Sleep and mental health following retirement from sport (PhD Academy Award)

Abstract

Retirement from sport can elicit significant psychological distress, particularly when unexpected; however, it is unknown whether former athletes experience poorer mental health and worse sleep than currently competing athletes.1 Therefore, the aim of this PhD project was to understand the risk prevalence of sleep and mental health disorders in diverse samples of current and former athletes. Doing so would facilitate (1) comparisons of self-reported and screened prevalence rates, (2) objective measurement of sleep behaviours, and (3) advanced understanding of the contributing factors former athletes face pertaining to sleep and mental health. Recent decades have seen a considerable growth in research on the sleep and well-being of athletes.2 3 Athletes face unique demands, which increase their susceptibility to poor mental health and sleep problems.4 Knowledge on sleep and mental health is limited to currently competing elite athletes.1 Consequently, the sleep health and psychological well-being of athletes after retirement is seldom understood. My project attempted to fill this void in knowledge by undertaking research across different genders, levels …