Biology of Sport
eISSN: 2083-1862
ISSN: 0860-021X
Biology of Sport
Current Issue Manuscripts accepted About the journal Editorial board Abstracting and indexing Archive Ethical standards and procedures Contact Instructions for authors Journal's Reviewers Special Information
Editorial System
Submit your Manuscript
SCImago Journal & Country Rank
Search
Editorial Policies
Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Publications

Open access

without publication fees
Share:
Send email
Share:
abstract:
Original paper

Objective sleep characteristics of elite academy soccer players: a seven-day actigraphy analysis of a U15 national league squad

Lorcán Mason
1
,
James Connolly
1, 2
,
Lydia E. Devenney
3
,
Karl Lacey
1
,
Maria Faulkner
1
,
Rónán Doherty
1

  1. Department of Sport Science and Performance, Atlantic Technological University Donegal, Port Road, Letterkenny, Donegal, Ireland, F92 FC93
  2. School of Computing, Engineering and Intelligent Systems, Ulster University, Northland Rd., Londonderry/ Derry, UK, BT48 7JL
  3. School of Psychology and Counselling, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, UK, MK7 6AA
Biol Sport. 2026;43:999-1008
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2026.158301
Online publish date: 2026/03/09
View full text Get citation
 
PlumX metrics:
This study quantified objective sleep characteristics in elite academy soccer players using actigraphy and determined how day type (training days, non-training days, and competition days) influences sleep parameters. Objective sleep characteristics of elite academy soccer players (n = 13) were analysed across training days (TD), non-training days (NTD), and competition days (CD) using 7-day actigraphy monitoring. Significant differences were found between day types for total sleep time (TST) (χ²(2) = 8.59, p = 0.01, η² = 0.09) and time in bed (TIB) (χ²(2) = 9.27, p = 0.01, η² = 0.10). Training days yielded substantially lower values (TST: 431 ± 95.2 min; TIB: 478 ± 100 min) compared to non-training days (TST: 541 ± 231 min; TIB: 596 ± 240 min), representing mean differences of 110 minutes (95% CI: 39–181 min) for TST and 118 minutes (95% CI: 44–192 min) for TIB. No significant differences were found for sleep onset latency (SOL: 19.3 ± 19.6 min), number of awakenings (NoA: 39.8 ± 14.5), wake after sleep onset (WASO: 53.3 ± 25.8 min), or sleep efficiency (%SE: 84.4 ± 5.97%) (all p > 0.05). Critically, while TST and %SE met age-specific recommendations, NoA and WASO substantially exceeded thresholds for good sleep quality. Despite adequate sleep duration, elevated WASO and NoA indicate compromised sleep quality through fragmentation. These findings highlight the necessity for comprehensive sleep monitoring in elite adolescent athletes extending beyond duration alone. Future research should investigate targeted interventions addressing sleep fragmentation within the constraints of training, competition, and academic schedules.
keywords:

Sleep, Athletes, Actigraphy, Adolescents, Youth

  
Termedia
About us Contact
Copyright notice Privacy policy Advertising policy Contact us
Quick links
Journals Books eBooks Events
© 2026 Termedia Sp. z o.o.
Developed by Termedia.