Health-Related Quality of Life and Sleep Patterns in University Dancers Over an Academic Year

Introduction: University dancers endure psychological and physical stress over the academic year which may impact their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and sleep patterns. Previously, university dancers reported decreased HRQoL and poor sleep quality over one semester. Although some information exists on HRQoL and sleep among the dance population, there is limited data on the changes of these variables over an academic year. Thus, we examined (1) relationships between and (2) changes in HRQoL and sleep over an academic year in university dancers. Methods: Twenty-two university dancers (20.5 ± 8.8 years) completed the Short-Form 20 (SF-20) and Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire at 8 specific points over the 2021-2022 academic year. SF-20 scores were coded (scale = 0-100) with higher values describing better health. Five items summed to calculate the Sleep Difficulty Score (SDS) with higher scores describing worse sleep. Pearson correlations between HRQoL and sleep were run at each time point. Based on small-to-moderate correlations, two separate repeated measure ANOVAs followed by Bonferroni-pairwise comparisons analyzed changes in sum HRQoL and sleep over time (p ≤ 0.05). Results: Correlations between HRQoL and sleep were significant at 4 out of 8 time points (T4: r = -0.6, p = 0.004; T5: r = -0.5, p = 0.01; T7: r = -0.5, p = 0.02; T8: r = -0.6, p = 0.002). HRQoL and sleep changed during the study (HRQoL Greenhouse-Geiser results: F_(4.4,92.7) = 4.0, p = 0.004; partial η² = 0.2; SDS Sphericity-Assumed results: F_(7,147) = 7.9, p < 0.001; partial η² = 0.3). HRQoL changed from T1-to-T2 (p = 0.03), while SDS changed from T1-to-T2, T1-to-T3, T1-to-T6, T1-to-T7, T1-to-T8, T4-to-T7, and T5-to-T7 (range: p < 0.001 to 0.03). Conclusions: University dancers' sleep fluctuated more than HRQoL over the year. The first 8 weeks of the semester seem to be critical for university dancers as their HRQoL and sleep declined heading into midterm evaluations. Further research is needed to validate HRQoL measures in dancers. Practitioners may use this information to aid in the maintenance and improvement of overall well-being in their dancers.