A field experiment of sleep extension and precision performance in young archers

Evidence on sleep and performance in precision sports such as archery remains limited. This field experiment examined whether a sleep extension intervention was accompanied by changes in shooting performance among young Indonesian archers and whether day-to-day sleep was associated with performance. Five adolescent archers completed 12 performance sessions: six baseline and six interventions, with sleep operationalised as the mean sleep duration (in hours) of the two preceding nights at each session. Data were analysed using a piecewise linear mixed-effects model. Sleep increased during the intervention phase, and grouping scores were descriptively lower, indicating improved precision (smaller grouping diameter indicates better performance). The mixed-effects model showed no phase-related changes, but a non-significant within-person association was observed between longer sleep and better grouping scores, which is reported as a directional signal only, not a confirmed effect. Larger and longer studies are needed to confirm these findings.