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Sleep patterns of elite youth team-sport athletes prior to and during international competition
Ramírez, Carlos A. Till, Kevin Beasley, Grant Giuliano, Pierosario Leduc, Cédric Dalton-Barron, Nicholas Weakley, Jonathon J. S. Jones, Ben
Ramírez, Carlos A.
Till, Kevin
Beasley, Grant
Giuliano, Pierosario
Leduc, Cédric
Dalton-Barron, Nicholas
Weakley, Jonathon J. S.
Jones, Ben
Abstract
Objective: To examine the effects of international competition on sleep patterns of elite youth team-sport athletes from two national squads compared to a baseline period. Methods: Fifty elite male youth rugby players from two squads were assessed two weeks before (HOME) and throughout two match-day cycles (matchday−1, matchday, matchday+1) of an international competition (COMP). Players were selected to represent their nation during the Six Nations Festival and completed daily self-reported sleep diaries before and during a competitive period. Linear mixed models were used to examine differences between HOME and COMP, and within camp days. Effect sizes±90% confidence intervals (ES±90%CI) were calculated to quantify the magnitude of pairwise differences. Results: Participants spent more time in bed (34.6±13.9 min; ES=0.26±0.19), slept for longer (35.4±12.7 min; ES=0.30±0.19), and woke up later (36.5±9.5 min; ES=0.41±0.20) in COMP compared to HOME, but maintained their regular bedtime (−1.8±11.2 min; ES=0.02±0.19), sleep onset latency (4.1±3.2 min; ES=0.17±0.25) and rating of sleep quality (0.30±0.17; ES=0.17±0.19). Conclusions: Elite youth team-sport athletes sleep for longer during a competition camp compared to home resulting from a delay in wake-up times. This highlights the opportunity for implementing interventions to improve sleep patterns in international-level team sport athletes in their daily environment.
Keywords
fatigue, recovery, performance, rugby, six nations
Date
2019
Type
Journal article
Journal
Science and Medicine in Football
Book
Volume
4
Issue
1
Page Range
15-21
Article Number
ACU Department
Collections
Relation URI
Source URL
Event URL
Open Access Status
License
File Access
Controlled