Self-Reported, Current and Ideal Sleep Habits of Adolescent Athletes

BACKGROUND: Leading health organizations recommend adolescents obtain 8 to 10 hours of sleep each day. There is a growing body of literature that suggests many adolescents, including athletes, are not meeting these recommendations; however, barriers to obtaining adequate sleep are still largely unknown. PURPOSE: To quantify sleep habits in a group of athletes and to understand how their current habits compare with their self-reported ideal sleep durations. METHODS: One hundred seventy three adolescent team- and individual-sport athletes (16 ± 2 y; male: n=139, female: n=34) from 10 different sports completed both Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) surveys during a laboratory visit. The PSQI was analyzed to determine self-reported habitual bedtime, wake time, and sleep duration, as well as sleep quality over the previous month. The ESS was analyzed to determine self-reported ideal bedtime, wake time, and sleep duration. Data are presented as mean ± SD. A paired t-test was used to compare current and desired sleep durations. RESULTS: Habitual bedtime (n=171) was 22:37 ± 0:46. Habitual wake time (n=167) was 06:47 ± 0:58. Self-reported actual sleep duration was 7.6 ± 1.0 h with 54% of athletes obtaining less than the recommendation of 8 h of sleep per night. To feel their best, ideal self-reported bedtime (n=162) was 21:57 ± 0:41 and self-reported wake time (n=159) was 07:49 ± 1:18. Calculated ideal total sleep duration (n=158) was 9.9 ± 1.4 h, which was significantly longer than actual sleep duration (n=155; p<0.001). Habitual sleep quality, assessed as the mean Global PSQI score, (n=159) was 4.3 ± 2.2; however, 63 athletes (39.6%) had a score ≥5, which is the PSQI cutoff indicative of poor sleep quality. CONCLUSIONS: Self-reported habitual sleep duration in a group of adolescent athletes suggests the majority do not meet the minimum sleep duration recommendations and many have poor sleep quality. However, when reporting their ideal sleep habits, most athletes would prefer to obtain significantly more sleep, desiring durations at the top end of the recommendations even. This suggests lack of desire is not the main reason for sub-optimal sleep duration in this group. Therefore, researchers and practitioners should focus on identifying and creating solutions to overcome barriers to sleep.