The Importance of Sleep in Athletes

Abstract

Sleep is an essential component for athletes’ recovery from fatigue, due especially to its physiological and psychological restorative effects. Moreover, sleep is extremely important for numerous biological functions, and sleep deprivation can have significant effects on athletic performance in short-, medium-, and long term. For example, and considering the physiology of sleep for athletes, some hormonal responses that take place in the lead up to and during sleep (e.g., growth hormone—important role in muscle growth and repair) may be affected following exercise (i.e., training and competition), especially when compared with non-athlete’s populations. Thus, monitoring sleep is also crucial to understand responses to training and readiness, enabling appropriate planning. Importantly, sleep monitoring also intends to reduce the risk of injury, illness, and nonfunctional overreaching. Moreover, an “individual approach” in athletes monitoring could help in better prescribe training contents and more adequately manage fatigue, as well as recommend pertinent post-match recovery strategies, such as sleep hygiene interventions. Overall, for understanding the athlete’s sleep patterns/responses and to optimize the recovery strategies, it is crucial for comprehensive monitoring of his/her health, performance, fitness, and fatigue status.