This study examined how different educational approaches influence the effectiveness of a sleep education program on the sleep patterns of 26 high-level adolescent badminton and volleyball players aged 12-18 years. Baseline sleep habits were assessed using actigraphy, questionnaires, and sleep diaries during a 2-week pretest. Subjects were divided into control (n = 13) and intervention (n = 13) groups. A 2-week sleep education program, comprising two 45-minute sessions, was created and dispensed separately to both groups. Although the content of the interventions was the same for both groups, the intervention group was provided with their own sleep data and given challenges to improve sleep, while the control group received sleep data from previous studies and did not receive challenges. During post-test, the intervention group also received encouragement, whereas the control group did not. Post-test evaluations were conducted for 2 weeks using the same methods as the pretest. A significant time interaction (p = 0.025; np^2 = 0.24) was observed for weekday bedtime with the intervention group advancing bedtime by 10 minutes and the control group delaying it by 5 minutes. Weekday time in bed showed a significant time effect (p = 0.021; np^2 = 0.25) with an increase of 15 minutes for the intervention group and 6 minutes for the control group. This study demonstrates that providing high-level adolescent athletes with their sleep data, challenges and encouragement can increase adherence to a sleep education program, making it more effective. These findings provide practical insights for optimizing sleep in adolescent athletes, potentially contributing to overall well-being and performance.
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