A carotenoid and omega-3 supplement improves the archer's sleep
1 study · 29 archers measured
The summary today
There is a single study, and it is well built: randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, nine months of supplementation in competitive archers and target shooters in Singapore. Sleep, though, was a secondary outcome, measured with a sleep health questionnaire. In the archers the score rises from 8.45 to 9.91 on the supplement and falls from 9.20 to 8.60 on placebo, and the group-by-time interaction is significant (p = 0.023). Three things stop us going further. The archers number eleven against ten; part of the difference comes from the placebo group getting worse, and the active group, which started lower than the other, ends up ahead of it; and in the target shooters, who took the same supplement for the same time, sleep does not move (p = 0.705). The result points the way the claim does, but with numbers this small chance could explain it.
Also phrased as: "omega-3 and sleep"; "supplements for better sleep"; "lutein and archers' sleep"; "carotenoids and recovery"
In practice
Omega-3 supplements are among the most widely used by athletes, and one of the promises that comes with them is better sleep, which for an archer would mean reaching the shooting line more alert.
Evidence
-
2026
For Archers Published later
In the archers, 11 on the supplement and 10 on placebo for nine months: the RU-SATED sleep health score goes from 8.45 ± 1.75 to 9.91 ± 1.70 in the active group and from 9.20 ± 2.45 to 8.60 ± 2.91 on placebo; interaction p = 0.023, partial eta squared 0.242. Sleep is a secondary outcome of the study, and the archers were already starting from good values.
The effect of macular carotenoids and omega-3 supplementation on performance in precision sports: the sport nutrition intervention in performance exercise (SNIPE) study · Parimala Sivaperuman, Fraser C. Horn, Warren Roche, James Stringham, Richard Swinbourne, John Nolan
-
2026
Context Other sport Published later
In the study's 29 target shooters, on the same supplement for the same length of time, the sleep score does not change (interaction p = 0.705). The authors put this down to travel for competitions abroad, which kept many of the shooters away from home during the study.
The effect of macular carotenoids and omega-3 supplementation on performance in precision sports: the sport nutrition intervention in performance exercise (SNIPE) study · Parimala Sivaperuman, Fraser C. Horn, Warren Roche, James Stringham, Richard Swinbourne, John Nolan
Status history
- 1990 Not studied Nobody in the registry's bibliography had measured archers' sleep during supplementation with carotenoids and omega-3: the question has no data.
- 2026 Reported The randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial arrives: nine months, archers and target shooters in Singapore. In the archers the sleep health score rises from 8.45 to 9.91 on the supplement (11 people) and falls from 9.20 to 8.60 on placebo (10 people), with a significant interaction (p = 0.023); in the target shooters there is no effect (p = 0.705). The design is sound, but the subgroup is small, sleep is a secondary outcome and the archers were already sleeping well: there is evidence in favour, but it is limited.
Related
Related articles
- Supplements in archery: what studies have measured on eyesight, anxiety and tremorCarotenoids with omega-3, L-theanine and jatamansi: what studies in archers have measured, and why none has shown a higher score in archers alone.
- Sleep and recovery in archery: what the studies on archers showWhat studies on archers' sleep show: the night before a competition, how long archers sleep, the link with diet and evening habits put to the test.
Research lines
Cite
Campagna, M. (2026). A carotenoid and omega-3 supplement improves the archer's sleep (Version 1). In Evidence Registry. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/macular-carotenoids-omega-3-sleep
@misc{campagna2026_carotenoidiomega3sonno,
author = {Campagna, Matteo},
title = {A carotenoid and omega-3 supplement improves the archer's sleep},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {Evidence Registry, matteocampagna.com},
url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/registry/health/macular-carotenoids-omega-3-sleep},
note = {Version 1; accessed 2026-10-16}
}
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