Sleep Patterns During Pre-Competition Training Phase: A Comparison Between Male and Female Collegiate Swimmers

Abstract

While there is a rising focus on sleep issues among athletes, a notable gap exists in the comparative analysis of sleep patterns between male and female athletes. This study aims to evaluate the sleep patterns of collegiate swimmers during a specific period (pre-competition training phase) based on the National Sleep Foundation's recommendations and compares sleep differences between males and females. Patients and Methods: 15 swimmers (6 males and 9 females) completed the Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) and wore actigraphy devices for 8 consecutive nights to record objective sleep patterns including bedtime, wake time, sleep onset latency, total sleep time, wake after sleep onset, and sleep efficiency. Results: The total sleep time of collegiate male (5.0±0.4 h, 4.6 to 5.4h) and female (6.0±0.7 h, 5.5 to 6.5h) swimmers was less than 7 hours per night, and male swimmers' sleep efficiency (76.7±8.9%, 67.4 to 86.0%) was lower than the 85% standard. Male swimmers had less objectively measured sleep duration (p=0.006, d=1.66, large effect), lower sleep efficiency (p=0.013, d=1.51, large effect), and longer wake after sleep onset (p=0.096, d=0.94, moderate effect). Female swimmers had higher sleep difficulty scores (p=0.06, d=1.08, moderate effect), and there was a significant difference in the distribution of sleep difficulty scores between male and female swimmers (p=0.033, V=0.045, small effect). Conclusion:Collegiate swimmers exhibited poor sleep patterns during pre-competition preparation, and the sleep fragmentation of male swimmers was more pronounced. There were sex differences in both subjective and objective measured sleep patterns, with male swimmers having less sleep and low efficiency, while female swimmers experienced more significant sleep disturbances.

Response to “Sleep Patterns During Pre-Competition Training Phase: A Comparison Between Male and Female Collegiate Swimmers” [Letter]

“…This research has many advantages, namely: 1) it is a pioneering study that simultaneously compares the sleep patterns of male and female swimming athletes subjectively and objectively; 2) shows the differences in sleep patterns of male and female swimming athletes in terms of quantity and quality; 3) using actigraphy to measure objective sleep, overcoming the information bias associated with subjective sleep measurements; 4) highlight that collegiate swimming athletes have less than optimal sleep quality during the pre-competition preparation phase; 5) provide more specific insight into sleep differences between male and female athletes; 6) emphasizes the importance of a personalized approach in athlete sleep management to improve sleep health and overall athlete performance. 1 …”

“…Unfortunately, in presenting the analysis results in Table 3, researchers still present difficulty sleeping in 4 categories, namely none, mild, moderate and severe. 1 Of course, before carrying out the Fisher’s exact test, the researcher had reduced the four categories to just two categories so that this analysis could be carried out. Information about the results of this category reduction is very important for us and of course also for researchers in general, because it can be a very valuable reference for similar studies.…”