By Bri Groves, Swimming World College Intern.
Sleep is a popular area for athletes to see improvements in performance with relatively low effort. To examine the affects that increasing sleep can have on your swimming, check out this research.
In a study completed by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, researchers found that extending average sleep to 10 hours per day assisted Stanford swimmers in improving their 15-meter sprint times, reaction times, turn times and kick strokes. Athletes also reported qualitative improvements in alertness and mood.
The athletic performance of swimmers was assessed regularly after each scheduled swim practice. Following periods of sleep, the average athlete reacted 0.15 seconds quicker off the blocks, swam a 15-meter meter sprint 0.51 seconds faster, improved turn time by 0.10 seconds, and increased total kick cadence by 5.0 kicks.
This study also monitored weekly changes in mood and daytime sleepiness. With extra sleep, athletes reported that daytime sleepiness decreased. These athletes also exhibited mood improvements traditionally associated with higher levels of sleep including higher ratings of vigor and lower fatigue.
Lead author Cheri Mah, of the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory, tells us more about the importance of sleep and the detriments of sleep deprivation:
“Typically, many athletes accumulate a large sleep debt by not obtaining their individual sleep requirement each night, which can have detrimental effects on cognitive function, mood, and reaction time. These negative effects can be minimized or eliminated by prioritizing sleep in general and, more specifically, obtaining extra sleep to reduce one’s sleep debt.”
Although this research was specifically studying collegiate swimmers, it is supported by similar studies across and data from different sports. This correlation suggests that athletes from a range of different sports can benefit from extra sleep and gain an additional competitive edge to improve personal perform.
Photo Courtesy: Laura Bittner
The study offers several pointers to help athletes improve performance by increasing sleep:
1. Make sleep a part of your scheduled training regimen.
Scheduling sleep into your daily routine is a great way to ensure you get enough rest at the right times. During regular training, strive for a minimum of seven hours of sleep. Leading up to larger meets and championship season, try to increase this amount for an extra performance boost.
2. Maintain a regular sleep schedule. Go to bed and wake up at the same times every day.
Going to bed and waking up at the same time each day helps reduce the amount of time that it takes to fall asleep and being on a sleep schedule has been correlated with deeper levels of sleep. To make the most out of your z’s, try to go to bed and wake up on a schedule.
3. Get more sleep several weeks prior to competition to reduce your sleep debt.
Sleep debt is fatigue accrued from lack of sleep and depletion of energy stores. Competition is a fatiguing and taxing activity for your body; the more rested you go into the meet, the more likely your energy levels are to remain optimal.
4. Obtain a sufficient amount of nightly sleep. Seven to eight hours is ideal for adults while nine or more hours leads to optimal performance in teens.
Athletes have a busy lifestyle and it’s often difficult to fit in sleep. For optimal performance, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine found these amounts correlated to the best demonstrations of strength, stamina, and speed.
5. Take short naps during the day.
Naps are a good way to rejuvenate your body and take advantage of free moments during the day. To wake up refreshed, try to make nap time to 15-30 minutes. Shorter periods of time often signal fatigue, while longer periods can interrupt sleep cycles at night.
*To learn more about how sleep can impact the athletic performance of swimmers, visit the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Joe Molinari, read this 🙂
Sleeping with the girl in the (first) picture should boost performance. I assume that was your implied suggestion Bri.
Jesse Tatakis