Does Aerobic Fitness Affect Sleep?

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aerobically fit athletes have been shown to have elevated levels of slow wave sleep, greater sleep durations, and shorter sleep onset latencies. However, by using independent group designs, previous studies have potentially confounded aerobic fitness with other characteristics of athletic individuals. In this study the sleep of proficient athletes was assessed on two occasions, initially when they were unfit and subsequently when aerobically fit, and compared with an unfit, non‐athletic, sedentary group. The athletes tended to sleep longer and they had elevated slow wave sleep levels. However, these differences were independent of the aerobic fitness of the athletes. Thus sleep does not vary as a function of aerobic fitness, rather, previously reported differences appear to be a function of more enduring characteristics of athletic individuals.