Sleep and sport a winning combination

Jonathan Warren

Author: Jonathan Warren

28.03.2024

News

78654257 Sleep may now be added to nutrition and physical training as one of the most effective tactics to maximise athletic performance, according to a recent study. US researchers from Stanford University School of Medicine evaluated the sleep patterns of the university’s male basketball team and studied how rest in bed affected the athletes’ on-the-court performance. Their subsequent report was published last week (July 1st) in the journal SLEEP. The players were asked to sleep for ten hours a night for around six weeks and as a result their shooting accuracy improved by nine per cent, along with their running rapidity. On average, they ran faster by 282-foot sprints (16.2 seconds compared with 15.5 seconds) than they had at baseline. Lead researcher of the study, Cheri Mah, emphasised the importance of sufficient sleep to serious athletes and urged for trainers to prioritise sleep over a long period of time, not just the night before the game. She said: “Sleep is an important factor in peak athletic performance. Athletes may be able to optimise training and competition outcomes by identifying strategies to maximise the benefits of sleep.”