We all have said it or heard a friend or family member say these seven words – “I need more time in my day!” These words sound very appeasing when we are running from work to soccer practice, parent teacher conferences, dance recitals, and home to make dinner. But what is it that we are willing to or have unwillingly given up in order to accomplish all of these things in our busy shortened days? Sleep! How has sleep affected your day to day? Are you spending time working to your fullest potential or are you half completing your many tasks while napping at a traffic light? According to research performed by the National Sleep Foundation, driving while sleep deprived results in the same performance as an individual driving while under the influence of alcohol. More importantly, sleep deprived drivers account for nearly 20% of car crashes and these are all void of alcohol! If this is the impact of sleep deprivation on adults, imagine the effects on children who are faced with more rigorous educational demands, social demands, and athletic performance. These factors raise a question for parents and coaches alike –how does sleep deprivation affect reaction time and ball passing accuracy for adolescent youth soccer players ages 10 – 19?
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has identified adolescents and young adults (ages 12 to 25 years) as a population at high risk for problem sleepiness based on “evidence that the prevalence of problem sleepiness is high and increasing with particularly serious consequences…the most troubling consequences of sleepiness are injuries and deaths related to lapses in attention and delayed response times at critical moments. (National Sleep Foundation Sleep And Teens Task Force). Research shows that lack of sleep has a significant impact on alertness, attention, and other cognitive function in adolescents (Randazzo et al, 1998) who require just as much sleep as they did during pre-adolescence (8.5 – 9.25 hours). (Carskadon et al., 1980) As children get older, they get a bit more freedom especially in the adolescent stages since they tend to have more responsibilities. And parents do their best to provide better opportunities for their children’s success. Thus, missing a few minutes or hours of sleep can’t be that significant, right? Wrong!
Did you know that people who are tired due to sleep disruption perform nearly as poorly as legally drunk individuals? Stanford University’s study on reaction time was paramount in proving this about individuals with sleep loss. Furthermore, the subjects were reported as having only mild to moderate sleep disturbances. It has been clearly established that sleep loss causes slower response time, decline in overall performance, and a decline in short-term recall of working memory. What about sleep deprivation and its effects on the performance of young athletes? Imagine having to make a split second decision to pass or shoot a soccer ball with delayed response time.
As for sports performance, research by Dr. Cheri Mah at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic has shown that members of Stanford’s women’s tennis team, men’s and women’s swimming teams, and men’s basketball team improved performance by increasing sleep times. The study looked at 11 basketball players starting at 2 – 4 weeks of the player’s normal sleep as the baseline. Following which, they had the players complete 5 -7 weeks of sleep extension wherein there was “a minimum goal of 10 h in bed each night”. (Mah et al, 2011). The researchers recorded athletic performance (reaction time, running speed, and shooting accuracy). The results showed improvement in all areas after sleep extension which allowed researchers to conclude that “optimal sleeps is likely beneficial in reaching peak athletic performance” (Mah et al, 2011). While this conclusion may seem like a no brainer, there are some key aspects to athletic performance that players cannot do without.
“Practice makes perfect.” We hear it all of the time. We say it all of the time, but what does this truly mean? To an adolescent soccer player it can mean dribbling through cones to improve ball control, participating in 30 minutes of various passing activities, or goalkeeper agility training drills. These types of activities tend to put a sour taste in the mouths of younger players as they do not understand why they must do repeated drills during practice when they are out there to show their friends that they’ve mastered the “around the world” trick. Every sports has a foundation – the basic skills necessary to achieve mastery. The ability of players to master the technical skills becomes altered as Cook et al (2011) proved that acute sleep deprivation affects performance of a simple repeat skill when observed in elite athletes. If performing a simple repeat skill such as ball passing is affected by sleep loss, it can be expected that players will not execute accurate passes during the games (where the test of overall performance is usually observed). Sleep deprivation has truly proven to be a downer. However, did you know that sleep is one of the key recovery tools that can benefit athletes?
Most research has suggested 7 – 9 hours of passive rest (uninterrupted sleep at night) for adolescents. Furthermore, an adolescent experiencing heavy training and a growth spurt may need up to ten hours a night. Before you shoot down the idea, let me explain! The term sleep deprivation means that young athletes are consistently getting less than the average recommendation of 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep recovery is needed when there is excessive physical overload, athletes are involved in 3+ hours of training per day, athletes are involved in 2+ hard training days back to back, or they participate in more than one game in less than the suggested 72 hour span of time. These are the scenarios wherein sleep recovery will benefit players the most. So, what can you do?
Research by Waterhouse et al (2007), provided support to the idea that a post-lunch nap or even sitting quietly for a half an hour following a night of shortened sleep provided an improvement in mental and physical performance for athletes who obtained some sleep loss.
Parents, the most simplistic thing that you can do is plan sleep for optimal performance. The following tips from Dr. Mishra (2013) should prove to be beneficial.
Coaches,
How does sleep deprivation affect reaction time and ball passing accuracy for adolescent youth soccer players ages 10 – 19? There is very little research for players within this age range. Do not be discouraged. Little research makes sense as there are a variety of reasons for this lack. The primary reason being that this research is based on players who are in the developmental stages of life (especially physically). However, coaches should exercise due diligence in order to attain optimal training advice for their players. We can look at the research provided for elite players and young athletes as a guide for adolescents. In addition, utilizing the expertise of pediatric professionals with regards to sleep and other areas of importance is useful. As a first step, be sure to incorporate the following sleep hygiene tips as formulated by the National Sleep Foundation to assist with optimal athlete performance.
References:
Carskadon, M.A., Harvey, K., Duke, P., Anders, T.F., Litt, I.F., and Dement, W.C. Pubertal changes in daytime sleepiness. Sleep 2: 453-460, 1980.
Cook, C. J., Crewther, B. T., Kilduff, L. P., Drawer, S., & Gaviglio, C. M. (2011). Skill execution and sleep deprivation: effects of acute caffeine or creatine supplementation - a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 8, 2. http://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-8-2
Fullagar, H H.K., Duffield, R., Skorski, S., Coutts, A., Julian, R., Meyer, T. (2015). Sleep and Recovery in Team Sport: Current Sleep-related Issues Facing Professional Team-Sport Athletes. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. Human Kinetics, Inc. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2014-0565
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research; Colten HR, Altevogt BM, editors. Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2006. 4, Functional and Economic Impact of Sleep Loss and Sleep-Related Disorders. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19958/
Mah, C. D., Mah, K. E., Kezirian, E. J., & Dement, W. C. (2011). The Effects of Sleep Extension on the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players. Sleep, 34(7), 943–950. http://doi.org/10.5665/SLEEP.1132
Mishra, Dev K. (2013). Sleep well, play well (The teenager’s challenge). Soccer America: Youth Soccer Insider. Retrieved from http://www.socceramerica.com/article/51007/sleep-well-play-well-the-teenagers-challenge.html
Randazzo AC, Muehlbach MJ, Schweitzer PK, Walsh JK. Cognitive function following acute sleep restriction in children ages 10-14. Sleep. 1998;21(8):861–868.
Thorpy, M. (2015). Sleep Hygiene. National Sleep Foundation. Retrieved from https://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene
Waterhouse J, Atkinson G, Edwards B, et al. The role of a short post-lunch nap in improving cognitive, motor, and sprint performance in participants with partial sleep deprivation. J Sports Sci. 2007;25(14):1557-66.
The National Institute of Health (NIH) has identified adolescents and young adults (ages 12 to 25 years) as a population at high risk for problem sleepiness based on “evidence that the prevalence of problem sleepiness is high and increasing with particularly serious consequences…the most troubling consequences of sleepiness are injuries and deaths related to lapses in attention and delayed response times at critical moments. (National Sleep Foundation Sleep And Teens Task Force). Research shows that lack of sleep has a significant impact on alertness, attention, and other cognitive function in adolescents (Randazzo et al, 1998) who require just as much sleep as they did during pre-adolescence (8.5 – 9.25 hours). (Carskadon et al., 1980) As children get older, they get a bit more freedom especially in the adolescent stages since they tend to have more responsibilities. And parents do their best to provide better opportunities for their children’s success. Thus, missing a few minutes or hours of sleep can’t be that significant, right? Wrong!
Did you know that people who are tired due to sleep disruption perform nearly as poorly as legally drunk individuals? Stanford University’s study on reaction time was paramount in proving this about individuals with sleep loss. Furthermore, the subjects were reported as having only mild to moderate sleep disturbances. It has been clearly established that sleep loss causes slower response time, decline in overall performance, and a decline in short-term recall of working memory. What about sleep deprivation and its effects on the performance of young athletes? Imagine having to make a split second decision to pass or shoot a soccer ball with delayed response time.
As for sports performance, research by Dr. Cheri Mah at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic has shown that members of Stanford’s women’s tennis team, men’s and women’s swimming teams, and men’s basketball team improved performance by increasing sleep times. The study looked at 11 basketball players starting at 2 – 4 weeks of the player’s normal sleep as the baseline. Following which, they had the players complete 5 -7 weeks of sleep extension wherein there was “a minimum goal of 10 h in bed each night”. (Mah et al, 2011). The researchers recorded athletic performance (reaction time, running speed, and shooting accuracy). The results showed improvement in all areas after sleep extension which allowed researchers to conclude that “optimal sleeps is likely beneficial in reaching peak athletic performance” (Mah et al, 2011). While this conclusion may seem like a no brainer, there are some key aspects to athletic performance that players cannot do without.
“Practice makes perfect.” We hear it all of the time. We say it all of the time, but what does this truly mean? To an adolescent soccer player it can mean dribbling through cones to improve ball control, participating in 30 minutes of various passing activities, or goalkeeper agility training drills. These types of activities tend to put a sour taste in the mouths of younger players as they do not understand why they must do repeated drills during practice when they are out there to show their friends that they’ve mastered the “around the world” trick. Every sports has a foundation – the basic skills necessary to achieve mastery. The ability of players to master the technical skills becomes altered as Cook et al (2011) proved that acute sleep deprivation affects performance of a simple repeat skill when observed in elite athletes. If performing a simple repeat skill such as ball passing is affected by sleep loss, it can be expected that players will not execute accurate passes during the games (where the test of overall performance is usually observed). Sleep deprivation has truly proven to be a downer. However, did you know that sleep is one of the key recovery tools that can benefit athletes?
Most research has suggested 7 – 9 hours of passive rest (uninterrupted sleep at night) for adolescents. Furthermore, an adolescent experiencing heavy training and a growth spurt may need up to ten hours a night. Before you shoot down the idea, let me explain! The term sleep deprivation means that young athletes are consistently getting less than the average recommendation of 8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep recovery is needed when there is excessive physical overload, athletes are involved in 3+ hours of training per day, athletes are involved in 2+ hard training days back to back, or they participate in more than one game in less than the suggested 72 hour span of time. These are the scenarios wherein sleep recovery will benefit players the most. So, what can you do?
Research by Waterhouse et al (2007), provided support to the idea that a post-lunch nap or even sitting quietly for a half an hour following a night of shortened sleep provided an improvement in mental and physical performance for athletes who obtained some sleep loss.
Parents, the most simplistic thing that you can do is plan sleep for optimal performance. The following tips from Dr. Mishra (2013) should prove to be beneficial.
- Increase sleep time several weeks before a major event.
- Make sleep as much of a priority as technical skill, fitness, and nutrition.
- Go to sleep and wake up at the same times every day.
- Turn lights off at night; use bright lights in the morning.
- When traveling from west to east for competitions try to get out to your new time zone several days in advance to acclimate to the new time zone and avoid jet lag.
Coaches,
- Allow 72 hours between competitive games.
- Before Tournaments - add an extra hour of sleep during each of the three nights before game day.
- During tournaments - early bedtimes and naps are part of being able to maintain the highest level of play throughout a given stretch.
- Education – do your research and impart the information to your players and families.
How does sleep deprivation affect reaction time and ball passing accuracy for adolescent youth soccer players ages 10 – 19? There is very little research for players within this age range. Do not be discouraged. Little research makes sense as there are a variety of reasons for this lack. The primary reason being that this research is based on players who are in the developmental stages of life (especially physically). However, coaches should exercise due diligence in order to attain optimal training advice for their players. We can look at the research provided for elite players and young athletes as a guide for adolescents. In addition, utilizing the expertise of pediatric professionals with regards to sleep and other areas of importance is useful. As a first step, be sure to incorporate the following sleep hygiene tips as formulated by the National Sleep Foundation to assist with optimal athlete performance.
- Avoid napping during the day.
- Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol too close to bedtime.
- Exercise can promote good sleep.
- Food can be disruptive right before sleep. Stay away from large meals close to bedtime.
- Ensure adequate exposure to natural light.
- Establish a regular relaxing bedtime routine..
- Associate your bed with sleep. It's not a good idea to use your bed to watch TV, listen to the radio, or read.
- Make sure that the sleep environment is pleasant and relaxing.
References:
Carskadon, M.A., Harvey, K., Duke, P., Anders, T.F., Litt, I.F., and Dement, W.C. Pubertal changes in daytime sleepiness. Sleep 2: 453-460, 1980.
Cook, C. J., Crewther, B. T., Kilduff, L. P., Drawer, S., & Gaviglio, C. M. (2011). Skill execution and sleep deprivation: effects of acute caffeine or creatine supplementation - a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 8, 2. http://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-8-2
Fullagar, H H.K., Duffield, R., Skorski, S., Coutts, A., Julian, R., Meyer, T. (2015). Sleep and Recovery in Team Sport: Current Sleep-related Issues Facing Professional Team-Sport Athletes. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance. Human Kinetics, Inc. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijspp.2014-0565
Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research; Colten HR, Altevogt BM, editors. Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2006. 4, Functional and Economic Impact of Sleep Loss and Sleep-Related Disorders. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK19958/
Mah, C. D., Mah, K. E., Kezirian, E. J., & Dement, W. C. (2011). The Effects of Sleep Extension on the Athletic Performance of Collegiate Basketball Players. Sleep, 34(7), 943–950. http://doi.org/10.5665/SLEEP.1132
Mishra, Dev K. (2013). Sleep well, play well (The teenager’s challenge). Soccer America: Youth Soccer Insider. Retrieved from http://www.socceramerica.com/article/51007/sleep-well-play-well-the-teenagers-challenge.html
Randazzo AC, Muehlbach MJ, Schweitzer PK, Walsh JK. Cognitive function following acute sleep restriction in children ages 10-14. Sleep. 1998;21(8):861–868.
Thorpy, M. (2015). Sleep Hygiene. National Sleep Foundation. Retrieved from https://sleepfoundation.org/ask-the-expert/sleep-hygiene
Waterhouse J, Atkinson G, Edwards B, et al. The role of a short post-lunch nap in improving cognitive, motor, and sprint performance in participants with partial sleep deprivation. J Sports Sci. 2007;25(14):1557-66.