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The Restorative Role of Daytime Naps in Mentally Fatigued Endurance Athletes
Sponsor: L.U.de.S. Sagl
Summary
This randomized, counterbalanced crossover study investigated whether a 30-minute daytime nap can mitigate the effects of experimentally induced mental fatigue in amateur master endurance athletes. Male athletes completed two home-based experimental sessions separated by one week: a mental fatigue condition, in which a 30-minute cognitively demanding task battery preceded the nap, and a control condition, in which participants took only the nap. Sleep parameters during the nap were monitored by wrist actigraphy, and perceived sleep quality was assessed after awakening. Subjective sleepiness, perceived mental fatigue, and cognitive performance were evaluated before the nap, immediately after the nap, and/or 30 minutes after the nap. The study examined whether mental fatigue influenced nap characteristics and whether the nap improved recovery-related outcomes. The main outcomes included actigraphy-derived nap parameters, perceived sleep quality, sleepiness assessed with the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale, perceived mental fatigue assessed using a visual analogue scale, and cognitive performance assessed with a Flanker task.
Official title: The Restorative Role of Daytime Naps in Mentally Fatigued Endurance Athletes: a Randomized Controlled Trial
Key Details
Gender
MALE
Age Range
28 Years - 50 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
11
Start Date
2021-01-11
Completion Date
2021-05-15
Last Updated
2026-05-12
Healthy Volunteers
No
Interventions
Mental Fatigue Induction Protocol
Participants completed a 30-minute computerized cognitive task battery designed to induce mental fatigue before the daytime nap. The protocol consisted of three consecutive 10-minute cognitively demanding tasks: a Flanker task, a memory task, and a Stroop task.
Daytime Nap
Participants took a 30-minute daytime nap at home between 14:00 and 15:00, at least one hour after lunch, in a quiet and dimly lit room. Nap characteristics were monitored using wrist actigraphy, and perceived sleep quality was assessed after awakening.
Locations (1)
University of Milan
Milan, Italy