How to Boost Sleep Quality for Improved Sports Performance

When my daughter started participating in athletics last year, her training time increased three-fold and with that the constant complaints about being tired. As any parent would, I began thinking of all the ways I could help her increase energy levels, so she could perform at her best.  She has always been active, partaking in different sports over the years, but low energy levels have never been an issue before. With about twenty hours of training a week, we knew we had to make some long-lasting changes. So here we were looking at the most obvious and asked ourselves: how can we boost sleep quality to improve sports performance? And this is what we found:

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM), teenagers from 13-18 years of age should regularly get 8-10 hours of sleep per day for various reasons. [1] 

Insufficient sleep has been linked to health, behavioral, attention, and learning issues, as well as an increased risk of accidents and injuries. [1] 

While we try our best to ensure that she gets an adequate amount of sleep each night, it can be a challenge at times, especially since student athletes tend to compromise

sleep trying to balance the demands of everyday life. Between school, sports, family, and friends, the demands can be quite overwhelming and sometimes even stressful resulting in a lack of sleep and poor sleep quality.  

Overall, good sleep quality is just as important as getting sufficient sleep, so much so that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) addressed the importance of sleep duration and quality and its effects on physical and mental health, as well as athletic performance. [2] 

Many factors can affect sleep quality, including daily habits and routines, such as your diet and what you do throughout the day and in the hours before going to bed. [3] Therefore, it is essential to adopt good habits for improved sleep health. Some things you can try to do to improve sleep quality are establishing consistency in the sleep schedule that allows for adequate sleep duration, avoiding the use of electronics at least half an hour before going to sleep, creating a bedtime routine that is relaxing, limiting bright light exposure in the evenings, avoiding large and heavy meals before bedtime, as well as caffeine intake later in the day, maintaining a comfortable and cool room temperature, and following a healthy diet. [3] 

Another aspect to consider is the circadian rhythm, which refers to the changes in physiology, mental state, and behavior that occur in a 24-hour cycle. [4] It is influenced mostly by the environment, such as light and darkness, however, other factors, including stress, diet, and temperature can also have an effect on it. [4] Circadian rhythms may vary among individuals, which is why the optimal time to train for one person may not be the optimal time to train for another. [5] According to some studies circadian rhythms can cause physiological variations that directly impact components of sports performance, such as muscle strength, flexibility, sensorimotor control, as well as perception and cognition. [5] Although there is little we can do as athletes or parents to plan training sessions and competitions with circadian rhythms in mind, ensuring that your teen gets plenty of rest to recover is something we can influence.  

Additionally, traveling across different time zones can have an impact on your circadian rhythm, which can result in various symptoms associated with jet lag. [5] These include, but are not limited to, fatigue, decreased motivation, and changes in appetite. [5] While getting used to a different time zone may vary in length among individuals, it is important to allow for adequate time to adjust before competitions, to minimize its adverse effects on sports performance.  

In recent years, the concept of chrononutrition has been the subject of various studies. It is an approach that looks at the impact of meal timing and frequency on metabolism as it relates to the circadian rhythm. [6] While the circadian rhythm varies from person to person, it determines the timing that is most efficient for food to get digested and metabolized. [6] Consumption of food within those time frames results in better digestion, and, consequently, improved sleep. [6] Therefore, allowing an adequate amount of time for your food to get digested before bedtime is the key. When it comes to meal frequency, a consistent meal pattern comprised of three meals per day has also been shown to contribute to better sleep quality. [6] 

Moreover, there are certain foods that have been found to promote improved sleep. These include foods that contain melatonin, a hormone that is essential for the onset of sleep and the circadian rhythm. [6] Melatonin can be found in meat, mushrooms, bananas, pineapples, oranges, and certain grape and cherry varieties. [6] Tart cherry juice has been shown to promote better sleep due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of cherries. [6] In our bodies, tryptophan is needed in serotonin production, which is then used to make melatonin. [6] Therefore, foods that contain serotonin and tryptophan can also improve sleep. [6] Serotonin can be found in kiwis and tryptophan in foods, such as cereals, milk and cheese, chicken and turkey, pumpkin seeds and peanuts, as well as eggs, beans, and leafy green vegetables. [6,7] 

Although it may not always be possible for parents to simply educate their children about what they should do and expect them to do it, many times it takes active involvement to ensure that they establish and follow healthy bedtime habits and routines. While we are still working on the perfect combination of habits and routines for our teen, we noticed that inadequate sleep duration played a huge role in decreased sports performance, especially in the morning hours and towards the end of the week. Establishing consistency comes with its own challenges, but I hope that some of the tips in this article can help you find and establish a routine that works best for you and your athlete.  

References: 

1. Teen sleep duration health advisory. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Feb. 2014.  

2. Sleep and athletic performance: impacts on physical performance, mental performance, injury risk and recovery, and mental health. Charest J, Grander MA. Sleep Med Clin. 2020 Mar;15(1):41-57.  

3. Healthy sleep habits. American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Aug. 2020.  

4. Circadian rhythms. National Institute of General Medical Sciences. Sep. 2023. 

5. The value of sleep on athletic performance, injury, and recovery in the young athlete. Copenhaver EA, Diamond AB. Pediatr Ann. 2017;46(3):e106-e111.  

6. Nutritional elements in sleep. Pattnaik H, Mir M, Boike S, Kashyap R, Anjum Khan S, Surani S. Cureus. 2022 Dec;14(12):e32803. 

7. Sleep and nutrition interactions: implications for athletes. Doherty R, Madigan S, Warrington G, Ellis J. Nutrients. 2019 Apr;11(4):822.