Sleep characteristics, sources of perceived stress and coping strategies in adolescent athletes

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine sleep characteristics, scheduling of activities, perceived stress and coping strategies between periods of perceived high and low scheduling commitments in adolescent athletes. Twenty adolescents (10 male and 10 female) wore an Actiwatch during two 14‐day testing periods, one in in January (JAN), which was deemed to be a period of low school and sport commitments, and one in March (MAR), during which there was a high volume of school and sport commitments. Actiwatches and sleep diaries assessed sleep quantity and quality, a daily schedule of all activities in 30‐min increments was recorded and questionnaires related to perceived stress and coping strategies were administered. Time in bed and asleep, latency, efficiency and number of awakenings were not different between JAN and MAR (p > 0.05). Sleep durations were lower than their age‐related recommendations (JAN 449 ± 47 min versus MAR 437 ± 31 min). Examination of differences between sexes showed shorter latency and higher sleep efficiency in female participants compared with male participants. Participants spent more time at school, completing homework, and travelling to and competing in sport, with reduced time spent on resting, social activities, physical activity and meal times during MAR compared with JAN (p < 0.05). Finally, stress levels were significantly increased during MAR compared with JAN, with no difference between sexes (p < 0.05). Adolescent athletes not attaining sufficient sleep quantity or quality during periods of low and high school and sport commitments, are experiencing increased perceived stress during these busy times but are using a wider range of coping strategies during this time.

Adolescent football players’ sleep, wellness and school physical activity over different phases of the year

“…Skein et al. 8 compared two weeks during the holidays to two weeks during school term (inclusive of weekends) and found no significant difference in adolescent athletes sleep duration as assessed by actigraphy. The inclusion of weekend sleep in the Skein et al.…”

“…The inclusion of weekend sleep in the Skein et al. 8 study could have reduced the difference between holiday and school term mean weekly sleep duration. 28 Nonetheless, our findings are in agreeance with previous research in non-athletic adolescent Australian populations, 9 which reported increases in sleep duration of 36 min to 1 h 17 min in the holidays.…”

“…For example, a study on 20 adolescent athletes found no difference in sleep duration between two weeks of school term and two weeks of holidays. 8 However, large studies in non-athletic adolescent populations have reported significantly greater holiday sleep durations compared to school term. 9 Conflicting results may be due to differences in methodologies (i.e.…”

Contemporary Variables that Impact Sleep and Development in Female Adolescent Swimmers and Gymnasts

“…Additionally, while the AAP does not recommend the stimulant caffeine to be consumed by adolescents [7], 30-50% report ingesting it [8], which may alter their sleep [9]. Youth athletes face these challenges to their sleep with the additional factors of (a) practice, competition, and travel times that may disrupt sleep [10,11], (b) physical and mental stressors of athletic performance [12], and (c) pain and recuperation due to injury [13].…”

Measuring Athletes’ Perception of the Sport Nutrition Information Environment: The Adaptation and Validation of the Diet Information Overload Scale among Elite Athletes

“…Athletes can be considered as a vulnerable group of consumers because sport demands an ever-increasing allocation of time and energy [ 11 , 12 ]. Athletes are at the center of the flow of nutrition information [ 13 ], but it is an open-ended question as to how they can process these pieces of knowledge.…”