Tip of the Month -- Nov. 2005

SLEEP- HOW IMPORTANT IS IT!!

High school and college students are the most sleep deprived in the country. A survey involving 15,000 college students reported an average of 6.1 hours of sleep per night. That is below the recommended 8-9.5 hours per night. Athletes or individuals who engage in regular physical activity have an increased need for total sleep time. This is partly due to the revitalization process. During sleep our body’s main functions are for growth and repair.

Sleep deprivation is defined as a state of being, in which adequate sleep has not been received. Sleep deprivation is accumulative, this means if you are getting 6 hours of sleep consistently over a period of 14 days then you are sleep deprived 28 hours. This is based off the national average of getting 8 hours of sleep per night. So 14 times 2 equals 28. Being sleep deprived between 30-36 hours has detrimental effects on cardiovascular performance. Using the above example, this person would be dangerously close to seeing a possible 11% reduction in cardiovascular function. If someone were deprived 50+ hours there cardiovascular function would be reduced by 20%. This topic still needs further investigation before conclusive recommendations can be made.

Sleep deprivation has also been shown to reduce reaction time. When someone is moderately sleep deprived their perception/reaction response is slower and this difference increases over time. This decline in reaction time plays an important role in sports that require high levels of speed and quickness. The ability to hit a fastball in baseball or softball could be effected, a swimmers/sprinters final results in a race come down to hundredths of a second. This could be the difference between winning and losing.

Lastly, sleep deprivation reduces the ability to process information. Athletes who are sleep deprived take longer to process, discover, and integrate information. Their ability to make decisions is also impaired. So, on top of not being able to react to game situations and process the information that coach is telling the team, you are also more susceptible to emotional instability. One’s threshold for containing anger is lower, and consistently exhibit high levels of depression, stress, anxiety, worry, and frustration. All of these emotions are exasperated on the playing field anyway.

In closing, there are many things that you can do to increase performance. Sleep is one of those things that athletes take for granted. It is something that is often not thought twice about. Hopefully, after reading this tip there will be a better understanding of how important sleep actually is. 

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