Does Elite Sport Degrade Sleep Quality? A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine
• Sleep Science
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Limited systematic information exists on sleep quality and insomnia in elite athletes.
• The risk of chronic insomnia associated with elite sport performance is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review and profile objective and subjective sleep characteristics in elite athletes.
• To investigate the relationship between elite sport participation and insomnia symptoms.

Main Methods:

• Systematic search of SPORTDiscus, PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases up to April 2016.
• Inclusion of studies on sleep in athletes defined on an 'eliteness' continuum.
• Categorization of studies based on sleep structure, quality/insomnia, or sport-sleep associations.

Main Results:

• 37 studies were identified from 1676 records; evidence quality was generally low.
• Elite athletes report high levels of sleep complaints, including longer sleep onset latency and increased sleep fragmentation.
• Training, travel, and competition were identified as significant risk factors for sleep disturbance.

Conclusions:

• Elite athletes exhibit a high prevalence of insomnia symptoms, such as difficulty initiating sleep, fragmented sleep, and daytime fatigue.
• Inter-sport variations in these symptoms are notable.
• Pre-sleep cognitive arousal and sleep restriction are implicated as mechanisms underlying sport-related insomnia.