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ELITE FOOTBALL TEAMS MUSTN’T SLEEP ON SLEEP SCIENCE: IT COULD BE THE DECIDING FACTOR IN WHO WINS THE WORLD CUP IN 2022 FEATURE / DR. CHRIS JAMES (BSC, MSC, DCLINPSY) AND DAVID THORNE (BSC, MSC) SLEEP ATHLETIC Sleep and performance science is a growing field, with more and more elite performance teams looking to tap into sleep as a way to gain a competitive edge through boosting performance and recovery. Sleep science has been a part of American sport for much longer, with NBA1, MLB2 and NFL3 teams having enjoyed the benefits of specialist sleep guidance for a decade or two. Football has lagged behind, but there are forwardthinking teams that realise that specialist sleep guidance can make a huge difference to athletic performance. Specialist sleep guidance can have a significant impact on athletic performance in a number of ways Sleep is vital for all of us. It’s integral for both cognitive and physical recovery and growth. This means sleep also has a massive impact on athletic performance, and this is highlighted within the academic research where simple changes like increasing sleep
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quantity in athletes (sleep extension) can lead to improved4-7: • Sprint performance by ≈4% • Jump height by ≈10% • Reaction time by ≈11% • Shot accuracy by ≈15% This importance is amplified when we look at elite athletes playing within a sport like football, which is so low scoring, meaning marginal gains can have a far bigger impact. As well as athletic performance, sleep helps reduce athletes’ chances of injury and fatigue, and it improves recovery times. Poor sleep quality increases athletes’ chances of overreaching8 (which is associated with increased injury risk), while sleeping at least 8 hours per night reduces elite athletes’ injury risk by 61%9. This is a significant reduction in risk of injury, yet specialist sleep guidance is still a rarity within football.
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We all have a sleep tip…but could this be dangerous? Sleep science is one of the most frequently spoken about ‘pop science’ topics. We’ve all read or heard something interesting about sleep, and it’s easy to feel like we are all somewhat experts in the field, because it’s something we all do every night. Although there are benefits to some of the basics of sleep science being relatively mainstream, the danger is that it leads to complacency, poor application, and a lot of ‘sleep myths’ based on flimsy or non-existent science. For example, whilst sleep hygiene (i.e. providing basic education about sleep) can be useful, research shows it is not a very effective way of helping someone with more significant sleep issues (e.g. insomnia symptoms)10. So yes, it’s helpful to know about, but it’s unlikely to help athletes who are really struggling. The other challenge for clubs is adherence and consistency - even if players know what they ought to be