Evidence map›Paper›PMID 27900583›Full record

SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2017

Does Elite Sport Degrade Sleep Quality? A Systematic Review.

Luke Gupta, Kevin Morgan, Sarah Gilchrist

Registry-linked trialOpen access · hybridAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07640685 (Effects of Magnesium Glycinate and Magnesium L-Threonate on Sleep, Recovery, and Performance in Collegiate Athletes), which is not on this map. Cited by 154 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
154citing papers in PubMed, 13 pooled it
25.3field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07640685 nanot yet recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

Effects of Magnesium Glycinate and Magnesium L-Threonate on Sleep, Recovery, and Performance in Collegiate Athletes

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of California, Los AngelesRan2026 to 2027Enrolled150ConditionsAthletic Performance, Recovery, SleepArmsMagnesium glycinate, Magnesium L-threonate, Placebo
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

154 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 375 citations in OpenAlex.

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94 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Luke GuptaPhysiology Department, English Institute of Sport, Bisham, Nr. Marlow, SL7 1RR, UK. luke.gupta@eis2win.co.uk.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8319-0596
Kevin MorganClinical Sleep Research Unit, School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK.
Sarah GilchristPhysiology Department, English Institute of Sport, Bisham, Nr. Marlow, SL7 1RR, UK.
Loughborough University · GBEnglish Institute of Sport · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInformation on sleep quality and insomnia symptomatology among elite athletes remains poorly systematised in the sports science and medicine literature. The extent to which performance in elite sport represents a risk for chronic insomnia is unknown.

objectivesThe purpose of this systematic review was to profile the objective and experienced characteristics of sleep among elite athletes, and to consider relationships between elite sport and insomnia symptomatology.

methodsStudies relating to sleep involving participants described on a pre-defined continuum of 'eliteness' were located through a systematic search of four research databases: SPORTDiscus, PubMed, Science Direct and Google Scholar, up to April 2016. Once extracted, studies were categorised as (1) those mainly describing sleep structure/patterns, (2) those mainly describing sleep quality and insomnia symptomatology and (3) those exploring associations between aspects of elite sport and sleep outcomes.

resultsThe search returned 1676 records. Following screening against set criteria, a total of 37 studies were identified. The quality of evidence reviewed was generally low. Pooled sleep quality data revealed high levels of sleep complaints in elite athletes. Three risk factors for sleep disturbance were broadly identified: (1) training, (2) travel and (3) competition.

conclusionWhile acknowledging the limited number of high-quality evidence reviewed, athletes show a high overall prevalence of insomnia symptoms characterised by longer sleep latencies, greater sleep fragmentation, non-restorative sleep, and excessive daytime fatigue. These symptoms show marked inter-sport differences. Two underlying mechanisms are implicated in the mediation of sport-related insomnia symptoms: pre-sleep cognitive arousal and sleep restriction.

Indexed as

AthletesSleep Initiation and Maintenance DisordersSleep Wake DisordersFatigueHumansSleepSports

Identifiers

PMID27900583
PMCPMC5488138
OpenAlexW2557749492

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.