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. 2018 Sep 5;1(1):3-12.
doi: 10.3390/clockssleep1010002. eCollection 2019 Mar.

Sleep Quality and Chronotype Differences between Elite Athletes and Non-Athlete Controls

Amy M Bender  1 , Hans P A Van Dongen  2   3 , Charles H Samuels  1   4
Affiliations

Sleep Quality and Chronotype Differences between Elite Athletes and Non-Athlete Controls

Amy M Bender et al. Clocks Sleep. .

Abstract

Previous research has found that elite athletes have insufficient sleep, yet the specific kinds of sleep disturbances occurring as compared to a control group are limited. Here we compare the subjective sleep quality and chronotype of elite athletes to a control group of non-athlete good sleepers. Sixty-three winter Canadian National Team athletes (mean age 26.0 ± 0.0; 32% females) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Athlete Morningness Eveningness Scale. They were compared to 83 healthy, non-athlete, good-sleeper controls (aged 27.3 ± 3.7; 51% females) who completed the PSQI and the Composite Scale of Morningness. The elite athletes reported poorer sleep quality (PSQI global score 5.0 ± 2.6) relative to the controls (PSQI global score 2.6 ± 1.3), despite there being no group difference in self-reported sleep duration (athletes 8.1 ± 1.0 h; controls 8.0 ± 0.7 h). Further, athletes' chronotype distribution showed a greater skew toward morningness, despite there being no group differences in self-reported usual bedtime and wake time. These results suggest that a misalignment of sleep times with circadian preference could contribute to poorer sleep quality in elite athletes.

Keywords: circadian misalignment; eveningness; morningness; sleep disturbance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of InterestH.P.A.V.D. declares no conflict of interest. A.M.B. and C.H.S. previously published the clinical validation of the Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire to be used in athletes instead of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Athlete Morningness Eveningness Scale. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) global sleep quality scores. Those with PSQI global scores ≤ 5 are classified as good sleepers; those with global scores > 5 are classified as poor sleepers.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Distribution of reasons for trouble sleeping during the past month for the sleep disturbances component of the PSQI.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of chronotype scores. Questionnaire scores were binned into nine equal intervals prior to analysis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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