As an athlete, your performance can be affected by all aspects of your lifestyle. In addition to the quality of your diet and training regimen, you also need to get enough sleep. According to Timothy Morgenthaler, M.D., the Mayo Clinic, adults need seven to nine hours of sleep each night. If you're an athlete who is still in school, you need at least 10 hours of sleep each night. Depriving yourself of sleep negatively impacts your immune system and how well your body repairs itself.
Strength
If your goal as an athlete is to get stronger and more powerful, you will need to increase your muscle mass. Lifting weights is the most efficient method of increasing your lean mass. Your body creates active muscle tissue when you are resting and recovering, and especially during your deepest levels of sleep. According to The American College of Sports Medicine, unless you get six to eight hours of deep sleep each night, your training results will be seriously impeded. Another factor in developing muscle mass is your production of human growth hormone, or hGH. The heaviest secretions of hGH occur during sleep. Lack of sleep hinders your production of hGH, and negatively affects how your muscles respond to your training.
Reaction Time
In many sports, small differences in your reaction time can determine the difference between success and failure. For example, trying to hit a pitched baseball thrown at 90 mph, requires split second timing. Two University of Pennsylvania researchers, Hans Van Dongen, Ph.D., and David Dinges, Ph.D., observed that performance on a psychomotor vigilance assessment declined after sleep deprivation. A psychomotor vigilance assesses reaction time and attention span.
Energy
In order to perform at your best, you need to supply your body with adequate energy. Intense competition breaks down muscle tissue and depletes glycogen. Glycogen is the stored form of glucose, and is the main source of fuel for your working muscles. When you deprive your body of sleep, you increase the production of cortisol. Cortisol is a stress related hormone that inhibits your body's ability to store glycogen. As a result, your muscles may prematurely fatigue during competition.
Concentration
An athlete's ability to concentrate during a competition -- and stay focused -- can make the difference between winning and losing. Sleep deprivation makes it difficult for you to concentrate, and negatively affects your memory as well. When you fail to fully concentrate, it not only affects your athletic performance, but it makes you more susceptible to injury.
References
- National Sleep Foundation: Sleep, Athletic Performance, and Recovery
- helpguide.org: How Much Sleep Do You Need?
- MayoClinic.com: How Many Hours of Sleep are Enough for Good Health?
- American College of Sports Medicine: About ACSM
- "Psychiatric News",Sleep May Be Athlete's Best Performance Booster: Lynne Lamberg, August 2005
