![]() 8 Sleep loss may predispose individuals to injury those sleeping fewer than 8 hours per night are 1.7 times likelier to sustain injury than those who sleep more than 8 hours, 9 although decrease in sleep efficiency and increased latency to fall asleep may precede injury by up to 1 week. 7 In another study, increased total sleep time was associated with higher perception of recovery after training or competition. In a survey of almost 900 high-level athletes, sleep was consistently named as the single most important recovery tool, regardless of sex, sport, or level of competition. Paradoxically, many athletes appear to be sleeping less during intense workloads when they need sleep most. ![]() Although naps of up to 2 hours during the day may be effective in recovering lost sleep, 6 naps that are too long, or too late in the day, may interfere with nighttime sleep, and thus, are not a long-term solution. 5 To supplement nighttime sleep, athletes may turn to napping. Elite football players slept on average 157 minutes less after nighttime matches than after daytime matches and 181 minutes less than after a training day. For sports with more variable schedules, timing of practice and competition can still influence sleep. 4 Athletes in many sports must contend with persistently early morning competition times that restrict time spent in bed. In a study, elite swimmers averaged 5.4 hours of sleep on nights before training, and 7.1 hours-a better but still seemingly inadequate amount-on rest days. Total sleep time for elite athletes can often dip below the minimum 7 hours recommended for optimal health, 3 especially during periods of high physical load. Interestingly, this poor sleep quality was despite a seemingly adequate amount of sleep (mean sleep duration 8 hours, 11 minutes), albeit with elevated wakefulness after sleep. 1 In another study, self-reported sleep quality was again frequently poor, with 41% of athletes having abnormal PSQI scores of more than 5. 1 In addition, 38% of athletes slept fewer than 7 hours per night, and more than 50% had symptoms of excessive daytime sleepiness as measured by the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. In a survey study, 42% of collegiate athletes reported poor sleep, indicated by a score of more than 5 on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). It should come as no surprise then, that athletes report high rates of sleep disturbance. Factors that can influence, and in many cases impair, sleep in elite athletes include factors unique to the individual, their sleep hygiene, and health (blue ovals) and extrinsic environmental factors (large yellow arrows), many of which are engrained in sport Amount, Quality, and Timing Individuals also have differing sleep needs, responses to sleep loss, and preferred sleep times (eg, the “morning lark” or a “night owl”).įigure 1. ![]() At the individual level, variables that influence sleep include medical, psychologic, or sleep disorders, and underlying levels of pain. ![]() Complicating this further, many elite athletes are still amateur athletes, for whom sport must contend for time with school or work. Although there are too many factors to name all, the major factors to account for when considering athletes’ sleep needs include season and off-season length, practice time and duration, competitive time, and travel. Some factors are specific to an individual athlete, but many others are directly attributable to the athletic environment, which can significantly limit sleep particularly at an elite level. Sleep in the Elite AthleteĪ range of factors that can influence sleep in athletes (Figure 1). This review provides an overview of current scientific research on sleep as a performance factor and how this knowledge can be applied in practice. Coinciding with advances in sport and sleep science, along with nutrition, mental health, and wellness, sleep is being recognized as an important part of an advanced training regimen rather than a static state of inactivity. In recent years, sleep has increasingly been recognized as a controllable factor that can modify performance for elite athletes. Elite athletes-which for the purpose of this article will be defined as athletes capable of competing at a varsity or university level or higher-have long sought competitive advantages in sport.
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