A Tripartite Framework of Conflict-Induced Stress, Acoustic Hypervigilance, and Ramadan Observance as Convergent Determinants of Circadian Decoherence in Athletes

Athletes living and training in active conflict zones face a combination of distinct biological pressures that disrupt the body's internal 24-hour clock and stress-hormone systems. The constant psychological threat of conflict keeps the body's stress-hormone axis chronically active, raising cortisol levels, heightening alertness, and making it harder to fall and stay asleep. A key problem in the existing research is that nighttime sleep disruption in conflict zones has often been incorrectly described as ordinary screen-related sleep loss. In reality, government-issued missile warning sirens and emergency phone alerts force athletes fully awake, trigger an acute surge of stress hormones, and, over time, condition the nervous system to treat all nighttime sounds as threats. This pathway, which we call conflict-specific acoustic hypervigilance, is biologically distinct from the sleep disruption caused by voluntary smartphone use. For Muslim athletes in these regions, Ramadan fasting adds further strain: eating and drinking only after sunset shifts the body's internal timing, causes progressive daytime dehydration, and may delay the hormonal signals that govern sleep. This review argues that when all three pressures operate at the same time, their combined effect on sleep, hormones, and recovery may exceed what any one pressure would cause alone, a state we call circadian decoherence. Our proposed Tripartite Athletic Stress Framework maps how these three stressors interact and amplify each other. We propose two measurable cortisol markers as practical tools for monitoring biological overload in affected athletes. Practical countermeasures, including noise management, adjusted meal timing, strategic napping, and psychological resilience training, are outlined with direct reference to the framework's intervention targets.