The effects of sleep on athletic performance
As an athlete myself, I have always strived to be the best. I search for different ways to get better no matter the cost. Spending countless hours working on how to get better and improve seemed easier for some and harder for others around me. Many variables end up contributing to how a person can perform athletically besides the hard work they put in. Some have genetics on their side while others eat really well and have the resources to fancy gyms and programs. Above all other variables that contribute to an athlete’s athletic performance, sleep has the most impact on how well they can do. it helps them develop in the long run as well as revive and replenish them in the short run. While sleep …show more content…
Without it we could not survive. It is something that we can not decide that one day we just don’t want to do it. It is a human requirement that is often looked over. The general rule is you can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Like breathing, eating and drinking water, sleep is a necessity. In one of the better known experiments on this subject, found that depriving rats entirely of sleep resulted in their death, or near-dying state, within 11-32 days (Everson et al. 1989). This says that we couldn 't survive without sleep for about one-third the amount of time we could survive without …show more content…
We know how important sleep is and how it compares to the other things we need, but how do athletes fit into this mix? We see some do the craziest things just to get ahead of the pack like eating no carbs, eating a lot of protein, or even taking performance enhancing drugs. Sleep however, is something that athletes can either excel in or be struggling with. Athletes can become more sensitive to activities that alter consistent lifestyles because of the desynchronizing effects of those activities. Athletes consistently have a set amount of exercise and time to do so. This also makes them more sensitive to jet lag as well as sleep loss. Solutions seem futile and it is just something that athletes are more susceptible to. However, maybe athletes don’t have it so bad after all. “Do athletes need more sleep than sedentary people? During the last 30 years, there have been many studies showing that people who regularly practise one or more physical activities sleep better. Meta-analyses, which reduce the differences in the methodological approaches, strengthen this conclusion. (Koslowski & Babkoff, 1992)” (as cited in Davenne, 2009, 49) A recent study shows the relationship between previous amount of exercise, amount, and degree of sleep in relation to athletes’ sleep. The sleep of ten male college students accustomed to high-intensity exercise at least three times a week were paid to
As an athlete myself, I have always strived to be the best. I search for different ways to get better no matter the cost. Spending countless hours working on how to get better and improve seemed easier for some and harder for others around me. Many variables end up contributing to how a person can perform athletically besides the hard work they put in. Some have genetics on their side while others eat really well and have the resources to fancy gyms and programs. Above all other variables that contribute to an athlete’s athletic performance, sleep has the most impact on how well they can do. it helps them develop in the long run as well as revive and replenish them in the short run. While sleep …show more content…
Without it we could not survive. It is something that we can not decide that one day we just don’t want to do it. It is a human requirement that is often looked over. The general rule is you can live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food. Like breathing, eating and drinking water, sleep is a necessity. In one of the better known experiments on this subject, found that depriving rats entirely of sleep resulted in their death, or near-dying state, within 11-32 days (Everson et al. 1989). This says that we couldn 't survive without sleep for about one-third the amount of time we could survive without …show more content…
We know how important sleep is and how it compares to the other things we need, but how do athletes fit into this mix? We see some do the craziest things just to get ahead of the pack like eating no carbs, eating a lot of protein, or even taking performance enhancing drugs. Sleep however, is something that athletes can either excel in or be struggling with. Athletes can become more sensitive to activities that alter consistent lifestyles because of the desynchronizing effects of those activities. Athletes consistently have a set amount of exercise and time to do so. This also makes them more sensitive to jet lag as well as sleep loss. Solutions seem futile and it is just something that athletes are more susceptible to. However, maybe athletes don’t have it so bad after all. “Do athletes need more sleep than sedentary people? During the last 30 years, there have been many studies showing that people who regularly practise one or more physical activities sleep better. Meta-analyses, which reduce the differences in the methodological approaches, strengthen this conclusion. (Koslowski & Babkoff, 1992)” (as cited in Davenne, 2009, 49) A recent study shows the relationship between previous amount of exercise, amount, and degree of sleep in relation to athletes’ sleep. The sleep of ten male college students accustomed to high-intensity exercise at least three times a week were paid to