Sleep health and sleep disorders in Swiss elite athletes

This study assessed medically relevant symptoms of sleep disorders in elite athletes across all sport types in a large-scale Swiss sample. In late fall 2023, a total of 2293 out of 5188 members of a national squad at junior or elite level participated in an anonymous online survey (M_age = 22.05 years; SD = 7.5, 46.4% female, 53.6% male), stemming from up to 100 different sports, including alpine skiing, athletics, football, and tennis. A total of 25.8% of athletes exhibited symptoms suggestive of sleep disorders requiring clinical evaluation. The most commonly reported conditions were insomnia (7.5%), sleep apnea (3.4%), restless legs syndrome (6.6%), nightmares (6.3%), and non-REM parasomnias, including sleepwalking and night terrors (8.7%). Furthermore, 18.3% of athletes perceived their sleep as non-restorative, and 20.1% showed poor sleep efficiency. Regular use of sleep medication was reported by 3.1% of athletes. Overall, 17.7% of athletes demonstrated poor sleep health, failing in at least two of the six assessed domains. It appears that one in four elite athletes suffers from medically relevant sleep disorders that may impair performance and increase the risk of mental health problems, particularly depression and anxiety disorders. Routine screening and treatment of the causes of sleep disorders might effectively improve performance among athletes.