Sleep Duration and Sleep Quality as Season-Long Predictors of Ratings of Perceived Exertion and Psychological Well-Being in Female Soccer Athletes.

Long, JW, Gonzalez, M, Farrell, J, Carmargo, ME, and Cheever, K. Sleep duration and sleep quality as season-long predictors of ratings of perceived exertion and psychological well-being in female soccer athletes. J Strength Cond Res 39(9): 973-981, 2025-Sleep's effect on physiologic and psychological well-being has been examined through cross-sectional studies, but research is limited on the longitudinal impact sleep has on well-being in collegiate athletes. Thus, the purpose of this study was to explore daily fluctuations in subjective measures of psychological wellness and physiologic stress (soreness, rating of perceived exertion [RPE]) across a competitive soccer season, and the extent to which sleep duration and quality modify daily measures of wellness. Twenty female collegiate soccer players underwent daily measures of psychological well-being (mental stress, mental fatigue, anxiety, and depression), physical stress (active time, total distance, GPS load, soreness, and RPE), and sleep (duration and quality) across a 120-day competitive season. Generalized linear mixed-effects models with a zero-inflation component were used to examine the effects of sleep duration and quality on measures of physiologic and psychological stress. Sleep duration was a predictor of RPE and anxiety, and there was an interaction between sleep duration and the day of the soccer season affecting RPE, anxiety, and soreness ( p < 0.05). Sleep quality was a predictor of anxiety, mental stress, and RPE ( p < 0.05). Significant interactions were observed between sleep quality and the day of the soccer season affecting soreness, anxiety, mental fatigue, and mental stress (all p < 0.05). Findings suggest sleep duration and sleep quality are protective of measures of psychological well-being, with increasingly protective effects across a competitive soccer season. These findings have utility in helping to maximize both student athlete performance and wellness.