37
The Role of Sleep in Elite Athletic Performance: An Applied View Lindsay Thornton Senior Sport Psychophysiologist
The Role of Sleep in Elite
Athletic Performance:
An Applied View
Lindsay ThorntonSenior Sport Psychophysiologist
Overview
• Key points
– Quality/NEED to MONITOR-first to understand where you are, and then to help to
prioritize behaviors or intervention
– Respect sleep as recovery modality- same attention to this as active recovery, S&C,
nutrition, hydration, etc.
• Recovery and performance optimization strategy
– Quantity/Total sleep time- How much sleep are athletes getting?
• How much do they need?
– Sleep in training and competition
– Sleepiness
– Sleep extension findings
– Barriers: Training times, sport culture
3
4
5
How Much Did YOU Sleep Last Night?
6
7
8
Time in Bed vs. Total Sleep Time:Subjective and Objective Measures
9
• Time in Bed vs. Total Sleep Time from Mah etl al. (2011)
– Baseline: 7.8 (self report) vs 6.6 (actigraphy) hours
– Sleep Extension: 10.7 (self report) vs 8.45 (actigraphy) hours
What Does Sleep Look Like During Training Phases?
10
• Lastella et al. 2015- 124 athletes competing at the national and international level (AIS, rugby
and football union, Australian rules football).
What Does Sleep Look Like During Training Phases?
11
• Leeder et al. 2012- 47 Olympic athletes from GB National Squads, English Institute of Sport,
8:36 in bed with 6:55 asleep, 81% SE. 4 nights. At home during typical training phase.
• Summary: Adult elite athletes spend about 8.5 hours in bed with about 7 hours of sleep
What Does Sleep Look Like in Student Athletes?
12
Student- Athletes have less time in bed and less sleep:
• Mah’s basketball cohort had about 8 hours in bed with about 6.5 hours of sleep at baseline
• Suppiah et al. (2015). Asian adolescent high level athletes are getting 6.1 hours of sleep on
weekdays and 7.1 hours on weekend.
– Social jet lag present - later sleep-wake times on weekend; in excess of 1 hour.
AIS Swimmers: Training Jet Lag
13
• Sleep or Swim study- Sargent et al. (2014)-Early morning training severely restricts the
amount of sleep obtained by elite athletes. 7 swimmers at AIS, 4 months prior to trials, two
week high intensity training camp, 6 went on to compete in Beijing 2008 Games.
14
AIS Swimmers:
Irregular Sleep-Wake Rhythms
15
Impact of Training on Sleep
16
• Early-morning training sessions severely restrict the amount of sleep obtained by elite
athletes.
• Given that chronic sleep restriction of less than 6 hours per night can impair psychological
and physiological functioning, it is possible that the timing of training “may” create
performance barrier
• Impaired cognitive performance, immune function, appetite regulation, glucose
metabolism… increased daytime sleepiness, fatigue, more negative emotional
states, etc.
• If recovery is inadequate, this may impact adaptations during overreaching, leading
to overtraining rather than functional overreaching.
Impact of Training on Sleep
17
• Logical idea to attempt to sleep earlier on nights prior to early morning training, but a
“forbidden zone” exists for bedtime, estimated between 7-10pm (Lavie, 1986), and “training
jet lag”- as opposed to “social jet lag” might be created. Sargent and colleagues suggest
delaying morning training by 2-3 hours to allow athletes to obtain adequate sleep.
Teens Transform to OwlsAdolescents are “biologically incapable”…
18
• “Whilst it may seem intuitive to address the sleep loss due to early morning training by
commencing sleep earlier the night before, adolescents are biologically incapable of doing
this as the build-up of sleep pressure during wakefulness in them is slower (Jenni et al. 2005 )
due to the effects of “ synaptic pruning” that occurs in adolescence (Campbell et al. 2011 ).
This effect of delayed sleep has even been observed as a key developmental milestone of
adolescence (Roenneberg et al. 2004 ).”
– From Suppiah et al. 2014
What Does Sleep Look Like Prior to Competition?(Self reported disruptions)
19
• Erlacher et al 2011. Sleep habits in German athletes before important competitions or games.
632 athletes with 11.5 years of experience, training 11 hours per week.
– 62% experienced poor sleep prior to an important competition in the previous year.
– 80% reported difficulty falling asleep due to thoughts about the competition (77%) and
nervousness about competition (60%) or not used to surroundings (29%).
– 57% believed sleeping problems prior to competition had no influence on performance.
27% reported increased daytime sleepiness. 18% reported being in a bad mood. 13%
reported poor performance in the competition.
What Does Sleep Look Like Prior to Competition?(Self reported disruptions)
20
• Juliff et al. (2015). Understanding sleep disturbance in athletes prior to important
competitions. 283 elite athletes from Australia (AIS, international or professional competitive
level).
– 64% report worse sleep on at least one occasion in the nights leading into an important
competition in the previous year. Thoughts about the competition (82%), nervousness
(44%).
– 59% of team sport athletes reported no strategy to improve sleep prior to competition.
– 33% of individual athletes used relaxation and reading to get to sleep prior to
competition.
What Does Sleep Look Like Prior to Competition?
21
• Lastella et al. (2014). Athletes precompetitive sleep behavior and its relationship with
subsequent precompetitive mood and performance. Marathon study, 103 athletes.
– 70% report poorer sleep than usual (self report).
– No difference in actual performance (observed) versus expected performance (as
indicated prior to race). Fatigue and tension correlate with total sleep time.
• Limitation with giving expected performance on morning of, when athlete could
estimate performance with knowledge of any sleep loss on night prior- answers
were ‘cushioned’?
Training and Competition Impact on Sleep:
Recommendations from a Psychologist
22
• Disrupted sleep is common in athletes prior to competition (multi day events may be worse, but
fatigue is cumulative and can assist with sleep during subsequent nights).
– You might not have slept well last night, and chances are, neither did your competition.
– Well developed ability to rest/sleep may provide performance advantage.
– Don’t need a problem for things to be suboptimal. Sleep extension might cushion against
effects of competition related transient insomnia.
• Sleep difficulties may be caused in some cases by early morning training.
– Work to nudge culture of early morning training when possible
Situational, not global sleep issues
Sleep Deprivation and Performance:
First mood declines, then cognition, then physical performance
23
• Reilly and Piercy (1994)- max vs submax on biceps curl, bench press, leg press, dead lift.
Maximal efforts not affected by sleep loss; submax showed decrease in performance after
second night, with greater performance decrements observed as more sleep debt accrued
• Blumert et al. (2007) examined performance and mood in “national level” weight lifters after
24 hours of sleep deprivation. Mood deteriorated, but performance did not.
• Oliver et al (2009) examined treadmill running performance over 30 minutes in
“recreationally active healthy” males. After 30 hours of sleep deprivation, the participants ran
187 meters less than baseline distances. Perceived exertion increased while performance
decreased.
– Difficult to translate these findings to elite athletes
24
• Reilly & Edwards 2007
25
Sleepiness and Career Longevity
26
• Winter (2013) randomly samples 80 MLB players from three teams
and gets ESS scores. Data prior to 2010 season says
– ESS of 5 or under = 72% chance being in league 3 seasons later,
– 10 or under = 39% chance,
– 15 or under = 14% chance
• Sleepiness and Season long performance: MLB strike zone
performance is worse in September vs April in 24 of 30 teams in
2012 season.
– Plate discipline gets worse over the season. With cumulative
fatigue- growing sleep debt (Kutscher)
Sleep Extension
27
• Stanford studies: 2 week baseline, 6 week extension, 2007 basketball, then swim, tennis, football. Goal of 10 hours of sleep for approximately 6 weeks
– Swimming (n=5 men and women)- Improved speed, reaction time, turn time and kick strokes.
• .51 seconds faster in 15 meter sprint. .15 faster off blocks, .1 second faster in turns, 5 kicks more in stroke frequency. Reduced daytime sleepiness, and POMS improvements in mood.
Mah quaote “many of the athletes in the various sports I have worked with, including the swimmers in this study, have set multiple new personal records and season best times, as well as broken long-standing Stanford and American record while participating in this study.”
– Tennis- (n=5 women)- Improved sprint, accuracy.
• 19.1 to 17.6 seconds in sprint time, improved valid serves from 12.6 to 15.6, hitting depth drill from 10.85 to 15.45.
– Football (n=7 men)- Improved speed.
• 20 yard shuttle time decreased from 4.71 to 4.61 seconds, and 40 yard dash decreased from 4.99 to 4.89
Is Sleep Magic?
28
• No, but paying down sleep debt lifts physiological load, and improves
performance
• Your brain keeps track of how much sleep it is owed
– For at least 2 weeks, and at least 25 hours
• Mental performance on certain tasks can be predicted by size of
sleep debt
Sleep Extension with Stanford Men’s Basketball(from 6.5 to 8.5 hours; Goal of 10)
29
Sleep Extension with Stanford Men’s Basketball
30
• Athletes reported they previously underestimated the amount of sleep they
needed for peak physical and mental performance.
• They also reported that with more sleep they had:
– faster recovery time,
– better lift and cardio sessions, and
– fewer injuries
Sleep Protects Against Injury
31
• Evidence to injury claims in basketball…
• Milewski et al. (2014) Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sport injuries in
adolescent athletes.
– Those high school student athletes who reported at least 8 hours of sleep were 68% less
likely to injure themselves playing sports than their peers who slept less than 8 hours
• (N=112, grades 7-12; additional injury risk with higher grade level; data collected
over 21 months, 77% of students getting less than 8 hours per night).
Common Sleep Difficulties Observed with Athletes
32
• Signs to look for are excessive sleepiness, despite long time in bed/sleep. Sleep is ‘non
restorative’ due to insomnia, movement disorders, breathing disorders, and/or inappropriate
use of caffeine/alcohol.
• Charles Samuels observes 13% of athletes screened to have sleep difficulties requiring
consultation with sleep medicine physician (screened with ASSQ- in validation process). He
also indicates that athletes with high levels of dissatisfaction with the sleep also have
difficulty sleeping.
– He notes that in his experience, athletes are good judges of their own sleep, and if they
are not satisfied, they are likely getting poor sleep.
• FALLING ASLEEP in exam example… vs Sleep state misperception.
Sleep for Performance
33
Recommendations
• Sleep has to be a priority. Understand it as recovery and consolidation of gains from day
• Track sleep intermittently through season to ensure habits support goals
• Maintain low sleep debt, particularly in advance of anticipated sleep loss (travel, pre
competition nerves)
• When possible, maintain a regular sleep wake schedule
• Control your sleep environment- noise, temp, light
• Monitor caffeine and alcohol intake
Sleep for Performance
34
Summary-
• Sleep loss affects mood, motivation, perception of effort, in addition to reaction time and
decision making- limited evidence of performance decrements in elite athletes in competitive
settings with sleep deprivation studies.
– Perhaps mental skills are used to overcome effects of sleep loss in studies- motivation for
maximal effort can be sustained in short term.
• Sleep extension can be a near term performance enhancement strategy via reducing sleep debt
and allowing athletes to more fully recovery, maximize learning gains and experience skill
improvements (as observed in Stanford athletics studies).
