'Football is good for your sleep': favorable sleep patterns and psychological functioning of adolescent male intense football players compared to controls.
It is commonly assumed that physical activity exerts a favorable impact on sleep, although scientific evidence is lacking. This study investigated the impact of football sports on the sleep patterns of 36 male chronic and intense football players and 34 controls. Participants completed a sleep log for seven consecutive days. Compared to controls, football players reported shorter sleep onset latency, fewer awakenings, higher scores of sleep quality and a lower variability of sleep from weekdays to weekends. The findings suggest that football sports activity is positively associated with both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of sleep.
Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Depression and Sleep Research Unit, Basel, Switzerland. serge.brand@upkbs.ch
Serge
S
Brand
Johannes
J
Beck
Markus
M
Gerber
Martin
M
Hatzinger
Edith
E
Holsboer-Trachsler
D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention; D001294:Attitude to Health; D056344:Executive Function; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012890:Sleep; D012916:Soccer / Q000523:psychology*; D014851:Wakefulness