In college, my teammates and I would compare our lack of sleep to battle scars. Functioning without sleep somehow made us feel superhuman. You got five hours of sleep? Try four.
We didn’t fully comprehend that we should have slept more if we wanted to feel superhuman. Here’s why:
1. Better Motor Skills
A 2018 study found that every hour an athlete spends awake, their reaction time slows by five milliseconds the following day.1 In other words, if Athlete A slept 8 hours and Athlete B slept 6— Athlete A’s reaction time will be 0.01 seconds faster.
This is the same margin in which Michael Phelps beat Milorad Cavic in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Phelps, interestingly enough, has cited sleep as the secret to his success, claiming that during training, he would sleep at least eight hours a night and take a three-hour nap in the afternoon.2 (He is now a brand ambassador for a mattress company.)
2. Reduces Mental Strain
Although studies indicate short-term sleep restrictions don’t necessarily reduce anaerobic capacity, tired minds perceive exercise as more strenuous and thus reach neuromuscular failure faster than well-rested athletes.3 Sleep reinforces the mental clarity needed to push past performance plateaus (say that five times fast).
3. Builds Muscle
Technically, muscles aren’t built in the gym— they’re broken down under stress. During sleep, the body produces enough hormones to repair and rebuild larger and stronger muscles.4
Sleep is so critical to tissue repair that athletes who consistently sleep less than 7 hours increase their risk of musculoskeletal injuries by 1.7 times.5
4. Boosts Immunity
Studies show sleep deprivation may be a risk factor for various health conditions.6 Similar to how sleep produces muscle-building hormones, it also helps regulate the immune system by supporting the proliferation of cytokines and T-cells, critical components in staving off infection.7
A robust immune system allows athletes to constantly push their physical limits to stay more physically and mentally engaged during grueling training sessions.
5. Cements Muscle Memory
For a stimulus to be encoded into long-term memory, it must undergo a process called memory consolidation— which occurs during sleep.
Muscle memory, the ability to reproduce movement without conscious thought, follows this pattern. Several studies indicate that sleep before and after learning improves performance significantly— both by priming the brain to intake new skills and strengthening the memory of those skills necessary in the Sport of Life.8
Sleep is the unsung sports hero. Sleeping 7-9 hours will make you stronger, smarter, faster— and happier. Want to improve your sleep? Check out these five tips.
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