INTRODUCTION: Sleep disturbances are common among elite athletes on training days, night(s) before and following competitions in elite athletes. It was showed that sleep deprivation deteriorates athletes` physical and cognitive performance, increases muscle damage, impairs the recovery from high-intensity exercise, and is associated with higher injury risk. According Souabni et al. [1], napping is a safe and non-invasive intervention in athletes` schedules. However, studies investigating the effect of napping on physical performance showed inconclusive and contradictory results. This study investigates the effect of 40-min nap opportunity on physiological responses and specific abilities in elite basketball players METHODS: Each participant of twelve professional male basketball players accomplished randomly two conditions: 40-min nap opportunity (NAP) and control condition (CON). Wellness Hooper index was measured before and after both conditions. At 15:00 h, participants completed the shooting skills test (SST) (10 shots from the free throw line) followed by a 15 min standardized warm-up. Then, defensive (MAT) and offensive (CDT) agility, and upper body strength (MBCP) were tested. Next, participants played a 10min small sided game (SSG) followed by the shooting skills retest. RPE at the end of SST-test, SSG and SST-retest and heart rate (HR) during both nap and control conditions, SST-test, SSG and SST-retest were measured. RESULTS: Better performance for MAT and CDT was obtained in NAP compared to CON condition (p=0.02, d=0.74, ?=2.7%). MBCP performance was higher in NAP (p<0.0005, d=1.67, =5.6%). Although no significant difference was reported in test session, SST performance was significantly higher in NAP compared to CON condition in retest session (74.2±12.4% vs. 59.2±11.6%, respectively) (p=0.003, ?=20.2%). HRmean was significantly lower in NAP compared to CON condition during SSG (p=0.02, ?=6.09%). HRpeak was significantly lower in NAP compared to CON condition during SSG (p=0.02, ?=4.9%) and SST-retest (p=0.01, ?=5.25%), however no significant difference was reported during SST-test. RPE score was significantly lower in NAP compared to CON condition for SSG (p=0.001) and SST-retest (p=0.003). Hooper`s stress and fatigue score were significantly lower after nap compared to values before nap (p=0.009 and p=0.01, respectively), however no significant difference was reported in CON condition. CONCLUSION: NAP had a positive effect on physiological response operationalized through lower HR values compared to CON condition. This resulted in lower RPE scores and could explain the improvement of shooting performance in retest session. In conclusion, NAP reduces sleepiness, stress and fatigue and enhances physical outcomes of specific skills in elite basketball players. It is also an effective strategy to overcome the deterioration in shooting performance caused by the fatigue induced during exhaustive gameplay situations.
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