ArticlePloS one2022
The effect of acute sleep extension vs active recovery on post exercise recovery kinetics in rugby union players.
Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.
- Recovery Strategies in Elite-Level Male Rugby Union Players and Positional Considerations: A Scoping Review.Sports medicine - open · 2026Review
- Sleep quality and injury risk in adolescent football players: an amplified effect for high-risk athletes revealed by quantile regression.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Anatomical spatial-temporal distribution and multivariate risk of acute injuries in elite rugby: a cohort based on prospective surveillance.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Analysis of Positional Physical Demands in Tier 2 Rugby Union: A Multivariate Approach over Speed Ranges.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundElite rugby players experience poor sleep quality and quantity. This lack of sleep could compromise post-exercise recovery. Therefore, it appears central to encourage sleep in order to improve recovery kinetics. However, the effectiveness of an acute ergogenic strategy such as sleep extension on recovery has yet to be investigated among athletes.
aimTo compare the effects of a single night of sleep extension to an active recovery session (CON) on post-exercise recovery kinetics.
methodsIn a randomised cross-over design, 10 male rugby union players participated in two evening training sessions (19:30) involving collision activity, 7-days apart. After each session, participants either extended their sleep to 10 hours or attended an early morning recovery session (07:30). Prior to (PRE), immediately after (POST 0 hour [h]), 14h (POST 14) and 36h (POST 36) post training, neuromuscular, perceptual and cognitive measures of fatigue were assessed. Objective sleep parameters were monitored two days before the training session and over the two-day recovery period.
resultsThe training session induced substantial decreases in countermovement jump mean power and wellness across all time points, while heart rate recovery decreased at POST 0 in both conditions. Sleep extension resulted in greater total sleep time (effect size [90% confidence interval]: 5.35 [4.56 to 6.14]) but greater sleep fragmentation than CON (2.85 [2.00 to 3.70]). Between group differences highlight a faster recovery of cognitive performance following sleep extension (-1.53 [-2.33 to -0.74]) at POST 14, while autonomic function (-1.00 [-1.85 to -0.16]) and upper-body neuromuscular function (-0.78 [-1.65 to 0.08]) were better in CON. However, no difference in recovery status between groups was observed at POST 36.
conclusionThe main finding of this study suggests that sleep extension could affect cognitive function positively but did not improve neuromuscular function the day after a late exercise bout.
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