Sleep Quality in Female Football Players

Abstract

Uvod: San je ključan za fizičko i mentalno zdravlje svih ljudi, a osobito je važan za sportaše jer izravno utječe na sportsku izvedbu, regeneraciju i oporavak. Kod sportaša često se javljaju poremećaji sna, posebice uoči utakmica, što može negativno utjecati na lučenje hormona rasta i sposobnost oporavka. Nogomet, kao intenzivan kontaktni sport, zahtijeva visoku razinu fizičke spremnosti i mentalne stabilnosti. Zbog učestalih ozljeda, osobito mišićnih, zglobnih i ligamentarnih, kvalitetan san jest izrazito važan faktor za prevenciju i rehabilitaciju. Nogometašice su posebno podložne određenim vrstama ozljeda (npr. ozljede prednjeg križnog ligamenta), što dodatno naglašava potrebu za analizom njihove kvalitete sna. Povezanost kvalitete sna s treningom, ozljedama, mentalnim zdravljem i drugim čimbenicima temelj je ovog istraživanja. Cilj: Cilj ovog rada bio je detaljno ispitati kvalitetu sna nogometašica kroz subjektivnu samoprocjenu. Također se analizirala moguća povezanost između učestalosti i intenziteta treninga te kvalitete sna, kao i prisutnost raznih psihofizičkih simptoma (npr. tjeskoba, razdražljivost, itd.) koji mogu biti povezani s lošim snom. Cilj je ujedno i razumjeti kako navedeni faktori mogu utjecati na sportsku izvedbu i kapacitet oporavka sportašica. Metode: Istraživanje je provedeno putem anketnog upitnika izrađenog u Google Formsu. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 30 nogometašica. Anketni upitnik sastojao se od 75 pitanja koja su bila raspoređena u 4 kategorije; 1. Opći podaci i privola, 2. Skala ovisnosti o vježbanju, 3. Skala pobuđenosti prije treninga, 4. Pittsburgh indeks kvalitete spavanja (PSQI) koji je služio za procjenu subjektivne kvalitete sna. Rezultati: Istraživanje je uspoređeno s nekoliko drugih istraživanja provedenih u različitim sportovima, te u usporedbi s drugim istraživanjima nogometašice imaju bolju kvalitetu sna i manje problema s dnevnom pospanošću. Prosječna duljina stvarnog sna tijekom noći bila je 7 sati te je samoprocjena pospanosti tijekom dana i učestalosti korištenja lijekova za nesanicu bila niska. Kako san ima veliku ulogu kod nogometašica za sportsku izvedbu, ali i brži oporavak, izrazito je važno da ne dođe do pretreniranosti i do smanjene kvalitete sna. Vrlo je važno da nogometašice imaju dovoljno sati stvarnog sna zbog samog normalnog funkcioniranja i bolje sportske izvedbe.Introduction: Sleep is essential for the physical and mental health of all people, and is particularly important for athletes because it directly affects sports performance, regeneration and recovery. Athletes often experience sleep disorders, especially before matches, which can negatively affect growth hormone secretion and recovery ability. Football, as an intense contact sport, requires a high level of physical fitness and mental stability. Due to the frequent injuries, especially muscle, joint and ligament injuries, quality sleep is an extremely important factor for prevention and rehabilitation. Female football players are particularly susceptible to certain types of injuries (e.g. anterior cruciate ligament injuries), which further emphasizes the need to analyze their sleep quality. The connection between sleep quality and training, injuries, mental health and other factors is the basis of this research. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine in detail the sleep quality of female soccer players through subjective self-assessment. The possible association between training frequency and intensity and sleep quality was also analyzed, as well as the presence of various psychophysical symptoms (e.g. anxiety, irritability, etc.) that may be associated with poor sleep. The aim is also to understand how these factors may affect sports performance and recovery capacity of female athletes. Methods: The study was conducted using a questionnaire created in Google Forms. 30 female soccer players participated in the study. The questionnaire consisted of 75 questions that were divided into 4 categories; 1. General information and consent, 2. Exercise addiction scale, 3. Pre-training arousal scale, 4. Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) which was used to assess subjective sleep quality. Results: The study was compared with several other studies conducted in different sports, and compared to other studies, female soccer players have better sleep quality and fewer problems with daytime sleepiness. The average duration of actual sleep per night was 7 hours, and self-assessment of daytime sleepiness and the frequency of using insomnia medication was low. Since sleep plays a major role in female soccer players for sports performance, but also for faster recovery, it is extremely important to avoid overtraining and reduced sleep quality. It is very important that female soccer players have enough hours of real sleep for normal functioning and better athletic performance