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Objectives: Menstrual cycle symptoms are very common in female athletes. However, more evidence about the association between menstrual cycle characteristics and symptoms with sleep and mental health in athletes needs to be gathered. This study aimed to examine this association in German exercising women and athletes., Design: 322 women (mean age: 23.13 ± 4.36) participated in a cross-sectional study. The survey included the Menstrual Symptom index (MSi), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Athletes Sleep Behavior Questionnaire (ASBQ). Additionally, demographic, sport-specific data and further menstrual cycle characteristics were examined. Multiple regression models were used for the statistical analyses., Results: The MSi score demonstrated a highly significant (p < 0.001) positive association with Depression, Anxiety, Stress, PSQI, and ASBQ. The most prevalent menstrual cycle symptoms were cravings/increased appetite, mood changes/anxiety, and tiredness/fatigue. A difference between individual and team sport athletes could not be found. Moreover, there was no association between the constructs and menses length, irregularity, or heaviness of bleeding., Conclusions: Menstrual cycle symptoms occur very frequently in female athletes. In this study, they were related to mental health, sleep quality, and sleep behavior, regardless of the cycle phase. This evidence demonstrates the relevance of considering the menstrual cycle and menstrual symptoms in future studies with female athletes and in sport practice., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The Acute Recovery and Stress Scale (ARSS) and the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS) are recently-introduced instruments to monitor recovery and stress processes in athletes. In this study, our aims were to replicate and extend previous psychometric assessments of the instruments, by incorporating recovery and stress dimensions into one model. Therefore, we conducted five confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) and determined structural validity, internal consistency, and construct validity. Dutch and Flemish athletes ( N  = 385, 213 females, 170 males, 2 others, 21.03 ± 5.44 years) completed the translated ARSS and SRSS, the Recovery Stress Questionnaire for Athletes (RESTQ-Sport-76), the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) and the Total Quality of Recovery (TQR). There was a good model fit for the replicated CFA, sub-optimal model fit for the models that incorporated recovery and stress into one model, and satisfactory internal consistency (α=.75 - .87). The correlations within and between the ARSS and SRSS, as well as between the ARSS/SRSS and the RESTQ-Sport-76 ( r  = .31 - -.77 for the ARSS, r  = .28 - -.63 for the SRSS), the RPE ( r  = .19 - -.23), and the TQR ( r  = .63 - -.63) also supported construct validity. The combined findings support the use of the ARSS and SRSS to assess stress and recovery in sports-related research and practice.