PERCEPTION OF SLEEP AND QUALITY OF LIFE IN PARALYMPIC ATHLETES: COMPARISON BETWEEN ATHLETES WITH PHYSICAL AND VISUAL DISABILITIES

The objective of the study was to verify if there is a difference in perceptions of sleep and quality of life among Paralympic athletes, two months before the London Paralympic Games. A total of30 athletes with physical disability (18 athletes) and visual impairment (12 athletes) were evaluated.

The Pittsburgh questionnaire, the Epworth scale and the WHOQOL-bref, respectively, were used to assess subjective sleep quality, somnolence and quality of life (QOL). For comparison between disability groups were used the Mann-Whitney test. To verify differences between the domains of QOL, the Friedman test was used, followed by the Wilcoxon test.