Perceptual health and wellbeing, self-reported sleep, and hydration status in youth soccer players during competition

Michael King, Rachel Kimble, Matthew Brown, Seamus McCafferty, Hannah Lithgow*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Introduction: The aim of this study was to assess match time courses on hydration, wellness, and sleep as well as the interrelationship between these variables in youth national soccer players.

Materials and Methods: Under-17 and under-19 youth national soccer players (age range: 16.96 ± 1.17 years) completed a perceptual wellness questionnaire, self-reported their sleep, and carried out hydration assessments each morning during a period of competitive match play.

Results: Players reported having significantly more sleep leading into the day of a match (MD) compared to both the evening after a match (MD-2; p < 0.001; CI = 7.972 and 8.212) and the evening before a match (MD-1; p < 0.001; CI = 7.996 and 8.174). Furthermore, players reported better health and wellbeing scores on MD compared to both MD-1 (p < 0.001; CI = 19.231 and 19.692) and MD-2 (p < 0.001; CI = 18.911 and 19.489). When self-reported sleep was correlated with the individual components of health and wellbeing, it was highlighted that there were significant effects for fatigue (r = 0.304, p < 0.001; CI = 0.250 and 0.383), mood (r = 0.170, p < 0.001; CI = 0.112 and 0.243), general muscle soreness (r = 0.225, p < 0.001; CI = 0.162 and 0.306), and stress (r = 0.203, p < 0.001; CI = 0.147 and 0.274).

Conclusion: It is important to consider sleep strategies to mitigate the potential impact of lack of sleep following match play. Self-reported sleep seems to be appropriate for estimating individual components of health and wellbeing, and therefore may be a suitable replacement for perceptual wellness questionnaires.
Original languageEnglish
Article number5086660
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume2024
Issue number1
Early online date30 Oct 2024
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 30 Oct 2024

Keywords

  • performance
  • recovery
  • sleep
  • soccer
  • wellbeing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Perceptual health and wellbeing, self-reported sleep, and hydration status in youth soccer players during competition'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this