Evening electronic device use and sleep patterns in athletes |
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| Authors: | Maddison J Jones Brian Dawson Daniel F Gucciardi Peter R Eastwood Joanna Miller Shona L Halson |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Human Sciences (Sport Science, Exercise and Health), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia;2. Western Australian Institute of Sport, High Performance Service Centre, Perth, Australia;3. School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia;4. Centre for Sleep Science, School of Human Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia;5. Department of Physiology, Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra, Australia |
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| Abstract: | The present study aimed to investigate pre-sleep behaviours (including evening electronic device use) and sleep quantity in well-trained athletes. Seventy well-trained athletes (44 females, 26 males) aged 21 ± 4 y from a range of team and individual sports were asked to complete an online sleep diary for 7 days. The sleep diary included questions about pre-sleep behaviours (e.g. napping, caffeine intake), electronic device use in the 2 h prior to bedtime (e.g. type of device and duration of use) and sleep (e.g. time in bed, sleep onset latency). On average, athletes spent 8:20 ± 1:21 h in bed each night. Associations between age, time in bed and sleepiness suggested that younger athletes spent more time in bed (B = -0.05, p = 0.001) but felt sleepier (r = -0.32, p < 0.01) than older athletes. On average, athletes mostly used electronic devices for 0–30 min prior to sleep. The use of multiple devices in the evening was associated with more perceived difficulty in falling asleep (B = 0.22, p = 0.03), but no associations existed with other sleep variables. In summary, younger athletes may require later start times or improved sleep quality to resolve excessive sleepiness. |
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| Keywords: | Performance physiology recovery sleep |
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