Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Sleep and Athletic Performance

If there was a pill that could make you happier, smarter, stronger, less likely to be injured, improve basketball shooting percentage by 9% and tennis serving accuracy by 24%, would you take it? Surely that would be the most expensive pill ever created, but what if it were free?

Sleep loss is increasingly common among teenagers due to things like smart phones, laptops, TV, and energy drinks, and as few as 20% of teenagers may be getting the recommended 8-10 hours of sleep per night.1 Sleep loss is not only associated with increased body weight, but a recent study found that one-third of students have even reported falling asleep in school.1,2   

So how does this relate to sports?