As an elite athlete, weekend warrior or just someone who wants to be the best version of themselves, we all want to perform at our highest level. Whether it is a championship game, an obstacle race with friends or just the daily workout at the gym – we want all aspects of our training, to culminate for that performance. There are many facets that make up our training including our training regimen / periodization, nutrition, mental readiness and sleep/recovery to name a few. Many of these facets have been well known and studied for years, but sleep has been the neglected aspect of training until recently. Sleep is one of the essential elements of life as a human. Why should that be any different for your “athletic life” We now know that sleep is an active physiological state, during which critical metabolic, immunologic, and cognitive/memory processes occur (Samuels). Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that sleep is imperative for proper recovery but it also affects physical performance.
Physical performance, in this case, is how one performs in training, in a game or match and even in day to day life. These performance factors can range from reaction time, learning, memory tasks and sport specific elements to cognitive function, mood, and daytime sleepiness. The National Institute of Health recommends 7-8 hours of sleep per night for adults while the National Sleep Foundation recommends 7-9 hours per night. A Gallup Poll conducted in 2013 found that the average adult slept for 6.8 hours per night. Sleep, just like everything in life, is different for every person. Some of us may only need six or seven hours while others may need 10 or more. Whatever that ideal number is for you, it is important that you set that as your goal each night. Not doing so will put you in sleep debt. Sleep debt is the cumulative effect of sleep deprivation. You can accumulate sleep debt by losing sleep (poor quality of sleep) or choosing to sleep less (poor quantity of sleep). Putting this into simplistic terms; if you sleep two hours less per night than you need over a seven day period, you now have a sleep debt of 14 hours. This sleep loss can add up week to week and your body can become accustomed to this new normal feeling which can ultimately have a significant effect on all aspects of your performance.
In a study done by Mah et al on NCAA basketball players, baseline scores of sprint times, 3 point and free throw percentage, mood states and physical and mental well being were taken over a period where players slept their normal amounts. The players were then retested over a period of extended sleep where they were encouraged to sleep at least 10 hours per night and slept until they awoke on their own each morning. Improvements in shooting percentage, sprint times, reaction time, mood, fatigue and vigor were all observed. Shooting percentage improved about 9% (free throw: 9%, 3-point: 9.2%). To put this in perspective, that is the difference between being the best free throw shooter in the NBA this season to being the 52nd best free throw shooter in the NBA. The difference between the first and fourth in the Men’s 100m final at the London Olympics was ~2.5% and that is with Usain Bolt winning by more than one-tenth of a second.
While the majority of us will never be an elite athlete or need to perform at the highest level, our “performance” in our everyday lives is just as important. Sleep is an important part of making this happen. Take these five steps and start working toward paying off your sleep debt:
Determine your ideal sleep time. Set an alarm to remind you that it’s time to prep for bed and start your nightly routine.
Stay as consistent with your bedtime and wake up time each day.
Start a pre-bedtime routine that allows you to disengage your mind from the day.
Make you bedroom as dark as possible. This includes things like alarm clocks and phone.
Turn off your phone and television and grab a book.
Following these five steps will start you in the right direction to a better sleep experience. You may not wake up performing like an elite athlete in the morning, but your performance throughout the day can be significantly improved and your sleep debt paid off.
References
- https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
health/health-topics/topics/ sdd/howmuch - Mah CD, Mah KE, Kezirian EJ and Dement WC (2011) The Effects of Sleep Extension on the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players. SLEEP 34(7): 943-950
- Samuels, Charles (2009) Sleep, Recovery and Performance: The New Frontier in High-Performance Athletics. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 20: 149-159
- Fullagar H, Skorski S, Duffield R, Hammes D, Coutts AJ and Meyer T (2014) Sleep and Athletic Performance: The Effects of Sleep Loss on Exercise Performance and Physiological and Cognitive Responses to Exercise. Sports Med 45: 161-186
We need to recover ourselves and make sure we’ll have enough sleep at night.