Kevin W. Farmer

Context: Lack of sleep in collegiate student-athletes may lead to decreased athletic and academic performance and longer injury recovery time. Recent research has found a link between decreased mental health status and poor sleep habits in collegiate student-athletes. Purpose: The objective of the current study was to investigate the relationship between mental health scores measured via the General Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) scale and daytime sleep scores measured via the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) in junior college student-athletes. Results: A total of 204 participants (115 females, 89 males) with a mean age of 19.2 ± 0.8 were included in final analysis. Average GAD-7 scores were 1.05 ± 2.7, and average ESS scores were 6.04 ± 3.5. Females scored significantly higher (p < .01) on the GAD-7 questionnaire than males, but no significant difference was found between sexes on the ESS questionnaire (p = .67). A weak positive correlation was found between GAD-7 and ESS scores (r = .23, p < .001). Conclusions: Female junior collegiate student-athletes had higher anxiety scores on the GAD-7 than their male counterparts. Daytime sleepiness measured did not differ based on sex. A weak positive relationship existed between junior collegiate student-athletes anxiety and daytime sleepiness scores.