Early morning sport scheduling is associated with poorer subjective sleep characteristics in British student‐athletes

Abstract

AbstractThis study presents the sleep characteristics of British student‐athletes and examines the relationships between sport scheduling and time demands on sleep outcomes. Student‐athletes (n = 157, 51% male) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and the Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI). Self‐reported sleep characteristics on weekdays and weekends, weekly frequencies of early morning and late evening sport sessions, and academic‐related and sport‐related time demands were also collected. Questionnaires revealed a high prevalence of undesired sleep characteristics including poor sleep quality (global PSQI >5 in 49.0%) and low sleep durations on weekdays (25% reporting <7 h). Paired t‐tests revealed significant differences in bedtime, waketime, sleep duration, and sleep onset latency between weekdays and weekends (all p < 0.01). Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that early morning sport frequency was a significant predictor of PSQI (β = 0.30) and SHI (β = 0.24) global scores, weekday waketimes (β = −0.17), and weekday sleep durations (β = −0.25; all p < 0.05) in models adjusted for participant characteristics. Late evening sport frequency, and academic‐related and sport‐related time demands, were not significant predictors of any sleep outcome. Adjusting sport scheduling to avoid early start times could provide a means to improve sleep outcomes and may improve sporting performance and academic attainment.