Conclusion
napping, muscle soreness, fatigue
The current study investigated the impact of a daytime nap on afternoon performance and Self-reported measures in professional rugby union athletes. A short nap of around 35 minutes, resulted in an increase in afternoon peak power production, reduced Self-reported fatigue, less general muscle soreness, and lowered perceived exertion during afternoon training compared to not taking a nap between sessions. The findings from the current study suggest that napping may support recovery between training sessions on the same day and may provide positive effects on afternoon performance amongst professional rugby union athletes. Therefore, we are confident that it is unlikely that any harm would be caused to the athletes by implementing napping into their schedule. Given the potential improvements identified in this study, we would encourage practitioners to implement napping into their daily and weekly schedules. Coaches and performance staff should consider allowing time between training sessions on the same day to provide athletes with an opportunity to take a daytime nap to help improve afternoon training performance.