The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of different variables on heart rate variability (HRV) and to evaluate the role of HRV as a potencial indicator of sports sucess in canoe slalom. Methods: An elite female kayaker participated in a longitudinal case study conducted between November 2018 and December 2022. HRV measurements were conducted with the application on the phone (HRV4Training), each morning after waking up and before getting out of bed, in a supine position. Quality and duration of sleep, delayed muscle soreness, illness, injuries, menstrual cycle and training load were monitored daily. Results of four competitive seasons were analysed and performance index was calculated for each competion result. A linear mixed model method was used for statistical analysis. Results: in relation to rMSSD, a statistically significant influence of sleep quality (p < 0.001), delayed muscle soreness (p < 0.001), injuries (p = 0.039) and follicular phase of the menstrual cycle (p = 0 .003) was found, while training load (p = 0.935), duration of sleep (p = 0.267) and illness (p > 0.5) have no statistically significant effect on rMSSD. rMSSD (p = 0.823) and rMSSD trend (p = 0.704) were not found to be statistically significant predictors of the performance index. Conclusion: in accordance with existing research, our study confirmed the effect of sleep quality and menstrual cycle on HRV. Although the research did not demonstrate a statistically significant relationship between HRV and sports performance, the findings suggest a possible benefit of sympathetic dominance in the pre-competition period in canoe slalom.
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