Impact of Short and Long Daytime Nap Opportunities on Agility, Aerobic, and Anaerobic Performance in Collegiate Badminton Players

Summary

This study investigated the acute effects of two daytime nap opportunities (40 min and 90 min) on agility, anaerobic performance, and aerobic capacity in collegiate badminton players using a crossover repeated-measures design.

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of two daytime nap opportunities (40 min and 90 min) on agility, anaerobic performance, and aerobic capacity in collegiate badminton players. Twenty collegiate badminton players participated in a randomized crossover repeated-measures design, including 10 females (age: 20.9 years ± 1.5 years, height: 167.9 cm ± 4.3 cm, weight: 58.3 kg ± 6.1 kg) and 10 males (age: 21.4 years ± 1.4 years, height: 179.7 cm ± 2.8 cm, weight: 73.0 kg ± 3.4 kg). Three experimental conditions were included: no nap (N0), a 40 min nap opportunity (N40), and a 90 min nap opportunity (N90), with a 72 h washout period between sessions. Following each condition, participants completed tests of agility (Y-test), anaerobic capacity (300 yard Shuttle), and aerobic capacity (Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test). Significant main effects of nap condition were observed for all performance outcomes (p < 0.001). Compared with N0, both N40 and N90 improved agility and anaerobic performance. While both nap durations significantly improved physical performance compared with the no-nap condition, the improvements observed in N90 compared to N40 were statistically significant but characterized by small effect sizes (d = 0.12–0.16). This suggests that while a 90 min nap may offer additional benefits, the incremental gain over a 40 min nap is modest for specific performance outcomes.

Introduction

Badminton, as a high-intensity and fast-paced competitive sport, requires athletes to possess agility, quick reaction capabilities, and cognitive decision-making skills¹. Meanwhile, badminton players also need to possess strong anaerobic and aerobic capacities². Therefore, after badminton players complete a high-intensity training session or match, adequate, high-quality sleep is regarded as a crucial factor in the recovery of physical function. Previous studies have reported that sleep deprivation or poor sleep quality may increase fatigue levels, impair reaction time, and reduce physical performance across a variety of....

Protocol

The study involving human participants was approved by the Ethics Committee of Wuhan Sports University (approval number: 2023070). Participants were recruited between August 2023 and January 2024. All participants provided written informed consent prior to participation, in accordance with institutional and national ethical standards.

1. Participants

Sample size was calculated using G*Power software (version 3.1). For a repeated‑measures ANOVA within a crossover design, the test family was set to F‑tests, and the statistical model to ANOVA: repeated measures, within factors. Input param....

Results

Sleep parameters
Sleep parameters (bedtime, wake time, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, total bedtime, and total sleep time) were similar to those of the night before each study condition. The results from a one-way ANOVA indicated no significant differences in the sleep variables and no evidence of sleep deprivation, as demonstrated in the findings (Table 1).

In this study, we evaluate the effects of different nap durations (N0, N40, N90) on athletes' per.......

Discussion

This study evaluated the effects of different nap durations (N0, N40, and N90) on the agility, anaerobic capacity, and aerobic capacity of badminton players. All participants exhibited no significant differences in sleep variables (including total sleep time, sleep latency, sleep efficiency, and total time in bed) prior to the tests, and none experienced sleep deprivation before any test. The results indicated that, compared to no nap (N0), both a 40 min nap (N40) and a 90 min nap (N90) significantly enhanced test perfor.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
ActiGraph GT3X+ Triaxial Accelerometer	ActiGraph LLC	GT3X+	Used for objective monitoring of sleep-wake patterns and physical activity. Location: Pensacola, FL, USA
ActiLife Software	ActiGraph LLC	N/A	Version 6.13.3 (or higher); used for data initialization, downloading, and scoring (Sadeh algorithm). Location: Pensacola, FL, USA
G*Power Software	Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf	Version 3.1.9.7	Open-source software used for a priori power analysis and sample size estimation. Location: Düsseldorf, Germany
Wrist Band for ActiGraph	ActiGraph LLC	500-0013	Standard black nylon strap used for non-dominant wrist attachment. Location: Pensacola, FL, USA