Athletic Performance & Sleep

It is no surprise how important sleep is for both the physical and psychological recovery and performance of an athlete. While certain interventions are not always possible due to demands of training, travel associated with competitions/ play and the 'athletic lifestyle', a systematic review was done on 218 athletes of various sports (ages 18-24) looking at different interventions such as sleep extensions/ napping, sleep hygiene and post-exercise recovery strategies. The evidence suggests that sleep extension had the most beneficial impact on performance. This just goes to show you the importance of the 'pre-game nap'! :)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29352373/