No match, more sleep: Greater weekend catch-up sleep in youth soccer players on free weekends

This study aimed to compare young soccer players' week and weekend sleep behaviors in two different microcycle types: with and without an official match (no sporting commitments). Twenty-three youth male players (mean ± SD; age: 17.2 ± 0.6 years) from the same U19 soccer team had their sleep objectively monitored for eight weeks. Questionnaires for subjective sleep quality, sleepiness, and to identify individual chronotype were completed at the beginning of the study. External training and match loads were monitored using global positioning systems. Overall, all players slept less than 8 h throughout the study and 16 slept less than 7 h. On weekdays, total sleep time (TST) was reduced (390 ± 60 min). A significant (p < 0.05) main effect of the microcycle type, night of the week, and an interaction between the two were observed for TST, bedtime, and wake-up time, indicating that weekend sleep adjustments were dependent on whether a match was played or not. Specifically, weekends without a match showed higher TST (+34 min, p < 0.001), and later bed and wake-up times (+48 min, p < 0.001; and +1.06 h, p < 0.001; respectively) compared with weekends that included a match. While players seem to try to compensate their week sleep debt when possible, sleep adjustments were more predominant on weekends without a match, despite still relatively short sleep durations observed.