Is a Brief Body Scan Helpful for Adolescent Athletes’ Sleep Problems and Anxiety Symptoms?

Objectives The aim of the study was to compare the effects of a brief body scan with relaxation as an active control group to better understand their respective contributions to the reduction of sleep problems and anxiety symptoms among adolescent athletes. Method Two hundred and six adolescent athletes were recruited during the school year 2016/2017 and randomized into four arms: 4 weeks body scan, 8 weeks body scan, 4 weeks relaxation, and 8 weeks relaxation. Sleep problems and anxiety were measured at baseline and 4, 8, and 16 weeks after baseline. Time trends in sleep problems and anxiety were estimated using linear repeated measures models and compared between the four groups. Results Overall, there were beneficial time changes for sleep problems and anxiety symptoms in all four intervention groups, but significantly so only for anxiety symptoms. Specifically, the reduction of anxiety symptoms varied between − 11% per month for 8 weeks body scan, − 12% per month for 8 weeks relaxation, − 13% per month for 4 weeks relaxation, and − 16% per month for 4 weeks body scan. However, the time trends did not differ by intervention type or duration. Conclusions Both types of interventions had beneficial effects on anxiety independent of length of intervention, suggesting that a brief body scan as well as a brief relaxation could be part of a daily recovery practice for adolescent athletes. Preregistration This study was not preregistered.