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.

Intra-individual variability of sleep and nocturnal cardiac autonomic activity in elite female soccer players during an international tournament

“…These results are in accordance with recent studies showing that soccer players presented sleep duration within the appropriate healthy range on training days and match days concluded before 6 PM, but slept significantly less, delayed bedtime, and presented a lower SE after matches starting after 6 PM [50, 51]. In fact, the impact of night matches (i.e., schedule time) on subsequent sleep is well established [52, 53]. For example, Sargent and Roach (2016) examined the sleep of elite Australian football players on the night immediately following a day match or following an evening match.…”

International Olympic Committee consensus statement on pain management in elite athletes

“…Sleep and pain have a reciprocal relationship—pain disturbs sleep, and poor sleep quality or duration increases pain levels in clinical populations and decreases pain thresholds in otherwise healthy people 112–118. Addressing sleep disorders could improve performance and the general health of the athlete 111. Psychological strategies including CBT,119 self-hypnosis120 and mindfulness-based stress reduction121 show significant potential to improve sleep in non-athletes.…”

The Sleep Behaviour of Students’ Athletes in the Nights Prior to Competition

“…Partial sleep restrictions have been shown to have adverse effects on daytime performance according to Van Dongen and Dinges (2005). Although, athletes according to Ehrlenspiel et al, (2016) rarely report negative effects of Precompetitive poor sleep performance, improving sleep does not necessarily lead to improvements in aspects of physical performance of athletes (Fullagar et al, 2016). On the questions about the strategies used by student athletes to sleep well the nights before the competitions, our finding indicates that sixty-three percent of athletes do not have a special strategy to sleep well before the competition, but few of the athletes were indicative of strategies such as relaxation techniques, reading, watching television and listening to music.…”