Estudo da associação da qualidade subjetiva do sono com sintomas de desconforto em adultos praticantes de exercícios físicos

Abstract

Sleep plays an essential role in body recovery, hormonal regulation, and physical and cognitive performance, while poor sleep quality is associated with impairments in sports performance and overall well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the association between subjective sleep quality and the presence of physical, mental, neuromuscular, muscular, and gastrointestinal discomfort symptoms in adults engaged in regular physical exercise. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, and exploratory study conducted with 138 participants of both sexes, aged between 18 and 59 years, who regularly practiced physical exercise. Sampling was carried out by convenience, and data collection occurred online through a structured questionnaire addressing sociodemographic aspects, sleep and eating habits, exercise practices, and symptoms perceived during training. Sleep quality was classified subjectively and grouped as “poor to fair” and “good to very good.”Among participants, 53.6% reported good or very good sleep quality, while 46.4% rated their sleep as poor, bad, or fair. It was observed that 70.3% of individuals with better sleep quality slept seven hours or more per night, whereas 65.6% of those with poorer sleep quality slept six hours or less. Regarding symptoms during exercise, participants with poorer sleep quality reported a higher frequency of physical and mental fatigue, as well as muscular and neuromuscular discomfort. Among participants classified as having “poor to fair” sleep, only 6.5% reported no symptoms, compared with 15.2% of those with “good to very good” sleep. Bad mood during training was also more frequent among participants with poorer sleep quality. No substantial differences were observed between groups in terms of pre-workout eating habits, water intake, or nutritional monitoring. However, greater consumption of dietary supplements was reported among participants with better sleep quality. It is concluded that better sleep quality is associated with greater well-being and a lower frequency of physical, mental, neuromuscular, and muscular fatigue symptoms during physical exercise among the studied population.