Multidimensional recovery monitoring in elite female football: an ecological understanding of sleep–recovery relationship

This study investigated the associations between objective actigraphy-based sleep, morning heart rate variability, perception of recovery and sleep quality in elite female football players during a competitive season. Fifteen elite players from one Italian Serie A team were monitored over 14 weeks, collecting sleep data using wrist-worn actigraphy and sleep diaries. Daily subjective sleep and recovery metrics were also collected using brief self-report scales.

Morning heart rate variability was assessed using a 1-min seated recording, to account for an autonomic marker of recovery, specifically the natural logarithm of the root mean square of successive differences (LnRMSSD). Linear mixed-effects models were used to account for repeated observations within players. When modelled simultaneously, sleep efficiency emerged as a significant positive predictor of LnRMSSD (β = 0.008, p = 0.014), highlighting the importance of sleep continuity for autonomic recovery.

Total sleep time, however, did not show a significant independent association with LnRMSSD (β = − 0.051, p = 0.158). Longer-than-usual total sleep time was associated with higher subjective sleep quality (β = 0.199, p