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First published online October 26, 2009

‘Football Is Good for Your Sleep’: Favorable Sleep Patterns and Psychological Functioning of Adolescent Male Intense Football Players Compared to Controls

Serge Brand, Johannes Beck, Markus Gerber, Martin Hatzinger, and Edith Holsboer-TrachslerView all authors and affiliations
Volume 14, Issue 8
https://doi.org/10.1177/1359105309342602

Abstract

It is commonly assumed that physical activity exerts a favorable impact on sleep, although scientific evidence is lacking. This study investigated the impact of football sports on the sleep patterns of 36 male chronic and intense football players and 34 controls. Participants completed a sleep log for seven consecutive days. Compared to controls, football players reported shorter sleep onset latency, fewer awakenings, higher scores of sleep quality and a lower variability of sleep from weekdays to weekends. The findings suggest that football sports activity is positively associated with both quantitative and qualitative dimensions of sleep.

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Published In

Volume 14, Issue 8
Pages: 1144 - 1155
Article first published online: October 26, 2009
Issue published: November 2009

Keywords

  1. adolescence
  2. football
  3. male football players
  4. psychological functioning
  5. sleep patterns

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History

Published online: October 26, 2009
Issue published: November 2009
PubMed: 19858334

Authors

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Serge Brand
Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Switzerland, [email protected]
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Johannes Beck
Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Switzerland
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Markus Gerber
University of Basel, Switzerland
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Martin Hatzinger
University Hospital Basel, Switzerland
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Edith Holsboer-Trachsler
Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Basel, Switzerland
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