P019 Sleep and Circadian Interventions for Mental Health and Mood in Athletes

Abstract

Abstract Introduction There are only a small number of evidence-based interventions that address sleep and circadian rhythms in athletes despite it being well-recognized that sleep has a bidirectional relationship with mental health conditions, wellbeing, mood disorders and may be protective against concussions and injury risk. Athletes, both during and after their career, face unique stressors that, if not well managed and mitigated, could become a source of mental health issues. The aim of this review was to discuss the current evidence on sleep and circadian interventions to improve mental health and mood in athletes. Methods The following databases—PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, SPORTDiscus, and Google Scholar—were searched for initial studies of interest from inception to July 2023. Results Very few sleep and circadian strategies have been implemented in sporting environments to improve the mental health and mood of athletes. The interventions that have been investigated are constrained by limited sample sizes, lack of female representation, low quality study design and inconsistent measurement of mental health and mood, making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions of the efficacy of these strategies. Overall, the evidence base for the effectiveness of the interventions was limited. Discussion There remains a need for larger, adequately powered interventions that are individually tailored, with considerations for the specific challenges of athletes at different levels of professionalism, season time and in particular sporting contexts.