The effect of an acute sleep hygiene strategy following a late night soccer match on recovery of players
ABSTRACT Elite soccer players are at risk of reduced recovery following periods of sleep disruption, particularly following late night matches. It remains unknown whether improving sleep quality or quantity in such scenarios can improve post match recovery. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an acute sleep hygiene strategy (SHS) on physical and perceptual recovery of players following a late night soccer match. In a randomised cross over design, two highly trained amateur teams (20 players) played two late night (20:45) friendly matches against each other seven days apart. Players completed an SHS after the match or proceeded with their normal post game routine (NSHS) Over the ensuing 48 h, objective sleep parameters (sleep duration, onset latency, efficiency, wake episodes) countermovement jump (CMJ; height, force production) YoYo Intermittent Recovery test (YYIR2; distance, maximum heart rate, lactate) venous blood (creatine kinase, urea and c reactive protein) and perceived recovery and stress markers were collected. Sleep duration was significantly greater in SHS compared to NSHS on match night (P 0.002, d 1.50) with NSHS significantly less than baseline (P 0.001, d 1.95) Significant greater wake episodes occurred on match night for SHS (P 0.04, d 1.01) without significant differences between or within conditions for sleep onset latency (P 0.12) efficiency (P 0.39) or wake episode duration (P 0.07) No significant differences were observed between conditions for any physical performance or venous blood marker (all P 0.05) although maximum heart rate during the YYIR2 was significantly higher in NSHS than SHS at 36 h post match (P 0.01; d 0.81) There were no significant differences between conditions for perceptual "overall recovery" (P 0.47) or "overall stress" (P 0.17) Overall, an acute SHS improved sleep quantity following a late night soccer match; albeit without any improvement in physical performance, perceptual recovery or blood borne markers of muscle damage and inflammation.
Chronobiology international