How much sleep does an elite athlete need?
Journal article
Sargent, Charli, Lastella, Michelle, Halson, Shona L. and Roach, Gregory D.. (2021). How much sleep does an elite athlete need? International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. 16(12), pp. 1746-1757. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2020-0896
Authors | Sargent, Charli, Lastella, Michelle, Halson, Shona L. and Roach, Gregory D. |
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Abstract | Purpose: Anecdotal reports indicate that many elite athletes are dissatisfied with their sleep, but little is known about their actual sleep requirements. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the self-assessed sleep need of elite athletes with an objective measure of their habitual sleep duration. Methods: Participants were 175 elite athletes (n = 30 females), age 22.2 (3.8) years (mean [SD]) from 12 individual and team sports. The athletes answered the question “how many hours of sleep do you need to feel rested?” and they kept a self-report sleep diary and wore a wrist activity monitor for ∼12 nights during a normal phase of training. For each athlete, a sleep deficit index was calculated by subtracting their average sleep duration from their self-assessed sleep need. Results: The athletes needed 8.3 (0.9) hours of sleep to feel rested, their average sleep duration was 6.7 (0.8) hours, and they had a sleep deficit index of 96.0 (60.6) minutes. Only 3% of athletes obtained enough sleep to satisfy their self-assessed sleep need, and 71% of athletes fell short by an hour or more. Specifically, habitual sleep duration was shorter in athletes from individual sports than in athletes from team sports (F1,173 = 13.1, P < .001; d = 0.6, medium), despite their similar sleep need (F1,173 = 1.40, P = .24; d = 0.2, small). Conclusions: The majority of elite athletes obtain substantially less than their self-assessed sleep need. This is a critical finding, given that insufficient sleep may compromise an athlete’s capacity to train effectively and/or compete optimally. |
Keywords | sleep duration; sleep need; sleep deficit; recovery |
Year | 2021 |
Journal | International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance |
Journal citation | 16 (12), pp. 1746-1757 |
Publisher | Human Kinetics Publishers |
ISSN | 1555-0273 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2020-0896 |
PubMed ID | 34021090 |
Scopus EID | 2-s2.0-85125549298 |
Page range | 1746-1757 |
Funder | Australian Research Council (ARC) |
Publisher's version | License All rights reserved File Access Level Controlled |
Output status | Published |
Publication dates | |
Online | 21 May 2021 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 31 Oct 2023 |
ARC Funded Research | This output has been funded, wholly or partially, under the Australian Research Council Act 2001 |
Grant ID | LP0990371 |
https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/8zxyz/how-much-sleep-does-an-elite-athlete-need
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