Sleep Quality in Adolescent Swimmer Athletes During the Tapering Phase

Keywords

sleep quality - swimmers - tapering

Introduction: Sleep quality is an essential element for the performance and recovery of young athletes, especially those involved in physically demanding sports such as swimming (Costa et al., 2022). Research has shown that adequate sleep not only promotes muscle recovery but also improves cognitive function and overall performance in competitions (Bird, 2013; Watson, 2017). Training in adolescent athletes is characterized by high daily volume and intensity, which may negatively impact the amount of sleep recommended for this age group. This reduction in sleep can affect recovery and performance in athletes (Walsh et al., 2021). For adolescent athletes, whose developmental phase heightens sleep needs, both sleep quality and quantity become even more essential (Wakayama et al., 2001; Rosinha, 2005).

Objective: Analyze sleep quality in young swimmers during the tapering phase.

Methods: Data was collected 21 days before the target competition, with anthropometric measurements taken on the first day. Sleep behavior was initially assessed through polysomnography at the athletes' homes, providing information on SE, TST, SL, and WASO. Athletes were classified as having good sleep (SE > 85%) or poor sleep (SE < 85%). The same variables were monitored over the following three weeks using an actigraph and a sleep diary. Drowsiness was measured using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale. A repeated measures ANOVA compared the athletes' sleep quality over three weeks, with post-hoc the significance level adopted was 5% (p<0.05).

Results: The TTS decreased over the weeks, from 8.48 hours in Week 1 to 7.11 hours in Week 3. ES remained relatively stable, ranging from 78.00% in Week 1 to 79.80% in Week 3. LS increased from 30.10 seconds in Week 1 to 48.10 seconds in Week 3. WASO decreased from 20.00 in Week 1 to 17.00 in Week 3, while drowsiness slightly increased in Week 2 before decreasing in Week 3. The significant results showed that TTS had a very large effect size (1.52), while ES and LS had medium effect sizes (0.63 and 0.65, respectively). Additionally, drowsiness had a medium effect size (0.60).

Conclusion: We conclude that, for young swimmers, sleep quality during the tapering phase is a more significant factor than total sleep duration. Notable differences were observed in sleep efficiency, latency, and levels of sleepiness between the good sleep and the poor sleep groups. Interventions aimed at improving these aspects could significantly enhance athletic performance and recovery.