INVESTIGATION OF SLEEP QUALITY AND MENTAL TOUGHNESS LEVELS OF YOUNG SOCCER PLAYERS IN TERMS OF CHRONOTYPES

Bacground: The purpose of this research was to determine whether there is a relation between chronotype type and factors known to have a great impact on sports performance such as sleep quality and mental toughness. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the questionnaire technique. The population of this research consisted of 8.952 soccer players while the sample size consisted of 370 soccer players, with a confidence level of 95%. In this study, the Turkish form of Morningness-Eveningness Stability Scale, Mental Toughness Scale, and Athlete Sleep Behavior Questionnaire-Turkish Version scales were used as data collection tools. Results: There was a positive and statistically significant relation between Morning-Type (M-Type) and Mental Toughness (p<.005). In terms of sleep behavior, a statistically significant relation was found between Evening-Type (E-Type) and sleep behavior (sport-related factors), between M-Type and Neither-Type (N-Type) and sleep behavior (sleep quality), between M-Type and sleep behavior (habitual sleep efficiency) (p<.005). Conclusions: Based on the data of this research, it was found that soccer players with M-Type had higher mental toughness than soccer players with E-Type and N-Type. Furthermore, it was concluded that soccer players had low sleep quality in terms of sleep habits. It was found that E-Type soccer players were affected by sport-related factors, M-Type soccer players were affected by habitual sleep efficiency factors, and M-Type and N-Type soccer players were affected by inefficient sleep factors.