Acute sleep restriction affects sport-specific but not athletic performance in junior tennis players

Purpose: Little is known about the effect of sleep restriction (SR) on different domains of athletes' physical performance. Therefore, the aim of this randomized, counterbalanced, and crossover study was to evaluate the effect of acute SR on sport-specific technical and athletic performance in male junior tennis players. Methods: Tennis players (N = 12; age 15.4 ± 2.6 y) were randomly allocated to either a sleep-restriction condition (SR, n = 6), where they experienced acute sleep restriction the night before the test session (≤5 h of sleep), or to a control condition (CON, n = 6), where they followed their habitual sleep-wake routines. Testing procedures included 20 left and right serves, 15 forehand and backhand crosscourt shots, and a repeated-sprint-ability test (RSA). The accuracy of serves and shots was considered for further analysis. One week later, players of SR joined CON, and players of CON experienced SR, and all test procedures were repeated. Results: Significant decrease in the accuracy of right (-17.5%, P = .010, effect size [ES] = 1.0, moderate) and left serve (-14.1%, P = .014, ES = 1.2, large), crosscourt backhand (-23.9%, P = .003, ES ≥ 2.0, very large), and forehand shot (-15.6%, P = .014, ES = 1.1, moderate) were observed in SR compared to CON, while RSA was similar in both conditions. Conclusion: Coaches and athletes at the team and individual level should be aware that 1 night of SR affects sport-specific but not athletic performance in tennis players.研究目的：目前学界关于睡眠限制（sleep restriction, SR）对运动员不同维度运动表现的影响尚不明确。为此本项采用随机、平衡交叉设计的研究，旨在探讨急性睡眠限制对男子青少年网球运动员专项技术与运动表现的影响。 研究方法：本研究招募12名网球运动员（年龄15.4±2.6岁），将其随机分为两组：睡眠限制组（SR组，n=6）与对照组（CON组，n=6）。其中SR组受试者在正式测试前一晚接受急性睡眠限制，睡眠时间≤5小时；CON组受试者则遵循自身日常的睡眠-觉醒节律。测试流程包含20次左右侧发球、15次正反手斜线击球，以及重复冲刺能力测试（repeated-sprint ability test, RSA）。后续分析将纳入发球与击球的准确率数据。一周后，原SR组受试者接受CON组干预，原CON组受试者接受SR组干预，并重复全部测试流程。 研究结果：与CON组相比，SR组受试者的多项指标出现显著下降：右侧发球准确率下降17.5%（P=0.010，效应量（effect size, ES）=1.0，中等效应）、左侧发球准确率下降14.1%（P=0.014，ES=1.2，大效应）、反手斜线击球准确率下降23.9%（P=0.003，ES≥2.0，极大效应）、正手击球准确率下降15.6%（P=0.014，ES=1.1，中等效应）；而两组的重复冲刺能力测试结果无显著差异。 研究结论：无论是团队项目还是个人项目的教练员与运动员，均应意识到一晚的急性睡眠限制会对网球运动员的专项技术表现产生影响，但不会作用于其基础运动表现。