The Positive Effects of Sleep on Athletic Performance - Children's Health (2024)

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The Positive Effects of Sleep on Athletic Performance - Children's Health? ›

Nine to 10 hours of continuous sleep helps with muscle memory. Without it, the sport-specific muscle techniques athletes spend hours training for won't stick as well. Increased sleep results in better reaction times, coordination and split-second decision-making.

Sleep loss and/or poor sleep quality can impair muscular strength, speed, and other aspects of physical performance. Sleep issues can also increase risk of concussions and other injuries, and impair recovery following injury.

Sleep is a very important part of your child's mental and physical health because it allows your child's mind and body to rest and recover. There are many things you can do to help your child or teen get good quality sleep as often as possible.

For your teen athlete, consider the following recommendations: Children between the ages of 6 and 12 need 9 to 12 hours of sleep each day. Teens between the ages of 13 and 18 need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep each day.

How much sleep do athletes need? Pro athletes typically need more than most—it's recommended that they get 8-10 hours every night. But for the average adult, aim for seven to nine hours of sleep a night to avoid the effects of chronic sleep deprivation.

"Getting enough sleep is crucial for athletic performance," says David Geier, MD, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist in Charleston, SC. Studies show that good sleep can improve speed, accuracy, and reaction time in athletes.

Without sleep, exercise does not deliver those benefits, Dr. Winter explains. “If you don't sleep, you undermine your body.” Sleep gives your body time to recover, conserve energy, and repair and build up the muscles worked during exercise.

Sleep is especially important for children and young people because it helps with mental, physical, social and emotional development. Sleep helps our brains to remember, memorise and analyse important information. These skills improve performance at school. Sleep can also affect our mood.

A single night of no sleep will not stunt growth. But over the long term, a person's growth may be affected by not getting enough sleep. That's because growth hormone is normally released during sleep. If someone consistently gets too little sleep (known as "sleep deprivation"), growth hormone is suppressed.

Adequate sleep contributes to a student's overall health and well-being. Students should get the proper amount of sleep at night to help stay focused, improve concentration, and improve academic performance.

How does sleep affect injury risk? ›

Sleep also helps with reaction time, which is integral in most sports. If an athlete's reaction time is slower, it is more difficult to adjust in sports to help prevent injury. Studies have shown that for teens in grades 7-12, sleeping fewer than eight hours a night can almost double their risk of injury.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended that children aged 6–12 years should regularly sleep 9–12 hours per 24 hours and teenagers aged 13–18 years should sleep 8–10 hours per 24 hours.

James prioritizes sleep and gets between 8-9 hours a night, sometimes even 10, and has called it self-care. James uses sleep techniques such as keeping his room between 68-70 degrees, having a completely dark room and cutting out distractions, his trainer, Mike Mancias, told Ferriss in 2018.

– World-class results demand world-class sleep. Interestingly, there is a clear difference between team and individual sports when it comes to how much sleep professional athletes require. Research shows that individual sport athletes sleep on average 6.5 hours a night while team sports come in at 7 hours.

He said, “Sleep is extremely important to me — I need to rest and recover in order for the training I do to be absorbed by my body.” Bolt sleeps for 8 to 10 hours per night and he is not alone. Roger Federer gets 11 to 12 hours sleep per night.

“Sleep needs to be activated for at least eight hours per night on a regular basis,” says Nicola, pointing out that this is the necessary amount of time for the brain, nervous system, immunity system, and various other processes to do their thing.

Poor sleep can decrease cognitive function. This can negatively affect things like decision-making and quick thinking – both important in athletics. Sleep deprivation can also lead to poor judgments and-risk taking.

Getting more hours of sleep will ensure an ample supply of growth hormones for injured tissues. Feelings of fatigue and tiredness during the day may be your body telling you to get more sleep. Sleeping is crucial for injury recovery as it allows your body to fully rest and heal.

Sleep deprivation leaves your brain exhausted, so it can't perform its duties as well. You may also find it more difficult to concentrate or learn new things. The signals your body sends may also be delayed, decreasing your coordination and increasing your risk for accidents.