Sleep is a popular topic in the health and wellness industry due to its impact on performance. Numerous companies include sleep monitoring in their platform to ensure athletes are obtaining the proper amount of sleep to recover and perform at their best.
But what happens when there are constraints to an athlete’s sleep?
What are the negative effects of insufficient sleep?
Effects of Sleep on Performance
Sleep is an essential part of recovery for all athletes. This is the time we need to allow our body and nervous system to repair itself. Any disruption in sleep quality and quantity can be detrimental for an athlete, resulting in poor training sessions and performances. Sufficient sleep can be the difference between hitting a PR or being able to stay on the field.
Think about it! You cannot expect to compete at a high level if your sleep is impacting your ability to perform. Asking your body to compete while at 75% capacity when you need to be at 100% is a tall task for anyone. Sure, you can get away with this for a few sessions, but dig into the well too often and you’re asking for some trouble.
The consequences of insufficient sleep are far-reaching, affecting athletic performance, neurocognitive functioning, and physical health. Sleep deficiency can result in (Simpson et al. 2017):
- Reduction in time to exhaustion
- A decrease in running distance covered
- Increase in effort to remain effective
- A decrease in glycogen stores
- Increase in lactic acid production
- A decrease in accuracy (tennis serves)
- Erodes in executive functioning (tasks requiring flexible thinking and learning)
- Increase in impulsive and risky behavior
- Increase in likelihood of significant injury
- A decrease in pain tolerance threshold
- Negatively impacting weight maintenance
- Impaired immune system (increase chance of upper respiratory
Strategies for Improving Sleep
Athletes with better sleep tend to recover well and have better athletic performances. So, how do we go about this? How do we improve sleep for the elite athlete?
Management of sleep and performance will start with awareness and education for the athlete. Communicating best practices, discussing sleep hygiene, and implementing a plan are good places to start (Fig. 1).
Hopefully, with this information, we can better navigate ways to improve our sleep performance. Understanding this is an important step towards better recovery and improving athletic performance. Let’s educate and take ownership of our health and well-being.
Until next time. Stay healthy, happy, and well.