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abstract:
Original paper
Does Ramadan fasting influence time-motion metrics and
psychophysiological responses in soccer players during small-sided
games performed in fed and fasted states?
Mohamed Kerkeni
1, 2
 ,
Karim Chamari
3
,
Manel Kerkeni
1, 2
,
Omar Boukhris
4, 5
,
Achraf Ammar
6, 7
,
David B. Pyne
8
,
Waqar Husain
9
,
Hamdi Chtourou
1, 10
,
Abdul Rashid Aziz
11
,
Haitham Jahrami
12, 13
,
Khaled Trabelsi
1, 2, 14
- High Institute of Sport and Physical Education, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia
- Research laboratory, Education, Motricity, Sport and Health (EM2S), LR15JS01, High Institute of Sport and Physical
Education, University of Sfax, Tunisia
- Naufar Center, Doha, Qatar
- Sport, Performance, and Nutrition Research Group, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe
University, Melbourne, Australia
- SIESTA Research Group, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
- Department of Training and Movement Science, Institute of Sport Science, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz,
Mainz, Germany
- Research Laboratory, Molecular Bases of Human Pathology, LR19ES13, Sfax, Tunisia
- Faculty of Health, Research Institute for Sport and Exercise, University of Canberra, Kirinari Street, Bruce, Canberra,
ACT 2617, Australia
- Department of Humanities, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad Campus, Park Road, Islamabad, Pakistan
- Physical Activity, Sport, and Health, National Observatory of Sport, Tunis, Tunisia
- Sport Science and Sports Medicine, Singapore Sport Institute, Sport Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Psychiatry, Ministry of Health, Manama, Bahrain
- Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine and Medical Sciences, Arabian Gulf University, Manama, Bahrain
- Department of Movement Sciences and Sports Training, School of Sport Science, The University of Jordan, Amman
Jordan
Biol Sport. 2026;43:679–691
Online publish date: 2025/12/16
PlumX metrics:
We explored how Ramadan fasting (RF) influences GPS-derived time-motion metrics and psychophysiological responses in soccer players during small-sided games (SSG). Twelve semi-professional male players (mean age 21.1 ± 0.7 y; estimated V ̇ O2max 54.5 ± 2.2 mL/min/kg) participated in four experimental SSG sessions in a within-subject, counterbalanced design. These sessions were scheduled at 15:00 and 21:00 before Ramadan, in a fed state (i.e., BR15fed and BR21fed), and during the fourth week of Ramadan at 15:00 in a fasted state (DR15fasted) and at 21:00 in a fed state (DR21fed). Sleep patterns, dietary intake, and insomnia symptoms were evaluated during the week preceding and final week-of-Ramadan. Participants’ Hooper index (wellness) and daytime sleepiness and mood measures were assessed before each session. Time-motion metrics using GPS and exercise heart rate (HR) were assessed during all sessions, and ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were collected after each session. Except for a higher number of decelerations in DR21fed session (p < 0.001), RF had no significant effect on other time-motion metrics. Absolute and relative exercise HR were higher at BR15fed than at BR21fed and at DR15fasted. RPE, Hooper index scores, and perceptual stress and muscle soreness components were higher at DR15fasted compared to BR15fed. Additionally, RF was associated with decreased sleep duration (by ~45 minutes) and increased insomnia symptoms and daytime sleepiness, while mood states and dietary intake were unchanged. RF induced physiological and perceptual changes in response to exercise, particularly in the fasted state. However, SSG performance metrics remained stable, suggesting fasted athletes can maintain short-duration SSG performance regardless of fasting status.
keywords:
Actigraphy, Cardiovascular responses, Fatigue, Football, Global Positioning System, Intermittent fasting
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