High prevalence of poor sleep quality and sleep deficit: A study in children, adolescents, and adult soccer players.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional survey without control group or longitudinal follow-up
PubMed 41071778 · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0333774
What was done
An observational cross-sectional study surveyed 864 soccer players (747 males, median age 17, interquartile range 14–20) across child, adolescent, and adult age groups and competitive levels. Participants completed an online questionnaire evaluating demographics, sleep quality via the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), daytime sleepiness via the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), chronotype via the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), and self-reported habitual sleep duration and sleep needs.
What was found
Adult players had a higher prevalence of poor sleep quality, excessive daytime sleepiness, and sleep deficit compared to children and adolescents (p < 0.001), with nearly half of adult players meeting criteria for poor sleep quality. Shorter sleep duration correlated with poorer sleep quality and greater daytime sleepiness (rs = -0.59 to -0.17, p < 0.01). Self-reported sleep needs exceeded habitual sleep duration by 42 minutes in teenagers (p < 0.001) and 41 minutes in adults (p < 0.001). Risk of sleep deficit was associated with poor sleep quality (OR = 3.98, 95% CI: 2.78–5.77), excessive daytime sleepiness (OR = 3.72, 95% CI: 2.32–6.10), evening chronotype (OR = 2.54, 95% CI: 1.48–4.40), and later training end times (OR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.07–1.19).
Why it matters
This study demonstrates that sleep deficits and poor sleep quality are common in soccer players across age groups, especially older players, and points to later training times and evening chronotypes as potential risk factors.
Limits
The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality. All sleep parameters and sleep needs were subjective and self-reported via questionnaires rather than measured objectively with actigraphy or polysomnography. The sample was heavily male (86.5%), limiting generalizability to female players.