Nightmares in Swiss elite athletes: Associated factors
Michael Schredl, Albrecht Vorster, Michael J. Schmid, Daniel Erlacher
Journal of Sleep Research July 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1111/jsr.14283 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractAbout 6% of elite athletes report having nightmares at least once a week. Female gender and higher general stress levels are strongly linked to more frequent nightmares. To a lesser degree, more training hours, lost training days due to illness, and early training sessions also relate to higher nightmare frequency. Sport discipline itself shows no connection. An unexpected finding is that consuming alcohol late—within four hours of bedtime—is associated with more nightmares. These results suggest that stress from sports participation may contribute to nightmare frequency. Future research should explore whether interventions for athletes with frequent nightmares could improve their well-being and possibly athletic performance.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 2,297 |
| Population | Swiss elite athletes |
| Topics | Dreaming |
| Keywords | Bedtime Distress Elite athletes Clinical psychology |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | About 6% of elite athletes report frequent nightmares; female gender, general stress, training hours, lost training days, early training sessions, and late alcohol intake are associated with nightmare frequency. |
Abstract
Nightmares, defined as extremely dysphoric dreams, can cause significant distress in everyday life if they occur frequently. Their aetiology is based on a disposition-stress model. As elite athletes often experience high stress levels, the present study investigated factors that might be associated with nightmare frequency in a large cohort of 2297 Swiss elite athletes (1066 women, 1231 men) with a mean age of 22.05 ± 7.53 years. In total, about 6% of the athletes reported frequent nightmares (once a week or more often). We found that well-established factors like female gender and general stress levels were related to nightmare frequency. To a smaller extent, the number of training hours, lost training days due to illness, and having early training sessions were also associated with nightmare frequency. Sport discipline was not related to nightmare frequency. An unexpected finding was the association between late alcohol intake 4 hr prior to bedtime and nightmare frequency. Our findings support the idea that stress related to practicing sports might affect nightmare frequency. Future research should study whether inventions designed for athletes suffering from frequent nightmares are beneficial for them and might even improve their athletic performance.