Napping offers a strategy to manage sleep, aid recovery and enhance performance in elite sport. However, relatively little research attention has focussed on the natural history of athlete napping or tested the widely held assumption that athlete napping is mainly a consequence of degraded night-time sleep. Within a sample of 158 team (n = 76) and individual (n = 80) sport athletes, and 82 non-athlete controls, we analysed napping behaviour in relation to sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, and pre-sleep somatic and cognitive arousal. There was no significant association between athlete/non-athlete status and the prevalence, frequency, or duration of naps. Comparisons of athlete nappers and non-nappers found no significant differences in sleep quantity or quality. While nap propensity was significantly related to higher daytime sleepiness, this influence was moderated or augmented by levels of pre-sleep cognitive arousal. For some nappers, those with higher levels of arousal may need to be sleepier than those with lower levels of arousal in order to successfully initiate daytime sleep. Approximately 50% of athletes did not nap. If the benefits of athlete napping are to be fully exploited, the needs of this substantial group for whom napping may be problematic should be recognised and addressed.
Keywords: Athletes; arousal; nap; sleep; sleepiness.