Self-reported sleep duration affects tandem gait, but not steady-state gait outcomes among healthy collegiate athletes

Abstract Background Sleep deficits are associated with motor and cognitive function deficits, even in the absence of a recent concussion. Research question Does the amount of self-reported sleep prior to pre-season concussion testing affect single-task and dual-task instrumented steady-state gait and timed tandem gait test performance? Methods One hundred and fourteen healthy collegiate athletes (mean age 18.8 ± 0.7 years; 60% female) reported the amount of sleep they received during the prior night and completed a timed tandem gait test and an instrumented assessment of steady-state gait in both single-task and dual-task conditions. Outcome variables included spatio-temporal gait parameters during steady-state gait, best and mean tandem gait times, and cognitive test accuracy. Results Participants who reported sleeping p  = .009) compared to those who reported sleeping ≥7 h (n = 52). No significant differences between groups were observed for spatio-temporal steady-state gait variables or for cognitive test accuracy. Significance Self-reported sleep duration may be associated with baseline testing tandem gait performance. Thus, as sleep can play a role in motor abilities, clinicians may consider interpreting tandem gait performance in light of sleep duration during the night prior to testing.