Mixed
Sleep extension (increasing duration from ~6.6 to 8.5 hours/night) significantly improves sprint performance, shooting accuracy, and reaction time in collegiate athletes.
If you are an athlete sleeping less than 8 hours, try extending your sleep by 2 hours per night for 5-7 weeks. Do this gradually (30-60 minutes extra per night). Monitor your energy and alertness. This simple change has been shown to improve sprint times and shooting accuracy in collegiate athletes. Prioritize consistent sleep and wake times, a cool/dark environment, and avoid screens 1 hour before bed.
after a 5- to 7-wk period of 2-h sleep extension in male collegiate basketball players, Mah et al. (24) identified significant improvements in sprint test times, as well as improved self-ratings of fatigue, vigor, and performance during practices and games... an increase of objectively measured sleep from 6.6 to 8.5 h per night over a 5- to 7-wk period was associated with a 9% increase in free-throw accuracy, a 9.2% increase in three-point field goal percentage, and significant improvements in a psychomotor vigilance task (24).
Why this rating
Based on specific observational/interventional studies (e.g., Mah et al.) but noted as having 'considerable variation in this effect between individuals' and limited to team sports in some contexts.
Source
Sleep and Athletic Performance
Andrew Watson · Current Sports Medicine Reports · 2017
DOI 10.1249/jsr.0000000000000418
More from this paper
- Reduced sleep duration (<8 hours) is associated with a significantly increased risk of injury in youth and adolescent athletes, particularly when combined with high training loads.Moderate
- Sleep deprivation impairs endurance performance (time to exhaustion, distance covered) and accuracy/reaction time, but its effect on anaerobic power (peak/mean power) is inconsistent and less clear.Moderate
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