Author(s): ELBE, A.M., FRYTZ, P., Institution: LEIPZIG UNIVERSITY, Country: GERMANY, Abstract-ID: 523

Athletes need sufficient restorative sleep to meet the demands of competitive sports. However, due to late competitions, intense training sessions, and dual demands, athletes often experience a sleep deficit (Walsh et al., 2021). Behavioral strategies aimed at enhancing sleep hygiene are frequently employed to reduce this sleep deficit (Bartel et al., 2015). In addition to these strategies, studies indicate that psychological determinants like the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness; Ryan & Deci, 2000) during the day may also improve sleep quality (Campbell et al., 2015).
This study is the first to investigate this relationship in a cohort of competitive athletes (N=48). Thirty-two female and 16 male athletes (M=20.00 years, SD=4.44) from individual and team sports wore actigraphs (Motionwatch 8) for 14 days to measure objective sleep parameters (sleep onset latency, sleep duration, sleep efficiency). Individual sleep deficit and subjective sleep quality were recorded via morning sleep logs. In daily evening logs, athletes reported their basic needs satisfaction, pre-sleep arousal and training load. One-time questionnaires at the beginning of the study also captured general sleep quality (PSQI), chronotype (D-MEQ), and satisfaction of needs in sports (PNSEG) and sleep. Data collection for the study is completed, and the data analysis is ongoing.
Multilevel analysis will determine whether daily basic needs satisfaction has the expected positive impact on athletes sleep quality and reduces their individual sleep deficit. The results aim to unravel the sleep dynamics of athletes and to highlight potential interventions for optimizing athletes sleep.

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Walsh, N. P., Halson, S. L., Sargent, C., Roach, G. D., Nédélec, M., Gupta, L., Leeder, J., Fullagar, H. H., Coutts, A. J., Edwards, B. J., Pullinger, S. A., Robertson, C. M., Burniston, J. G., Lastella, M., le Meur, Y., Hausswirth, C., Bender, A. M., Grandner, M. A., & Samuels, C. H. (2021). Sleep and the athlete: Narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 55(7), 356–368. https://doi.org/10.1136/BJSPORTS-2020-10202