Sleep patterns in an elite female Brazilian table tennis player: A case study

This study aims to examine the sleep patterns of an elite female Brazilian table tennis player, monitor throughout the week, and determine if these sleep habits align with the recommended guidelines. Firstly, the player answered questionnaires on basic demographics, table tennis characteristics, chronotype, sleep quality, and daytime sleepiness. Secondly, the player completed a sleep diary for a week and used ActTrust2 actigraph for objectively sleep evaluation. The equipment was collected at the end of the week and the data was downloaded using the ActStudio software. The player was 19 years old, had 49.0 kg of body mass and 149cm of height. She has 10 years of table tennis experience (18h of training volume/week), has been part of the Brazilian National Team, including participation in the Olympic Games. Based on sleep questionnaires, she has indifferent chronotype (MEQ score 55), poor sleep quality (PSQI score 11) and excessive daytime sleepiness (ESE score 15). Poor sleep quality was also objectively observed through actigraphy, since she had a mean of 6:38±0:31 hours of sleep, 77.79±1.10% sleep efficiency, 1:51±0:12 Wake After Sleep Onset – WASO and an average of 19.86±3.44 awakenings per night. During the evaluated week, the participant napped twice (40 and 53min). The athlete had poor sleep quality, with insufficient sleep time and efficiency and excessive WASO, which can reflect in the excessive daytime sleepiness noted. These findings were shared with both the player and the coaching staff, along with recommendations for incorporating sleep hygiene practices that could improve the athlete's health and performance.