ArticleBiology of sport2024
Napping and heart rate variability in elite athletes.
Article in Biology of sport, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Strategic daytime napping enhances agility and lowers perceived exertion but does not improve fatigue resistance in adolescent soccer players.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- A 14-Day Sleep Hygiene Intervention Improves Aerobic Performance and Reduces Anticipatory Cortisol in University Soccer Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The clinical value of circadian biofeedback in chronic heart failure.European heart journal. Digital health · 2026Article
- Ischemic preconditioning enhances autonomic nervous system modulation during frequency speed of kick test in taekwondo athletes: a randomized crossover study.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Reciprocal relationships between sleep quality, mental health and the quality of life in elite athletes: A pilot study.Biology of sport · 2026Article
- Does repeated daytime napping over consecutive days enhance physical, perceptual, and cardiac autonomic responses in high-level adolescent basketball players?Biology of sport · 2026Article
- 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
- Are Adolescent Athletes Sleeping Enough? An Observational Study of Sleep Parameters during Schooldays and Holidays.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Sleep and autonomic nervous system (ANS) influence each other in a bidirectional fashion. Importantly, it has been proposed that sleep has a beneficial regulatory influence over cardiovascular activity, which is mostly controlled by autonomic regulation through the activity of sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways of the ANS. A well-established method to non-invasively assess cardiac autonomic activity is heart rate variability (HRV) analysis. We aimed to investigate the effect of a 40-min nap opportunity on HRV. Twelve professional basketball players randomly accomplished two conditions: 40-min nap (NAP) and control (CON). Nocturnal sleep and naps were monitored by actigraphic recording and sleep diaries. Total sleep time (TST), time in bed (TIB), sleep efficiency (SE), sleep onset latency (SOL), and wake after sleep onset (WASO) were analyzed. HRV was analyzed in 5-min segments during quiet wake before and after each condition with controlled breathing. Were analysed high (HF) and low frequency (LF) bands, the standard deviation of NN interval (SDNN), HRV index and stress index (SI). Wellness Hooper index and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were assessed before and after both conditions. There was no significant difference in TIB, TST, SE, WASO, and VAS between NAP and CON. A significant increase in SDNN, HRV index, and LF and a significant decrease in HF, SI, ESS, and Hooper's stress and fatigue scores were observed from pre- to post-nap. In conclusion, napping reduces sleepiness, stress and fatigue, and might provide an advantage by preparing the body for a much-required sympathetic comeback following peaceful rest.
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