The Effect of Sleep on the Health and Dietary Behaviours of GAA Athletes

TL;DR

This study finds that many Gaelic games athletes experience poor sleep, which is linked to worse health and more food cravings, especially in females.

Contribution

The study is among the first to examine sleep quality in Gaelic games athletes and its associations with health complaints and food cravings.

Findings

67% of Gaelic games athletes were classified as poor sleepers.

Poor sleepers reported significantly more health complaints than good sleepers.

Female athletes had more health complaints and food cravings compared to males.

Abstract

Decreased sleep quality and duration is associated with an array of negative health outcomes. Evidence suggests athletes are susceptible to sleep inadequacies that may in turn affect their health and dietary behaviours. This study aimed to explore the sleep profile of both male and female Gaelic games players, at an elite and sub-elite level and compare how poor sleep relates to subjective health complaints and food cravings. One hundred and seventy Gaelic games players completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Subjective Health Complaints Inventory (SHC) and Food Cravings Questionnaire-Trait-Reduced (FCQ-T-r). Participants were categorised into two groups: poor sleepers (PSQI ≥ 5) and good sleepers (PSQI < 5). Outcome measures of health and food cravings were analysed across the groups, Mann–Whitney U tests were used to assess differences, and Spearman’s rank-order correlations were used to determine relationships between variables. Sixty-seven % of athletes were categorised as poor sleepers. There were no significant differences in PSQI scores across genders (p = 0.088) or playing level (p = 0.072). Poor sleepers experienced significantly increased SHC (p < 0.001) and female athletes had significantly more SHC compared to males (p < 0.001). Female athletes experienced more food cravings than males (p = 0.013). However, there were no significant differences in food cravings between good and poor sleepers (p = 0.104). The findings suggest a high prevalence of poor sleepers amongst GAA athletes. Furthermore, a significant relationship exists between poor sleep and health complaints with females at a higher risk of worsened health complaints and higher food cravings. Sleep screening and education interventions to enhance sleep in GAA athletes are advocated.

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