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Updated: Jun 9, 2025

Human Circadian Phenotyping and Diurnal Performance Testing in the Real World
Published on: April 7, 2020
Chronotype, sleep hygiene, and sleep characteristics among athletes of different disciplines
Stefano Borghi1, Sara Bizzozero1, Jacopo A Vitale2
1IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico Galeazzi, Milan, Italy.
Abstract:
The objective of the study was to assess chronotype, sleep hygiene, and sleep characteristics of Italian athletes in order to identify differences among sport disciplines (team- vs individual-sports), level of competition (Elite vs Non-Elite) and sexes. Moreover, correlations between chronotype, sleep hygiene and sleep quality were evaluated. Two hundred eighty Italian athletes (Females:113; Males:167) participated in the study. They completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) and the MorningnessEveningness Questionnaire (MEQ). Among the athletes, 66.4% were intermediate-type, 21.8% were morning-type and 11.8% were evening-type. 55.4% of the sample was classified as good sleeper (PSQI<5), while 16.1% had poor sleep hygiene (SHI≥35). Females had higher total sleep time (p=0.022) than males. Individual-sports showed more morning-oriented score (p=0.001) and lower PSQI (p=0.006) and SHI (p<0.001) scores, with earlier timing of sleep (bedtime:p<0.001; wake-up time:p<0.001) compared to teamsports. Elite athletes exhibited greater sleep efficiency (p=0.009), and lower sleep latency (p=0.018) and wake after sleep onset (p=0.043) than Non-Elite athletes. Additionally, significant correlations were found between PSQI and SHI (r=0.43, p<0.001), and between MEQ and SHI (r=-0.35, p<0.001). This study yields crucial insights into the sleep behaviors of Italian athletes, revealing that nearly half of the sample were bad sleepers.
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