Can sleep hygiene interventions affect strength and power outcomes for female athletes?

Abstract

Abstract Background: Previous evidence has demonstrated greater sleep to enhance sprint, endurance, and sports-specific skills, however, it is yet to be investigated whether improved sleep indices could enhance strength and power performance. Sleep hygiene (SH) is growing in popularity as a tool to enhance sleep indices amongst athletic cohorts, yet the optimal delivery strategy of sleep hygiene education is yet to be determined. Aims: The aims of this study were to investigate whether sleep hygiene interventions affect strength and power outcomes, with a secondary aim to assess whether there are any differences between individualised and group-based SH education on sleep indices in female athletes. Methods: Using a randomised, controlled design with repeated measures, 34 female footballers were split into 3 groups: one receiving both group-based and individualised sleep hygiene, one receiving only group-based SH and a control group receiving no education. Monitoring of sleep and physical performance was carried out at week 1, 4 and 7. Split-plot ANOVAs assessed for differences between groups x weeks, and groups x time. Results: Individualised sleep hygiene education resulted in significantly improved sleep duration (p =0.005), latency (p=0.006) and efficiency (p=0.004) at week 7 compared to controls, whilst also resulting in significantly improved countermovement jump scores (p=0.001) compared to control. Conclusions: Participants receiving group-based sleep hygiene education only, demonstrated significantly improved sleep efficiency compared to controls (p=0.032). Jump performance may be affected by sleep factors, and individualised SH may be superior to group-based SH. This provides information to coaches regarding training optimisation and the efficacy of SH education methods.