Maher Souabni1, Omar Hammouda1,2, Mohamed Romdhani3,4, Khaled Trabelsi5,6, Achraf Ammar1,7, Tarak Driss8. 1. Interdisciplinary Laboratory in Neurosciences, Physiology and Psychology: Physical Activity, Health and Learning (LINP2), UFR STAPS, UPL, Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France. 2. Research Laboratory, Molecular Bases of Human Pathology, LR19ES13, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia. 3. Physical activity, Sport and Health, UR18JS01, National Observatory of Sports, Tunis, Tunisia. 4. High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, Ksar-Said, Manouba University, Manouba, Tunisia. 5. High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia. 6. Research Laboratory: Education, Motricity, Sport and Health, EM2S, LR19JS01, High Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax, University of Sfax, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia. 7. Institute of Sport Sciences, Otto-Von-Guericke University, 39104, Magdeburg, Germany. 8. Interdisciplinary Laboratory in Neurosciences, Physiology and Psychology: Physical Activity, Health and Learning (LINP2), UFR STAPS, UPL, Paris Nanterre University, Nanterre, France. tarak.driss@parisnanterre.fr.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that athletes often experience chronic sleep disturbance. Napping is widely recommended as a safe and non-invasive intervention to counteract the negative effects of partial sleep deprivation. However, systematic reviews on the benefits of napping have yet to be undertaken. OBJECTIVE: (i) To evaluate the effectiveness of diurnal napping opportunities on athletes' physical and cognitive performance and (ii) to outline how aspects of the study design (i.e., nap duration, exercise protocol, participants' fitness level and previous sleep quantity) can influence the potential effects of napping through a systematic appraisal of the literature. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science and SCOPUS databases were searched up to June 2020 for relevant studies investigating the effect of napping on physical and cognitive performances in physically active participants. Fourteen strong-quality and four moderate-quality (mean QualSyst score = 75.75 ± 5.7%) studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in the final sample (total participants: 158 physically active and 168 athletes). RESULTS: Most studies (n = 15) confirmed the beneficial effects of napping and showed that diurnal napping improved short-term physical performance (n = 10), endurance performance (n = 3) and specific skills performance (n = 2). Two studies showed no significant napping effect and only one study showed reduced sprint performance following diurnal napping. Moreover, napping improved reaction time (n = 3), attention (n = 2) and short-term memory (n = 1) performances. Importantly, "replacement naps" improved both physical and cognitive performance regardless of the type of exercise. However, "prophylactic naps" improved only jump, strength, running repeated-sprint, attention and reaction time performances. In addition, this systematic review revealed that longer nap opportunities (i.e., 90 min) resulted in better improvement of physical and cognitive performance and lower induced fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: A diurnal nap seems to be an advantageous intervention to enhance recovery process and counteract the negative effect of partial sleep deprivation on physical and cognitive performance. Particularly, to optimize physical performances of athletes experiencing chronic lack of sleep, findings from the included individual studies suggest 90 min as the optimal nap duration. Diurnal napping may be beneficial for athletes but this benefit should be viewed with caution due to the quality of the evidence, risk of bias and the limited evidence about napping interventions.
BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that athletes often experience chronic sleep disturbance. Napping is widely recommended as a safe and non-invasive intervention to counteract the negative effects of partial sleep deprivation. However, systematic reviews on the benefits of napping have yet to be undertaken. OBJECTIVE: (i) To evaluate the effectiveness of diurnal napping opportunities on athletes' physical and cognitive performance and (ii) to outline how aspects of the study design (i.e., nap duration, exercise protocol, participants' fitness level and previous sleep quantity) can influence the potential effects of napping through a systematic appraisal of the literature. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed, Web of Science and SCOPUS databases were searched up to June 2020 for relevant studies investigating the effect of napping on physical and cognitive performances in physically active participants. Fourteen strong-quality and four moderate-quality (mean QualSyst score = 75.75 ± 5.7%) studies met our inclusion criteria and were included in the final sample (total participants: 158 physically active and 168 athletes). RESULTS: Most studies (n = 15) confirmed the beneficial effects of napping and showed that diurnal napping improved short-term physical performance (n = 10), endurance performance (n = 3) and specific skills performance (n = 2). Two studies showed no significant napping effect and only one study showed reduced sprint performance following diurnal napping. Moreover, napping improved reaction time (n = 3), attention (n = 2) and short-term memory (n = 1) performances. Importantly, "replacement naps" improved both physical and cognitive performance regardless of the type of exercise. However, "prophylactic naps" improved only jump, strength, running repeated-sprint, attention and reaction time performances. In addition, this systematic review revealed that longer nap opportunities (i.e., 90 min) resulted in better improvement of physical and cognitive performance and lower induced fatigue. CONCLUSIONS: A diurnal nap seems to be an advantageous intervention to enhance recovery process and counteract the negative effect of partial sleep deprivation on physical and cognitive performance. Particularly, to optimize physical performances of athletes experiencing chronic lack of sleep, findings from the included individual studies suggest 90 min as the optimal nap duration. Diurnal napping may be beneficial for athletes but this benefit should be viewed with caution due to the quality of the evidence, risk of bias and the limited evidence about napping interventions.
Authors: Hugh H K Fullagar; Sabrina Skorski; Rob Duffield; Daniel Hammes; Aaron J Coutts; Tim Meyer Journal: Sports Med Date: 2015-02 Impact factor: 11.136
Authors: Max Hirshkowitz; Kaitlyn Whiton; Steven M Albert; Cathy Alessi; Oliviero Bruni; Lydia DonCarlos; Nancy Hazen; John Herman; Eliot S Katz; Leila Kheirandish-Gozal; David N Neubauer; Anne E O'Donnell; Maurice Ohayon; John Peever; Robert Rawding; Ramesh C Sachdeva; Belinda Setters; Michael V Vitiello; J Catesby Ware; Paula J Adams Hillard Journal: Sleep Health Date: 2015-01-08
Authors: Daniel San-Juan; Raúl Nathanael May Mas; Cuauhtémoc Gutiérrez; Jorge Morales; Ana Díaz; Gerardo Quiñones; Axel Kevin Galindo; Luis Armando Baigts; Cecilia Ximenez-Camilli; David Anschel Journal: Sleep Sci Date: 2022 Jan-Mar