ArticleSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2022
COVID-19 Lockdowns: A Worldwide Survey of Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Quality in 3911 Athletes from 49 Countries, with Data-Driven Recommendations.
Article in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 41 papers.
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Who cites it
41 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Response to Comment on "Caffeine and Sports Performance: The Conflict between Caffeine Intake to Enhance Performance and Avoiding Caffeine to Ensure Sleep Quality".Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Article
- Changes in physical fitness and body composition of athletes after the COVID-19 lockdown: a systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression, with assessment of the certainty of evidence.Biology of sport · 2026Review
- Reciprocal relationships between sleep quality, mental health and the quality of life in elite athletes: A pilot study.Biology of sport · 2026Article
- Teamwork Makes the Dream Work: Who Should Be Managing Athletes on Matters Related to Sleep?Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2025Article
- Exploring Sleep Patterns in 3,475 College Students: A Comparative Study of Geographical Location, Gender, and Age.Sleep science (Sao Paulo, Brazil) · 2025Article
- Review
- Supporting athletes during a challenging situation: recommendations from a global insight of COVID-19 home-based training experience.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Impacts of the Early COVID-19 Pandemic on Depressive Symptoms and Mental Health Among Student-Athletes.Open access journal of sports medicine · 2024Article
- Athletic retirement: factors contributing to sleep and mental health problems.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- The relationship between quality of life, sleep quality, mental health, and physical activity in an international sample of college students: a structural equation modeling approach.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Did social isolation affect anxiety and sleep quality of elite soccer players during the COVID-19 lockdown? Comparisons to training before distancing in the pandemic and outlook for mental health.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Does the Response to a Stressful Condition in Older Adults with Life Rhythm Dysregulations Provide Evidence of the Existence of the "Dysregulation of Mood, Energy, and Social Rhythms Syndrome"?Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Management of long-COVID-19 patients with sleep disorders: practical advice to general practitioners.The Libyan journal of medicine · 2023Article
- Coaches' Perceptions of Common Planning Concepts Within Training Theory: An International Survey.Sports medicine - open · 2023Article
- Implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on athletes, sports events, and mass gathering events: Review and recommendations.Sports medicine and health science · 2023Review
- Association of Sociodemographic Factors with Physical Activity and Sleep Quality in Arab and Non-Arab Individuals of Both Sexes during the COVID-19 Pandemic.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic on Sleep Quality Evaluated by Wrist Actigraphy: A Systematic Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Article
- Relationship between physical performance and perception of stress and recovery in daily life post COVID-19-An explorative study.PloS one · 2023Article
- Association between napping and 24-hour blood pressure variability among university students: A pilot study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2023Article
- Sleep Disturbance and Immunological Consequences of COVID-19.Patient preference and adherence · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
32 authors at 20 institutions in 19 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveIn a convenience sample of athletes, we conducted a survey of COVID-19-mediated lockdown (termed 'lockdown' from this point forward) effects on: (i) circadian rhythms; (ii) sleep; (iii) eating; and (iv) training behaviors.
methodsIn total, 3911 athletes [mean age: 25.1 (range 18-61) years, 1764 female (45%), 2427 team-sport (63%) and 1442 elite (37%) athletes] from 49 countries completed a multilingual cross-sectional survey including the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and Insomnia Severity Index questionnaires, alongside bespoke questions about napping, training, and nutrition behaviors.
resultsPittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (4.3 ± 2.4 to 5.8 ± 3.1) and Insomnia Severity Index (4.8 ± 4.7 to 7.2 ± 6.4) scores increased from pre- to during lockdown (p < 0.001). Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was predominantly influenced by sleep-onset latency (p < 0.001; + 29.8%), sleep efficiency (p < 0.001; - 21.1%), and total sleep time (p < 0.001; - 20.1%), whilst Insomnia Severity Index was affected by sleep-onset latency (p < 0.001; + 21.4%), bedtime (p < 0.001; + 9.4%), and eating after midnight (p < 0.001; + 9.1%). During lockdown, athletes reported fewer training sessions per week (- 29.1%; d = 0.99). Athletes went to bed (+ 75 min; 5.4%; d = 1.14) and woke up (+ 150 min; 34.5%; d = 1.71) later during lockdown with an increased total sleep time (+ 48 min; 10.6%; d = 0.83). Lockdown-mediated circadian disruption had more deleterious effects on the sleep quality of individual-sport athletes compared with team-sport athletes (p < 0.001; d = 0.41), elite compared with non-elite athletes (p = 0.028; d = 0.44) and older compared with younger (p = 0.008; d = 0.46) athletes.
conclusionsThese lockdown-induced behavioral changes reduced sleep quality and increased insomnia in athletes. Data-driven and evidence-based recommendations to counter these include, but are not limited to: (i) early outdoor training; (ii) regular meal scheduling (whilst avoiding meals prior to bedtime and caffeine in the evening) with appropriate composition; (iii) regular bedtimes and wake-up times; and (iv) avoidance of long and/or late naps.
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