Prevalence of Poor Sleep Quality and its Association with Lifestyle Habits, Competition-Based Activities, and Psychological Distress in Japanese Student-Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Takafumi Monma; Kazuki Yamashita; Goichiro Yoshida; Eiji Fujita; Taiki Miyazawa; Naoyuki Ebine; Keita Matsukura; Satoko Takeda; Misato Matamura; Maki Yamane; Kayoko Ando; Naomi Omi; Hiroyuki Sagayama; Fumi Takeda

doi:10.1055/s-0043-1772811

Prevalence of Poor Sleep Quality and its Association with Lifestyle Habits, Competition-Based Activities, and Psychological Distress in Japanese Student-Athletes During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Sleep Sci. 2024 Feb 28;17(1):e26-e36. doi: 10.1055/s-0043-1772811. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Health and Sport Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
² Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
³ Faculty of Sports and Life Science, National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya, Kanoya, Kagoshima, Japan.
⁴ Faculty of Wellness, Shigakkan University, Obu, Aichi, Japan.
⁵ Faculty of Health and Sports Science, Doshisha University, Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan.
⁶ Faculty of Sport Study, Biwako Seikei Sport College, Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
⁷ Faculty of Sport Sciences, Nihon Fukushi University, Mihama, Aichi, Japan.

Abstract

Objectives The present study clarified the prevalence of poor sleep quality and its relation to lifestyle habits, competitive-based activities, and psychological distress among Japanese student-athletes in the initial pandemic period (2020) and 1 year later (2021). Methods In the present study, student-athletes were defined as individuals belonging to university athletic clubs. The data of two cross-sectional surveys (2020: n = 961 and 2021: n = 711) were collected from student-athletes in 6 universities in Japan. First, the prevalence of poor sleep quality (Pittsburgh sleep quality index score > 5) was investigated. Relationships between poor sleep quality and lifestyle habits, competition-based activities, and psychological distress were then explored using multivariate logistic regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index. Results The prevalence of poor sleep quality was 33.6% in 2020 and 36.6% in 2021. Poor sleep quality in 2020 was related to late bedtime, taking supplements before bed, part-time job (no late night), stressors of expectations and pressure from others, and psychological distress, whereas that in 2021 was related to early wake-up time, skipping breakfast, taking caffeinated drinks before bed, use of smartphone/cellphone after lights out, stressors of motivation loss, and psychological distress. Conclusions In both 2020 and 2021, one-third of student-athletes had poor sleep quality and psychological distress was its common risk factor. Lifestyle habits and competition stressors associated with poor sleep quality were pandemic-specific in 2020, but similar to the prepandemic period in 2021.

Keywords: COVID-19; competition stressors; lifestyle habits; psychological distress; sleep quality; student-athletes.

Brazilian Sleep Association. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ).

Grants and funding

Funding Source The present study was supported in part by a grant from Advanced Research Initiative for Human High Performance (ARIHHP), University of Tsukuba.