Characterization of differences in sleep behaviors between academy, semi-professional and professional levels of competition in rugby union athletes

Athletes display differing sleep habits to non-athletic populations; similarly, differences occur in sleep habits between athletes from different sports. There is currently limited research investigating the differences in sleep habits and behaviors between different levels of competition within the same sport. A total of 224 rugby union athletes (109 academy, 38 semi-professional, 84 professional) completed the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Professional athletes displayed a significantly longer self-reported sleep duration compared to semi-professional and academy athletes (7 h 52 min +/- 51 min vs. 7 h 16 min +/- 1 h 15 min vs. 7 h 19 min +/- 1 h 12 min, p < 0.01). Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index global scores revealed a significantly lower (p = 0.04, d = 0.3) score for professional athletes (5.2 +/- 2.5 AU) than academy athletes (6.0 +/- 2.7 AU). Individual components of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index revealed significant differences (p < 0.05) between groups for sleep duration and daytime dysfunction. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were observed between levels of competition for the Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire global score; however, significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed for 6 of the 18 items. This study was the first to investigate sleep behaviors across multiple levels of competition in rugby union athletes. Professional athletes displayed longer sleep duration compared to semi-professional and academy level athletes. Additionally, results highlighted that differences exist between levels of competition for specific sleep behaviors. This study identified that sleep behaviors could be improved for all levels of rugby union athletes.