Sport Psychology at Leipzig University

23/06/2026

💤 Can basic psychological needs satisfaction improve athletes’ sleep?

We are excited to share a new publication in Psychology of Sport and Exercise by Patricia Frytz and Anne-Marie Elbe examining the relationship between psychological need satisfaction and sleep in competitive athletes.

Using both actigraphy and daily surveys, the study found that athletes experienced an average sleep deficit of 1.26 hours per night and obtained less sleep than needed to feel rested on more than 80 % of recorded nights. Importantly, higher satisfaction of general and sleep-specific basic psychological needs was associated with better sleep quality and lower sleep deficit. Competence satisfaction was also associated with longer sleep duration and faster sleep onset.

These findings highlight psychological need satisfaction as a potential target for supporting athletes’ sleep and recovery.

📖 Read the paper here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2026.103181

📸 Slaapwijsheid.nl on Unsplash

19/06/2026

🏆 Congratulations to our PhD student Patricia Frytz! 🏆

In early June, Patricia attended the Enyssp Conference in Budapest, where she presented her research “Linking Daily Stress and Training Load to Individual Sleep Requirements in Athletes.”

We are delighted to share that her presentation was recognised with the Best Oral Presentation Award! 🎉

The award highlights the importance of understanding how daily demands influence athletes’ sleep needs and recovery. We are proud to see Patricia’s work receiving such recognition and look forward to following the next steps of this exciting research.

08/06/2026

Once again, Nils Gatzmaga, sport psychologist at RB Leipzig, invited our master's students and the students from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg to an open house. Nearly 50 students very actively engaged with Nils about his tasks, philosophy and career at a football academy. Thank you for the valuable insights and tremendous learning experience.

05/06/2026

We are delighted to share that Anne-Marie Elbe was awarded the German Association of Sport Psychology’s (asp) “Goldene Hand” for excellent supervision of PhD students at this year’s asp conference in Heidelberg. 🎉

What a wonderful and well-deserved recognition – and one that came as a complete surprise to her!

📸 1, 2 & 3: Jannik Ohr

04/06/2026

Reminder: the European College of Sport Science - ECSS Webinar “New Approaches to Doping Prevention” takes place today from 3 to 5 pm CEST.

You can still register via your ECSS account:
https://www.ecss2006.com/ASP/TOOLS/ECSS_Account/Login.asp

Creating an account is free. After logging in, click “Join ECSS Webinars” to complete your registration.

🚨 New Webinar Alert | New Approaches to Doping Prevention

Doping remains one of the most pressing threats to sport integrity and education is at the heart of the solution. 💡Our next ECSS Webinar dives into new, skill-based approaches to doping prevention, including value-based learning and virtual reality.

📅 Thursday, 4 June 2026
⏰ 15:00 – 17:00 CEST
🎤 Prof Ian Boardley | Prof Anne-Marie Elbe | Assoc Prof Vassilis Barkoukis

What's on the agenda?
✅ WADA’s International Standard for Education (ISE) - Implementation & impact
✅ Innovative, skills-based prevention programmes
✅ VR technology in anti-doping education
✅ Evaluation results from the latest programmes

Designed for sport scientists, coaches, performance practitioners and athletes.

🔗 Free for ECSS Members | €30 for Non-Members
👉 Log in to your ECSS Account and click ‘Join ECSS Webinars’ to register.
Not a member yet? Join via the link in bio!

03/06/2026

We were pleased to welcome Professor Emma Guillet-Descas, Dr Virginie Nicaise, and Suzanne Thierry from Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Laboratoire sur les Vulnérabilités et l’Innovation dans le Sport (L-ViS) to UNIVERSITÄT LEIPZIG.

During their visit, they presented their research in our colloquium on the topic: “Antecedents of the Athlete Engagement: Coaches’ and Parents’ Influence Might be a Perfect Fit”.

The visit was part of our ongoing teaching collaboration, through which we share expertise with students at both institutions. While Leipzig team members regularly contribute to teaching in Lyon, this visit offered students and interested members of our faculty the opportunity to gain insights into current research from our colleagues in Lyon.

Thank you for visiting us and for the inspiring exchange!

01/06/2026

Two weeks ago, our team attended the conference of the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Sportpsychologie (asp), where we presented our current research in colloquia, oral presentations, and poster sessions. We are grateful for the inspiring exchange and would like to thank our colleagues in Heidelberg for the excellent organisation and warm hospitality.

📸 4 & 5: Jannik Ohr

29/05/2026

Warm congratulations to Oliver Leis, who has been honoured as Reviewer of the Year by the renowned journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise. 👏 We also warmly congratulate Nadja Walter on securing four years of DAAD funding for our Master’s programme in Sport and Exercise Psychology. 👏 Outstanding achievements — well deserved! 🎉

27/05/2026

Looking forward to this webinar!

ℹ️ You'll need an ECSS account to join (free to register): https://www.ecss2006.com/ASP/CONGRESS/TOOLS/ECSS_Account/Login.asp

🚨 New Webinar Alert | New Approaches to Doping Prevention

Doping remains one of the most pressing threats to sport integrity and education is at the heart of the solution. 💡Our next ECSS Webinar dives into new, skill-based approaches to doping prevention, including value-based learning and virtual reality.

📅 Thursday, 4 June 2026
⏰ 15:00 – 17:00 CEST
🎤 Prof Ian Boardley | Prof Anne-Marie Elbe | Assoc Prof Vassilis Barkoukis

What's on the agenda?
✅ WADA’s International Standard for Education (ISE) - Implementation & impact
✅ Innovative, skills-based prevention programmes
✅ VR technology in anti-doping education
✅ Evaluation results from the latest programmes

Designed for sport scientists, coaches, performance practitioners and athletes.

🔗 Free for ECSS Members | €30 for Non-Members
👉 Log in to your ECSS Account and click ‘Join ECSS Webinars’ to register.
Not a member yet? Join via the link in bio!

20/05/2026

Neu erschienen: Der Sammelband „Schulsport: Transdisziplinäre Erkenntnisse und Implikationen für die Praxis“ mit Beiträgen von Anne-Marie Elbe und Sascha Leisterer-Härtig.

Das Buch richtet sich an Sportwissenschaftler:innen, Lehrkräfte sowie Studierende der Sportwissenschaft und des Lehramts Sport. Aus sportpädagogischer, psychologischer und bildungswissenschaftlicher Perspektive zeigt der Sammelband, welchen wichtigen Beitrag Schulsport und Bewegung für die Entwicklung von Kindern und Jugendlichen im schulischen Alltag leisten.

Link zum Buch: https://www.hogrefe.com/de/shop/schulsport-101805.html