title: Sleep quality evaluation, chronotype, sleepiness and anxiety of Paralympic Brazilian athletes: Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of this study was to evaluate the sleep quality, sleepiness, chronotype and the anxiety level of Brazilian Paralympics athletes before the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study. Setting Exercise and Psychobiology Studies Center (CEPE) and Universidade Federal de São Paulo, an urban city in Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 27 Paralympics athletes of both genders (16 men and 11 women) with an average age of 28±6 years who practised athletics (track and field events) were evaluated.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sleep quality was evaluated using the Pittsburgh Scale and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale to evaluate sleepiness. Chronotype was determined by the Horne and Östberg questionnaire and anxiety through the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The evaluations were performed in Brazil 10 days before the competition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study's results demonstrate that 83.3% of the athletes that presented excessive daytime sleepiness also had poor sleep quality. The authors noted that 71.4% were classified into the morning type and 72% of the athletes who presented a medium anxiety level also presented poor sleep quality. Athletes with poor sleep quality showed significantly lower sleep efficiency (p=0.0119) and greater sleep latency (p=0.0068) than athletes with good sleep quality. Athletes who presented excessive daytime sleepiness presented lower sleep efficiency compared to non-sleepy athletes (p=0.0241).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The authors conclude that the majority of athletes presented poor sleep quality before the competition. This information should be taken into consideration whenever possible when scheduling rest, training and competition times.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicobiologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Francisco de Castro 93, Vila Clementino-SP, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andressa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Sandra Souza
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Queiroz
authors.forename: Ciro
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Winckler
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vital
authors.forename: Ronnie Andrade
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sousa
authors.forename: Vander
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Fagundes
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tufik
authors.forename: Marco Túlio
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: de Mello
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D056352:Athletes / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001938:Brazil; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013732:Test Anxiety Scale; D014142:Track and Field / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data