The impact of training load on sleep during a 14-day training camp in elite, adolescent female basketball players

The aims of this study were to (1) quantify the sleep/wake behaviours of adolescent female basketball players and (2) examine the impact of daily training load on sleep/wake behaviours, during a 14-day training camp. Eleven elite, adolescent, female basketball players (age: 17.3 ± 0.9 years; height: 182.3 ± 5.5 cm; body mass: 77.0 ± 7.2 kg) volunteered to participate in the study. Participants’ sleep/wake behaviours were monitored using self-report sleep diaries and wrist-worn activity monitors. Each day, participants completed between 1 to 5 training sessions (mean duration: 1.9 ± 0.9 h). On days where multiple sessions occurred, the training load for each session was summed to calculate total daily training load. Daily training load was classified as rest (no training), low (<500 AU), moderate (501-1500 AU), or high (>1500 AU). Separate linear mixed models revealed a significant difference in participants’ sleep/wake behaviours between rest days and training days. Analyses revealed Pparticipants’ sleep onset and offset times were later on rest days than on training days. Time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency were also greater on rest days compared to training days. On training days, participants did not obtain the recommended 8-10 h of sleep per night during the training camp. Training load (low, moderate, high) had minimal impact on sleep outcomes. During a training camp, training days were associated with reduced sleep duration compared to rest days, but sleep was not impacted by fluctuations in the training load administered to players