Sleep extension is associated with improvements in athletic performance

1. In this systematic review, sleep extension was the most effective intervention for improving sleep and athletic performance in athletes.

2. However, napping demonstrated inconsistent results, with some studies indicating that napping had a positive effect on athletic performance, while others found no effect or a negative effect.

Evidence Rating Level: 1 (Excellent)

Sleep is essential for aiding in recovery for athletes. As a result, sleep disruptions are known to impact athletic performance negatively. Despite this, athletes often face sport-related and non-sport-related factors that may inhibit their ability to achieve optimal sleep. A prior study investigated the role of sleep interventions on athletic performance. Still, since this was published, several more studies have improved our understanding of the importance of sleep in athletes. Thus, the present aimed to provide an updated review of the impact of various sleep interventions on athletic performance amongst a wide selection of sports.

Of 1,584 identified records, 25 studies published between 2011 and 2021 were included in the review. Studies were included if they tested an intervention to improve sleep in athletes, measured a performance/recovery outcome, and reported on the relationship between sleep and athletic performance. Studies were excluded if they enlisted referees or military tactical athletes, only reported on subjective performance measures, or included sleep medications as an intervention. The review was performed using PRISMA guidelines. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials (RoB2). The primary outcome was the impact of various sleep interventions on recovery and athletic performance.

The results demonstrated that sleep extension was the most effective intervention for improving sleep and athletic performance. Light and mindfulness interventions also demonstrated an overall positive effect on performance. However, napping showed inconsistent results, with some studies indicating napping had a positive effect on athletic performance, while others found no effect or a negative effect. Napping did, however, positively impact some aspects of recovery, such as muscle damage and inflammation. Despite these findings, the review was limited by the high heterogeneity of the included studies, which may have impacted the results. Nonetheless, the present study demonstrated that longer sleep duration may positively affect athletic performance.

Click to read the study in Sports Medicine – Open

Image: PD

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