There are
numerous reports on the importance of sleep and its effects on daytime cognitive
functioning, from its effect on workplace performance, to driving a
vehicle. Less discussed is the effect of
sleep on athletic performance.
In a 2011
study on the Stanford University’s basketball team, SLEEP 2011;34(7):943-950, the performance of the athletes was measured
both on supposed normal sleep times, 6-9
hours per night, and then on extended sleep, a minimum of 10 hours per night.
During each
phase of the study, the players were tested on athletic performance measures, i.e.
speed, and shooting accuracy, and psychomotor vigilance testing, the speed of
response to visual stimuli. They also investigated
the athletes’ perception of their sleepiness and mood with the Epworth
Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and the Profile of Mood States (PMOS) questionnaires. Additionally measured was the accuracy of the
athletes’ perception of total sleep time with a sleep journal, an actual sleep
time by actigraphy (akin to wearing a Fitbit).
The speed
portion of the test was a modified sprint/suicide drill running a total of 282
feet. The average time dropped from 16.2 to 15.5
seconds. In the shooting performance
both free throw accuracy and three point accuracy increased by 9%.
Similar
improvements were noted with the ESS, as the average score dropped from 9.6 to
3.4 with the extended sleep. In the PMOS
all subscale scores were better but notably improved were the scores in vigor,
fatigue, tension, and confusion.
In regards to
the total sleep time, the athletes overestimated their sleep time by about 20%
in both phases of the study, but the actual sleep time, as determined by
actigraphy, increased on average by about 100 minutes, from approximately 400
minutes (6 hrs. and 40 minutes) to 500 minutes (8 hours and 20 minutes).
These results
highlight the importance of adequate sleep in all phases of our life no matter
what profession or duty we perform, and that improving our effective sleep time
could lead to better performance.
Posted By: Steven Ajluni, MD
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