Sleep boosts your fitness
July 9th 2008
A study from Stanford University has found that extra sleep could improve fitness and athletic performance.
The researchers studied swimmers who normally slept between 5 and 7 hours a night and who then extended their sleep to 10 hours a week for six weeks. With the extra sleep, the swimmers swam a 15m sprint an average of 0.5 seconds faster. They also displayed quicker reaction and turning times in the pool.
Dr Cheri Mah said: “Our results show what a significant factor sleep is in enhancing athletic performance. Many athletes accumulate a large sleep debt which can have detrimental effects on cognitive function, mood and reactions.”
Similar results were found when basketball players, runners and tennis players were subjected to different amounts of sleep. Mah’s advice to those who work out regularly is to get at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night and to keep a regular sleep-wake cycle.
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