Investigation and Evaluation of Sleep Quality Levels in Elite Judo Athletes

Sleep is known to be one of the main factors that determine the quality of activity of individuals during the day.The aim of this study was to determine the levels of many variables related to the sleep of athletes competing in different categories in the Judo National Team.For this reason, demographic questions determined by the researchers and "Epworth Sleepiness Scale" and "Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)" questionnaires were used. Normality tests were performed to determine which type of analysis is appropriate for the relationship between variables.At the end of the analyzes, it was found that there was no significant relationship between the sleep awareness levels and sleep hygiene of the athletes according to their age, daily routines and competition categories (p>0.05), and the total PSQI questionnaire scores were 8.38+1.25 and Epworth questionnaire scores were 4.79+2.96. According to the data, it was found that sleep efficiency was poor and sleepiness levels were normal.In conclusion, the fact that the importance of sleep-related outcomes in elite judo athletes is not sufficiently known has shown that athletes do not give the necessary importance to sleep. For this reason, it is obvious that athletes with various sleep problems cannot show their full performance and cannot have an efficient rest period. In addition, they may become overtired or injured as a result of sleep problems. For these reasons, it is recommended that athletes should be aware of the importance of this issue and seek expert help on related issues.