Sleep and Athletic Performance

5% increase in speed and 9% increase in free throw percentage

July 06, 2021

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Neuro Athletes,

Trying to be the best you can be, do you really want to ignore the benefits of sleep The impact of sleep on recovery and performance for athletes is so profound that sleep should be a non-negotiable and in fact, research has revealed how extending sleep from 6.6 hours to 8.5 hours nightly produce significant performance gains.

Just to name a few, these are the largest noticeable differences documented in NBA players:

  • 5% increase in speed

  • 9% increase in free throw percentage

  • 9.2% increase in three point shooting percentage in only two months.

It wasn't just basketball players, athletes across all sports were performing better football players had better reaction times, tennis players had greater first serve percentage swimmers had faster sprint times baseball players had better reaction times, and on it went. It seemed that every athlete who extended sleep time, performed better.

Primer

In 2019, the scientific community's recognition on the importance of quality sleep is like the recognition of how cigarettes kill over half a century ago. The scary thing is, when everyone found out that cigarettes were causing cancer 50-some years ago, it’s not like everyone quit. Now, studies are going to hit the masses about the terrible effects of sleep deprivation…and do you think everyone will adjust their schedules to make sure they are getting the necessary amount of sleep? I sure do hope so!

Sleep and poor performance: An Overview

Sleep deprivation has been associated with longer reaction times (RT) and reduced force on a simple and choice reaction time test. Reaction time is one of the biggest cognitive components in a training program for an elite ball player (NBA, NFL, MLS) but why how does lack of sleep affect a players RT?

Put simply, reaction time is defined as the amount of time it takes to respond to a stimulus, which can be any event that comes before a response. The human brain is immensely complex, and the typical time it takes for a physical response to a stimulus is around 160 to 190 milliseconds — or a little less than 0.2 seconds. That’s around the same time it takes to blink.

There are several hypotheses that attempt to explain the reason for increased reaction times after sleep deprivation. One hypothesis asserts that sleep loss increases reaction time due to the body’s simultaneous and competing needs. When we’re underslept, our body is experiencing a need for sleep, a need to stay awake, and a need to perform tasks.

These competing drives interfere with our attention from moment to moment, leading to cognitive impairment and an increased reaction time.

Let’s sum it up

  • Sleep deprivation leads to slower reaction time, decrease in speed and decreased cognitive performance

  • Several studies in the area of sleep and athleticism have been conducted to reveal a hypothesis between sleep deprivation and elite sport

  • Sleep should be a mandatory protocol for all elite players in any sport

Take Away: What Does This Mean For Me?

Practising sleep hygiene is highly effective and starting with good sleep protocols is a must. We have a number of articles on the public posts that you can read or alternatively if you are super interested in making a change for yourself or your athletes, you can join me in a live Q&A where I will discuss the topics in more detail and you will have the opportunity to ask questions.

LEBRON JAMES’ SLEEP

Lebron James is the perfect example of a pro athlete who takes sleep extremely serious.

I listened to a recent Tim Ferriss’ podcast with Lebron James and Mike Mancias (James’ trainer), and they discussed how James aims for 8-10 hours of sleep per day, without fail, which is the biggest factor to his “never-ending” recovery regiment.

Lebron makes sure his bedroom is optimized for sleep, using a sleep app, temperature control, and other important factors for optimal sleep, which we will get into further below in the “Optimal Sleep” section.

Here is a quote from Mancias (taken from Tim Ferriss’ podcast).

"Number one is being very accountable in that room. Create an environment. For us, it's always, for LeBron, in his hotel room. Making sure the temperature is set at a particular—probably 68 to 7o degrees is probably optimal. Making sure the room is completely dark. You have no distractions. Trying to turn off all your electronics, televisions, phones, etc. Turn everything off probably a half hour to 45 minutes before you actually want to go to sleep. Really commit yourself to that. We all love to scroll on the internet and our social media accounts at night to catch up on everything, but you owe it yourself and you owe it your recovery to commit and create an environment. The room at optimal temperature, dark, dark room, comfortable bed.”

Improve Your Fitness Through Sleep

Eight Sleep is the premier sleep fitness company that powers human performance through optimal sleep.

They use an advanced temperature-controlled system that adjusts throughout the night. It analyzes your personalized sleep stages, biometrics, and bedroom temperature, reacting intelligently to create the optimal sleeping environment.

The result?

Since getting my Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover a few months ago, not only do I fall asleep faster, I actually get high-quality sleep, so I wake up feeling well-rested and energized.

Simply put, it’s been a game-changer.

If you want to join me and thousands of pro athletes, CEOs, and other high performers that are dedicated to improving their sleep fitness, you should get an Eight Sleep Pod Pro Cover too.

Trust me; you won’t regret it :)