We know from decades of research that sleep is important for human performance1-3. So, why would we even think about screening athletes when it comes to sleep? Why not just apply basic principles of sleep and generalize from the research that`s been done in other areas such as law enforcement4-7, the military8-11 or aviation12-15? As a result of this research and knowledge athletes, coaches, sport medicine physicians and trainers are interested in understanding the relationship of sleep to training, recovery and performance in athletes. The complicating factor is that athletes, and elite athletes in particular, are very different than the average individual or members of occupational groups such as law enforcement and the military, on whom prior research is based. Athletes have unique physical and mental demands, have to accommodate rigorous competition and training schedules, and have to adapt to difficult travel regimes. So we have to be careful and specific about applying what we know about sleep to athletes. There is a clear need for developing valid, reliable tools to screen and monitor athlete sleep behaviours as the basis for understanding and developing effective interventions. Most countries are developing high performance training programmes for National/Olympic team athletes and are committed to investing in every available tool to help them succeed. We know from the scientific study of sleep that it promotes physical and mental recovery16,17. However, the theoretical principles behind the relationship between sleep and recovery have only just started to be explored in athletic populations. Without a structured assessment of relevant sleep behaviours and the development of valid, reliable tools to acquire accurate data we will have nothing upon which to base useful research questions. Without these tools there will be no way to drive data collection, analyse the data and determine how sleep may affect training, recovery and performance. Finally, valid, reliable data collection methods are necessary to monitor the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. Over the past several years the University of Calgary Sport Medicine Sleep and Human Performance Research Initiative has developed the Athlete Sleep Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ) ©. This tool is designed to capture athlete sleep behaviours, identify athletes with abnormal sleep and primary sleep disorders, and determine the frequency with which athletes have difficulty with sleep when travelling. The ASSQ© screening system stratifies athletes into those who require basic sleep education, assessment with the sport medicine physician, and those who require a sleep medicine consultation and investigations. The goal of this article is to provide: 1. A clear understanding of the relationship between sleep and recovery. 2. An understanding of the ASSQ©, and how it can be used to benefit elite athletic teams. 3. A summary of ASSQ© results collected from teams and athletes to date.
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