Strategic napping

Athletes typically obtain less than the adult recommendation of 7–9 hours of sleep each night. As such, napping presents athletes with the opportunity to supplement their night-time sleep duration and potentially offset the adverse short- and long-term impacts of inadequate sleep. Studies often report the potential benefits of napping on physical and cognitive performance, mood, perceptual measures of soreness, sleepiness, and alertness particularly when athletes are sleep restricted. This chapters aims to clarify the impact napping has on subsequent night-time sleep, physical and cognitive performance as well as mood, perceptual recovery, sleepiness, and alertness. There are strategic napping recommendations for coaches and athletes provided throughout the chapter.