Objective:  To evaluate the effectiveness of a sleep education program among young athletes in enhancing sleep quality and duration, as well as mood and academic performance. Design prospective cohort study. Methods We included 639 players (11% female; mean age of 13.89±3.8 years) of 5 sports disciplines in a professional club were evaluated before and after a sport season, through 4 specific instruments: 1) sleep diaries to estimate nocturnal sleep duration, 2) the Children's Sleep Disorder Score Scale (SDSC) to assess sleep quality, 3) the Sleep Vitality Scale (SVS) to examine mood, and 4) school records of academic performance. The sleep education program included staff, family and individual sessions. It focused on the promotion of healthy sleep habits. Results The 16t-25 years-old (y-o) group exhibited an increase in nocturnal sleep duration (p=0.002), while the 12-15 y-o group showed a decrease (p=0.01). In contrast, the 7-11y-o group exhibited no change. For sleep quality, the 12-15y-o (p < 0.001) and 16-25y-o (p<0.001) groups, while the 7-11y-o group exhibited inferior sleep quality (p 0.001). Regarding mood, the 7-11y-o group showed a significant deterioration (p=0.008), while no changes were observed in the 12-15y-o and 16-25y-o groups. Academic performance exhibited a significant improvement in the 7-11y-o (p=0.001), 12-15y-o (p<0.001), and 16-25y-o (p=0.008) groups. Conclusions Among athletes aged 12-25y-o, participation in a sleep education program led to improvements in sleep quality and duration, accompanied by enhanced academic performance. However, this intervention did not yield positive effects for athletes between the ages of 7 and 11 years.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

The study protocol (AS-2019-01) was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee (CEIC) of the International University of Catalonia. All participants were fully informed about the study's details and provided their informed consent to participate. In cases where athletes were under the age of 18 years, legal guardians also signed the informed consent forms.

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The data underlying the results presented in the study are available from Medical center FCB