ArticleBiology of sport2026
The effects of daytime napping on psychophysiological measures in physically active individuals and athletes: A systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression, with assessment of the certainty of evidence.
Article in Biology of sport, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Time course of perceptual, cognitive, physical and physiological responses to a single non-sleep deep rest session in physically active young adults.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Trial
- Comparing the Effects of a Short Nap and Non-Sleep Deep Rest on Perceptual, Cognitive, and Physical Performance in Active Adults.Clocks & sleep · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To synthesise the impacts of napping following normal sleep (NS) or deprived sleep on psychophysiological measures in physically active individuals and athletes. This systematic review and metaanalysis utilized nine databases, including Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, Embase, ProQuest Central, Cochrane Library, PsycInfo, and SciElo, to evaluate the effects of napping in physically active individuals and athletes, focusing on psychophysiological measures. The risk of bias in the included studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration's RoB 2.0 tool, while the certainty of evidence (CoE) was evaluated using the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations) approach. In the 35 studies, 489 participants (athletes or physically active) were studied. Following NS, napping significantly reduced total mood score (standardized mean difference (SMD)=0.61), fatigue (SMD=0.91), rating of perceived exertion (RPE) both during (SMD=1.62) and immediately after exercise (SMD=1.11). Additionally, napping significantly improved perceived recovery (SMD=1.66). There were no significant effects of napping on sleepiness (SMD=1.09), muscle soreness (SMD=1.57), heart rate during exercise (SMD=0.62), and temperature (SMD=0.66). Similarly, following sleep deprivation, there were no significant effects of napping on sleepiness (SMD=1.03) and fatigue (SMD=0.79). The CoE was rated as moderate for RPE during and after exercise following NS, while it was low to very low for the remaining outcomes. Napping has been found to positively impact only fatigue, mood states, perceived exertion, and recovery following NS in physically active individuals and athletes. The low-to-very low CoE requires cautious interpretation, highlighting the need for further napping studies implementing robust methodologies.
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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.