P144 Sleep-Related Limb Movements and Subjective Sleepiness in a Professional Rugby League Team

INTRODUCTION: This study aims to assess the relationship between LMs, PLMD and limb related arousals during sleep and subjective sleepiness in a group of professional athletes (National Rugby League (NRL) players). METHODS: 25 type II HSAT polysomnographic (PSG) studies were performed on 23 male individuals (2 repeated studies). 2 x Piezo limb EMG sensors were applied to each HSAT. PSG data analysed as per AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated events. Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) collected for each participant obtaining subjective daytime sleepiness. PSG data was checked for normality using the Shapiro-Wilk normality test. Parametric data was then subsequently analysed using Pearson correlation coefficients, whereas non-parametric data was analysed with the Spearman correlation coefficient. A line of best fit was implemented using Deming’s linear regression model to report r2. RESULTS: The most significant relationships were noted between daytime sleepiness and the frequency of limb-related arousals (Pearson’s r 0.273) and the relationship between PLM arousals and ESS (p-0.082). No significant relationships were noted between LMs, PLMs, limb related arousals and daytime sleepiness were found. No results were found to be statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: This PSG data demonstrates a mildly positive correlation with all limb movement parameters measured against the athletes’ self-reported sleepiness. This may therefore be of significance with their performance and recovery. Further research is recommended to verify these relationships.