Sleep in German female youth national ice hockey athletes

BackgroundAdequate sleep is of great importance in recovering from and preparing for training and competition.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate subjective sleep quality and daytime sleepiness of the German women’s junior national ice hockey team before and after a training camp immediately preceding the World Championship Division IA tournament.Materials and methodsTwenty athletes (16.40 ± 0.68 years) completed German paper–pencil versions of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) before the training camp (T1, day 1) and on the final day of the training camp (T2, day 7).ResultsPaired t-tests indicated a significant decrease in PSQI global scores from pre- to post-training camp assessments (t = 2.33, p = 0.031, df = 19), with a medium effect size (d = 0.52). Regarding ESS global scores, results of the paired t-test indicated no significant pre- to post-training camp differences (t = 0.67, p = 0.510, df = 19) and the effect size was trivial (d = 0.15). Mean scores were reduced for both PSQI (T1 = 5.90 ± 2.36, T2 = 4.65 ± 2.18) and ESS (T1 = 9.00 ± 3.58, T2 = 8.60 ± 4.04) after the training camp. When analyzed according to the position of the players, no statistically significant intergroup differences were found.ConclusionThis study underlines the need for monitoring and screening youth athletes’ sleep before special sports events in order to identify a potential need for intervention as early as possible, to prevent serious consequences for athletes’ performance capability and well-being.