Dados do Trabalho

Título

Anxiety, Mood and Sleep Quality of Basketball Elite Athletes in a Competition.

Introdução

It is known that anxiety and sleep quality can influence athletes’ performance, so these are important factors in a competition.

Objetivo

To evaluate athletes’ sleep quality, anxiety and mood in a competition day.

Métodos

This cross-sectional study assessed nine basketball male athletes in a state competition, using actigraphy, sleep diary, Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS), short-form version of Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Anxiety and mood questionnaires were applied in the morning after the studied night. Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Morningness-eveningness questionnaire were used to classify usual sleep quality and chronotype, respectively.

Resultados

Athletes had 18.4±0.7 years old. During competition they slept on mattresses disposed on the floor of a classroom school. The team complained about the poor quality of the mattress and environmental noise as causes for awakenings. They had poor sleep quality, with a mean PSQI score of 5.5±3.2. Regarding the chronotype, six (67%) athletes were intermediate, two (22%) morning and one (11%) evening type. The total sleep time was 359.5±56.7 minutes, with efficiency of 91.1±6.1%. Sleep latency (46.0±46.8 minutes) and wake after sleep onset (34.0±27.3 minutes) indicate a poor sleep quality. Subjective sleep quality (SSQ) was 5.2±1.4, with 43% of athletes evaluating their night as "bad". In subsequent morning, six athletes (67%) reported waking up at least once during the night. BRUMS indicated that the positive psychological state (vigor) was apparently superior (7.0±3.0) to the fatigue (4.0±3.0), tension (4.0±1.2), confusion (0.0±1.9), angry (0.0±1.3) and depression (0.0±0.7). There was a positive correlation between SSQ and vigor (p=0.02). Regarding competitive anxiety, self-confidence (2.8±0.5) was higher than cognitive anxiety (2.0±0.7) and somatic anxiety (1.3±0.4). Somatic anxiety was positively correlated with sleep latency (p=0.03) and negatively with total sleep time (p=0.02). Self-confidence was positively correlated with SSQ (p=0.05). STAI indicated that anxiety trait (15.0±1.4) was apparently superior to state anxiety (13.0±1.8).

Conclusões

Anxiety and mood results indicate adequate psychological preparation for competition. Athletes had bad sleep quality, which could have been influenced by the competition environment. It is emphasized the need for awareness to improve competitive Brazilian athletes’ sleep conditions.

Palavras-chave

Sleep, anxiety, competition, athletes.