Self‐reported sleep quantity, quality and sleep hygiene in elite athletes

Abstract

SUMMARYSleep is essential for recovery and performance in elite athletes. While actigraphy-based studies revealed suboptimal sleep in athletes, information on their subjective experience of sleep is scarce. Relatively unexplored is also the extent to which athletes' sleep is adversely affected by environmental conditions and daytime behaviours, that is sleep hygiene. This study aimed to provide insight in sleep quantity, quality and its putative association with sleep hygiene. Participants were 98 elite (youth) athletes competing at the highest (inter-)national level. Sleep quantity, quality and sleep hygiene were assessed once covering a 1-month period by using established (sub)clinical questionnaires, and repeatedly during 7 consecutive days. Sleep quality was generally healthy, although 41% of all athletes could be classified as 'poor sleeper', and 12% were identified as having a sleep disorder. Daily self-monitoring revealed sleep durations of 8:11 AE 0:45 h, but elevated wake after sleep onset of 13 AE 19 min. Sleep quality, feeling refreshed, and morning vigor were moderate at best. Regarding sleep hygiene, general measures revealed irregular sleep-wake patterns, psychological strain and activating pre-sleep behaviours. At the daily level, blue-light exposure and late-evening consumption of heavy meals were frequently reported. General sleep hygiene revealed significant associations with sleep quality (0.45 < r > 0.50; P < 0.001). Results indicate that there is ample room for optimization, specifically in onset latency and in wake after sleep onset. Subtle improvements in sleep seem possible, and optimizing sleep hygiene, such as regular sleep-wake patterns and reducing psychological strain, may facilitate this sleep upgrading process.

Effects of training and competition on the sleep of elite athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

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Daily Resting Heart Rate Variability in Adolescent Swimmers during 11 Weeks of Training

“…It was rather unexpected that values of day-to-day HRV (lnRMSSD) did not correlate with the duration of night sleep. Sleep is indispensable for recovery and performance progress in athletes [36,37]. It is well established that the autonomic nervous system plays an important role in the modulation of cardiovascular functions during the onset of sleep and in transition between sleep phases [38].…”

Influence of Perceptions of Sleep on Well-Being in Youth Athletes

“…In the last decade, there has been a large increase in research surrounding the sleep profiles of athletes (16,22), and the health and performance consequences of sleep disturbances (9,39). Such research has shown that athletes are liable to suffer reduced sleep quantity and quality (16,22,32), which can lead to decrements in sporting performance (7,23), increased risk of illness (6) and deviations in wellbeing measures (19,27). These findings have resulted in practitioners commonly including measures of perceived sleep quality in daily wellbeing questionnaires aimed at monitoring their athletes (2,24,40).…”