Sleep health and sleep disorders in Swiss elite athletes.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional survey without control group
PubMed 42141166 · doi:10.1007/s44192-026-00446-z
What was done
An anonymous online survey was conducted in late fall 2023 among Swiss national squad athletes at junior and elite levels across up to 100 sports. Out of 5,188 invited athletes, 2,293 completed the survey (mean age 22.05 ± 7.5 years; 46.4% female, 53.6% male). The survey assessed symptoms of specific sleep disorders, sleep efficiency, restorative sleep, sleep medication use, and multidimensional sleep health.
What was found
Symptoms suggestive of a sleep disorder requiring clinical evaluation were reported by 25.8% of athletes. Specific reported conditions included non-REM parasomnias such as sleepwalking and night terrors (8.7%), insomnia (7.5%), restless legs syndrome (6.6%), nightmares (6.3%), and sleep apnea (3.4%). Additionally, 20.1% reported poor sleep efficiency, 18.3% perceived sleep as non-restorative, and 3.1% reported regular use of sleep medication. Overall, 17.7% demonstrated poor sleep health by failing in at least two of six assessed domains.
Why it matters
This study provides large-scale prevalence estimates indicating that approximately one in four elite athletes experiences symptoms suggestive of a medically relevant sleep disorder, supporting the consideration of routine sleep screening in sports medicine.
Limits
Outcomes rely entirely on self-reported survey data without objective diagnostic validation such as polysomnography, actigraphy, or structured clinical interviews. The response rate was 44.2% (2,293 of 5,188), which leaves potential for self-selection bias. The cross-sectional design cannot establish causality between sleep issues and athletic performance or mental health disorders, and findings from Swiss national squads may not generalize to other athletic populations.