Relationship between mood and sleep status with performance accuracy in university kyudo athletes

Abstract

The mood and sleep status influence subsequent physical performance. However, the relationship between these factors and the accuracy of hitting the mark in kyudo remains unexplored. This study aimed to compare the mood and sleep status of university kyudo athletes on days with higher and lower accuracy. A total of 15 university kyudo athletes (age, 20 ± 2 years; 11 men) participated in the study. Participants were instructed to shoot 20 arrows in the morning for two to three days, with the days of higher and lower accuracy subsequently determined and compared for mood and sleep status. Sleep status on the preceding day of the accuracy assessments was measured using the Nemuri SCAN, while mood status immediately before the accuracy assessments were measured using the Profile of Mood States 2^nd Edition (POMS2). None of the study participants demonstrated consistent accuracy across all accuracy assessments. When a three-day accuracy assessment was administered, and consistent accuracy was demonstrated on two days, the average mood and sleep status from those two days were incorporated into the analysis. Results indicated that total sleep time and sleep quality were significantly lower on the day before the higher accuracy day than on the day before the lower accuracy day (P < 0.05). Additionally, the Vigor-Activity score of POMS2 was trending lower on the higher accuracy day than on the lower accuracy day (P = 0.09). These results suggest that kyudo athletes may perform better under sub-optimal mood and sleep conditions rather than optimal conditions.