The Sleep and Diet of Elite Female Australian Rules Football Athletes Differ With Age and Season Phase.
4 affiliations
- 1Centre for Sport Research, Institute of Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
- 2Appleton Institute for Behavioural Science, Central Queensland University, Wayville, Australia.
- 3School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia.
- 4School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Cairns, Australia.
Abstract
The Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) competition is comprised of a short, intensive competitive season, highlighting the importance of proper fuelling and recovery to support performance. Little is known about the dietary and sleep habits of AFLW athletes across a season, and the influence that age has on these behaviours. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of season phase and age on dietary intake and sleep in elite AFLW athletes. Dietary intake and sleep were assessed in 22 AFLW athletes (25.9 ± 5.0 y) over 10 nights, including five consecutive nights during both pre-season and in-season. Dietary intake was quantified through self-reported food diaries using a smartphone application (Easy Diet Diary), and sleep via a wearable monitoring device (Oura ring). Restricted maximum likelihood mixed models were used to determine variations in dietary intake and sleep in AFLW players between season phases (i.e., pre-season vs. in-season) and age. In-season protein (115.15 ± 35.14 vs. 126.48 ± 40.10 g, p = 0.026) and fat intakes (72.93 ± 29.55 vs. 83.43 ± 33.14 g, p = 0.012) were significantly lower compared to pre-season, with no differences in sleep measures observed between season phases. While age did not influence dietary intake, each additional year of age was associated with 8 min less sleep (p = 0.001) and 4 min earlier wake times (p = 0.032). These findings suggest that protein and fat intakes fluctuate across the seasons, with increasing age being a non-modifiable risk factor for shorter sleep durations within AFLW athletes.
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BibTeX
@article{barnard2026sleep,
title = {{The Sleep and Diet of Elite Female Australian Rules Football Athletes Differ With Age and Season Phase.}},
author = {Jackson Barnard and Monica Kelly and Michele Lastella and Spencer Roberts and Adrian Di Giovanni and Joshua Guy and Dominique Condo},
journal = {European journal of sport science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/ejsc.70274},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42904819},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Sleep and Diet of Elite Female Australian Rules Football Athletes Differ With Age and Season Phase.
AU - Jackson Barnard
AU - Monica Kelly
AU - Michele Lastella
AU - Spencer Roberts
AU - Adrian Di Giovanni
AU - Joshua Guy
AU - Dominique Condo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
JO - European journal of sport science
DO - 10.1002/ejsc.70274
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42904819
AB - The Australian Football League Women's (AFLW) competition is comprised of a short, intensive competitive season, highlighting the importance of proper fuelling and recovery to support performance. Little is known about the dietary and sleep habits of AFLW athletes across a season, and the influence that age has on these behaviours. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of season phase and age on dietary intake and sleep in elite AFLW athletes. Dietary intake and sleep were assessed in 22 AFLW athletes (25.9 ± 5.0 y) over 10 nights, including five consecutive nights during both pre-season and in-season. Dietary intake was quantified through self-reported food diaries using a smartphone application (Easy Diet Diary), and sleep via a wearable monitoring device (Oura ring). Restricted maximum likelihood mixed models were used to determine variations in dietary intake and sleep in AFLW players between season phases (i.e., pre-season vs. in-season) and age. In-season protein (115.15 ± 35.14 vs. 126.48 ± 40.10 g, p = 0.026) and fat intakes (72.93 ± 29.55 vs. 83.43 ± 33.14 g, p = 0.012) were significantly lower compared to pre-season, with no differences in sleep measures observed between season phases. While age did not influence dietary intake, each additional year of age was associated with 8 min less sleep (p = 0.001) and 4 min earlier wake times (p = 0.032). These findings suggest that protein and fat intakes fluctuate across the seasons, with increasing age being a non-modifiable risk factor for shorter sleep durations within AFLW athletes.
SN - 1746-1391
SN - 1536-7290
ER -