Purpose: To investigate the quantity and quality of sleep hours in young athletes in a professional football club, to study if there is a significant relationship with mood state and subjective well-being, and to identify the relationship between sleep and quarterly academic performance. We also explored the relationship between sleep and quarterly academic performance.
Method: the study included 261 players of the various age group categories from football at Barcelona Football Club (average age:13.04 ± 3.16). Participants maintained a sleep diary and completed questionnaires on their mood state and the quantity and quality of their sleep.
Results: 70% of the athletes slept less hours than recommended by the American National Sleep Foundation. Athletes with worse quantity and quality of sleep showed negative effects on academic results.
Conclusions: The results show that the majority of young players sleep less than recommended and show that those who sleep more hours obtain better academic results.
Keywords: Sleep quantity; academic performance; mood; sleep quality; sport; well-being.