Research summary · Sleep and recovery
Partial sleep restriction in elite karate athletes
A crossover experiment compares four and eight hours of sleep before cognitive and karate-relevant physical testing.
- Publication year
- 2026
- First published online
- Publication type
- Randomized crossover study
- Journal
- Medicine
- Population / context
- International-level male karate athletes
What the publication reports
Fourteen international-level male athletes completed both conditions one week apart. Sleep restriction slowed Stroop and simple reaction responses, worsened choice reaction after exercise and reduced squat-jump, agility and karate-specific aerobic-test performance.
Limits and interpretation
The sample was very small and all male, exposure lasted one night and blinding was not feasible. Laboratory effects do not quantify long-term training or competition consequences.
Read the source
Consult the original record for the full author list, methods, references, funding and competing-interest disclosures.
Effects of sleep restriction on cognitive and physical performance in elite karate athletes: A randomized crossover study
Original publication / indexed recordPMID: 41824810DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000048064Full text at the sourceReader discussion
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