Caffeine Use or Napping to Enhance Repeated Sprint Performance After Partial Sleep Deprivation: Why Not Both?
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to compare the effects of a 20-minute nap, caffeine, or caffeine before a nap on performance and muscle damage in sleep-deprived athletes.
Results Summary
Napping improved repeated-sprint performance and antioxidant defense, while caffeine increased muscle damage without enhancing performance. Combining caffeine with a nap was more beneficial for sprint performance than either treatment alone.
Population
Nine male, highly trained judokas.
Effective Dosage
Caffeine (5 mg·kg⁻¹).
Duration
Not specified in the abstract.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
20-minute nap opportunity (N20) | increase | maximum power (Pmax) | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .01, d = 0.75 | increased | #1 |
caffeine before a 20-minute nap opportunity (CAF+N) | increase | maximum power (Pmax) | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 1.5; d = 0.94 | increased | #2 |
caffeine before a 20-minute nap opportunity (CAF+N) | increase | minimum power (Pmin) | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 2.79; d = 2.6 | increased | #3 |
caffeine before a 20-minute nap opportunity (CAF+N) | increase | mean power (Pmean) | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 1.93; d = 1.79 | increased | #4 |
moderate dose of caffeine (CAF; 5 mg·kg-1) | increase | postexercise creatine kinase | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 1.19 | increased | #5 |
caffeine before a 20-minute nap opportunity (CAF+N) | increase | postexercise creatine kinase | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 1.36 | increased | #6 |
20-minute nap opportunity (N20) | increase | postexercise uric acid | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 2.19 | increased | #7 |
caffeine before a 20-minute nap opportunity (CAF+N) | increase | postexercise uric acid | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 2.50 | increased | #8 |
moderate dose of caffeine (CAF; 5 mg·kg-1) | decrease | postexercise uric acid | Nine male, highly trained judokas | P < .001, d = 2.96 | decreased | #9 |
Napping | increase | repeated-sprint performance | sleep-deprived athletes | - | improved | #10 |
Napping | increase | antioxidant defense | sleep-deprived athletes | - | improved | #11 |
caffeine | increase | muscle damage | - | - | increased | #12 |
caffeine | no change | performance | - | - | without improving | #13 |
caffeine before a short nap opportunity | increase | repeated sprint performance | sleep-deprived athletes | - | would be more beneficial | #14 |
PURPOSE: To compare the effect of a 20-minute nap opportunity (N20), a moderate dose of caffeine (CAF; 5 mg·kg-1), or a moderate dose of caffeine before N20 (CAF+N) as possible countermeasures to the decreased performance and the partial sleep deprivation-induced muscle damage. METHODS: Nine male, highly trained judokas were randomly assigned to either baseline normal sleep night, placebo, N20, CAF, or CAF+N. Test sessions included the running-based anaerobic sprint test, from which the maximum (Pmax), mean (Pmean), and minimum (Pmin) powers were calculated. Biomarkers of muscle, hepatic, and cardiac damage and of enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidants were measured at rest and after the exercise. RESULTS: N20 increased Pmax compared with placebo (P < .01, d = 0.75). CAF+N increased Pmax (P < .001, d = 1.5; d = 0.94), Pmin (P < .001, d = 2.79; d = 2.6), and Pmean (P < .001, d = 1.93; d = 1.79) compared with placebo and CAF, respectively. Postexercise creatine kinase increased whenever caffeine was added, that is, after CAF (P < .001, d = 1.19) and CAF+N (P < .001, d = 1.36). Postexercise uric acid increased whenever participants napped, that is, after N20 (P < .001, d = 2.19) and CAF+N (P < .001, d = 2.50) and decreased after CAF (P < .001, d = 2.96). CONCLUSION: Napping improved repeated-sprint performance and antioxidant defense after partial sleep deprivation. Contrarily, caffeine increased muscle damage without improving performance. For sleep-deprived athletes, caffeine before a short nap opportunity would be more beneficial for repeated sprint performance than each treatment alone.