Beyond the court: the connection between sleep patterns and nutrition in adolescent basketball athletes

The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sleep quality and nutritional habits of adolescent basketball players. The study was conducted with 86 basketball athletes aged 12–18 years in 3 private sports clubs. A 4-step questionnaire was administered to the participants. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to assess sleep quality levels, and the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short form) was used to evaluate physical activity levels. A 24-hour dietary recall was used to assess nutritional status. As a result of this study, it was observed that basketball players with good sleep quality believed they had adequate and balanced nutrition, and individuals with good sleep quality consumed only one snack per day. This finding was statistically significant (p < 0.05). There is a statistically significant difference in body weight among participants based on their sleep quality. Body weight appeared to be higher in participants with poor sleep quality (p<0.05). There is no significant correlation found between Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and International Physical Activity Questionnaire scores, sport club membership, nutritional knowledge, implementation status of the nutrition programme, the person who recommended the programme, the number of meals, and skipping meals status (p > 0.05).