ReviewHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)2021
Relationships between Sleep, Athletic and Match Performance, Training Load, and Injuries: A Systematic Review of Soccer Players.
Review in Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Consumer-oriented (wearable) sleep technology: a systematic SWOT analysis and recommendations for athletes and fitness enthusiasts.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Pooled it
- The Effects of Melatonin Supplementation on Professional Football Player Performance: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2023Pooled it
- Effects of sleep restriction on cognitive and physical performance in elite karate athletes: A randomized crossover study.Medicine · 2026Trial
- Daytime Napping Benefits Passing Performance and Scanning Activity in Elite Soccer Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2023Trial
- Association of sleep efficiency with cardiac autonomic modulation in young and professional soccer players during pre-season.Sleep & breathing = Schlaf & Atmung · 2026Article
- Field assessment of melatonin timing reveals circadian misalignment beyond chronotype in elite female football players.Npj biological timing and sleep · 2026Article
- On the relationship between external and internal load variables in elite youth soccer players.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Sleep, Stress, and Recovery as Predictors of Injury Risk in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The paradox of sleep quality and training load in deaf handball players? An investigation of weekly changes and relationships.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- The relationship between training load and injury risk in taekwondo: a systematic review.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Anatomical spatial-temporal distribution and multivariate risk of acute injuries in elite rugby: a cohort based on prospective surveillance.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Objective sleep characteristics of elite academy soccer players: a seven-day actigraphy analysis of a U15 national league squad.Biology of sport · 2026Article
- Sleep tight, play right: practical insights into sleep for soccer players.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Review
- Editorial: Optimizing athletic recovery: the effects of recovery strategies and sleep on sports performance.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- When digital tracking helps or hinders: unpacking the heterogeneous effects of activity trackers on adolescent athletes through the lens of motivation and acceptance.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The Effect of Well-Being and Exercise Intensity on Enjoyment in Soccer Players.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Article
- The Acute Effects of 25- Versus 60-Minute Naps on Agility and Vertical Jump Performance in Elite Youth Soccer Players: The Role of Individual Chronotype.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Injury and illness prevention practices in Qatar's professional football clubs-implementation of the IP2 NetWork.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2025Article
- Impact of 30-minute and 90-minute Naps on Aerobic and Anaerobic Intermittent Performance in Collegiate Soccer Players.Nature and science of sleep · 2025Article
- Editorial: Load and wellness monitoring in sports: the relationship between different metrics.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The purpose of this systematic review was to summarize available evidence regarding the relationships between sleep and (i) athletic and match performance, (ii) training load, and (iii) injuries in soccer players. A systematic review of EBSCOhost (SPORTDiscus), PubMed, Cochrane Library, FECYT (Web of Sciences, CCC, DIIDW, KJD, MEDLINE, RSCI, and SCIELO) databases was performed according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A total of 297 titles were identified, of which 32 met the eligibility criteria. Results revealed that soccer players are no exception for sleep inadequacy. Although there was inconsistency in the findings, some studies suggested that sleep restrictions in soccer negatively affected athletic and match performance while also increasing the number and severity of musculoskeletal injuries. On the other hand, inconsistent results were found between sleep and athletic and match performance, and training load in soccer players. Physiological responses (and their intensity) during drill-based games were not influenced by changes in sleep. The available evidence is inconsistent; however, it appears to suggest that poor sleep affects soccer players' performance and increases the risk of injury. However, it remains important to study this complex relationship further.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.