Key result
Time of day significantly affected cognitive performance in handball goalkeepers, with selective and constant attention peaking at 08:00 h and reaction time being slowest at midnight.
Why the study?
Does time of day affect cognitive performance in handball goalkeepers?
Observational (n=12)
Does time of day affect cognitive performance in handball goalkeepers?
Cognitive performances in handball goalkeepers are time-of-day-dependent, suggesting activities requiring better cognitive performance should be programmed in the morning.
May inform athlete training schedules; leaves open whether time-of-day interventions affect match performance.
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the time of day on the cognitive performances of the handball’s goalkeeper (GK) in terms of attention and reaction time (RT). The protocol involved 12 healthy GK volunteer males (age: 18.5 ± 1.7 years, level of experience: 8.3 ± 2.4 years, height: 1.80 ± 5.8 cm, weight: 79 ± 4.2 kg). They performed three cognitive tasks, i.e. the RT test, the Stroop test, and the barrage test at 08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00 h, and midnight to evaluate simple RT, and selective (SA) and constant (CA) attention. Resting oral temperature was measured at the beginning of each test session. The results showed a significant time-of-day effect on RT, SA, and CA. Whereas, RT was higher (slower) at midnight, SA and CA were the highest (best) at 08:00 h. Likewise, the core temperature was time-of-day dependent with the highest values observed at 16:00 h. Therefore, cognitive performances of GK are time-of-day-dependent with the highest values observed in the morning for SA and CA, and at midnight for RT. However, these rhythmicities are not in phase with the rhythm of core temperature. Therefore, the activities that require better cognitive performance should be programed in the morning.
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Jarraya et al. (2013) conducted an observational in Healthy handball goalkeepers (n=12). Time of day vs. Different times of day (08:00, 12:00, 16:00, 20:00, midnight) was evaluated on Cognitive performances (reaction time, selective attention, constant attention). Time of day significantly affected cognitive performance in handball goalkeepers, with selective and constant attention peaking at 08:00 h and reaction time being slowest at midnight.
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