
Group 1 worked better: +12.3% successful maximum-weight lifts (P < 0.05).

Table 2. Success of training in the experimental groups

Group	Athletes	Successful lifts with maximum weights		Expert rating of preparation, points
Group	Athletes	M ± σ	P	M ± σ	P
1 (electrosleep)	18	96.5 ± *	3.1*	9.2 ± 0.7	< 0.05
2 (control)	18	84.2 ± 4.7	0.05*	7.2 ± 1.1	< 0.05

* Damaged in the source: σ for group 1 is missing and the P column reads “3.1 / 0.05”; 3.1 is probably the displaced σ and P < 0.05, as stated in the text.

Use at competitions

Group 1 had a 30-min session after the weigh-in and a 20-min session between the snatch and the clean-and-jerk. They outperformed the controls by 7.2–16.5% (P < 0.05) and were visibly more composed.

Table 3. Competition performance in the experimental groups

Group	Athletes	Successful attempts, %		Actual vs planned result, %
		M ± σ	P	M ± σ	P
1 (electrosleep)	16	74.6 ± 12.3	< 0.05	96.5 ± 3.2	< 0.05
2 (control)	16	58.1 ± 10.2		89.3 ± 2.4

Conclusion

Electrosleep markedly speeds the normalisation of lifters' emotional state after hard training and improves both preparation and competition performance.