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Effects of Afternoon Napping, Caffeine, and Standardised Active Recovery on Evening Athletic Performance
Sponsor: The Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax
Summary
This study evaluated whether afternoon napping, caffeine ingestion, and a standardised active recovery and nutritional protocol could influence evening physical and cognitive performance in healthy university athletes. Participants completed five experimental conditions in a randomised crossover design: placebo without napping, napping with placebo, caffeine without napping, napping combined with caffeine, and napping combined with caffeine plus a standardised active recovery and nutritional protocol. The nap opportunity lasted 90 minutes and caffeine was administered at 5 mg/kg body mass. The main outcome was repeated agility performance. Additional outcomes included sprint performance, jumping performance, reaction time, subjective sleepiness, sleep characteristics during the nap opportunity, and selected physiological measures. The study also explored whether responses differed according to sex and chronotype.
Official title: Effects of Afternoon Napping, Caffeine, and a Standardised Active Recovery Protocol on Evening Athletic Performance According to Sex and Chronotype: A Randomised Crossover Trial
Key Details
Gender
All
Age Range
18 Years - 25 Years
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Enrollment
60
Start Date
2025-01-02
Completion Date
2025-05-31
Last Updated
2026-06-30
Healthy Volunteers
Yes
Interventions
Afternoon Nap
A 90-min afternoon nap opportunity from 13:00 to 14:30 in a quiet, dimly lit, temperature-controlled room. Sleep was monitored using a portable EEG headband. Participants were provided with earplugs and eye masks, and nap sleep characteristics, including sleep stages, were recorded.
Caffeine
Anhydrous caffeine (5 mg/kg body mass) was administered orally in an opaque capsule at 18:00. Placebo capsules contained microcrystalline cellulose and were matched for appearance, mass, colour, and odour. Capsule allocation was blinded to participants and outcome assessors.
Standardised Active Recovery and Nutritional Protocol
A 15-min standardised active recovery and nutritional protocol performed from 18:45 to 19:00. It included lower-limb dynamic stretching exercises (forward/backward and lateral leg swings, walking lunges, high knees, and butt kicks; 10 repetitions per leg at a controlled pace), followed by ingestion of a carbohydrate-protein snack containing 20 g maltodextrin and 10 g whey isolate mixed with 200 mL water.
Placebo
Microcrystalline cellulose was administered orally in an opaque capsule at 18:00. Placebo capsules were matched to caffeine capsules for appearance, mass, colour, and odour.
Locations (1)
Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Sfax (ISSEP Sfax)
Sfax, Tunisia