Edit from Matt Rott, the publisher: 

This is possibly the First Ever Sport Performance or Athlete Performance content to be written on blockchain.

Introduction

It is quite apparent that sleep is a fundamental aspect within our daily lives. Sleep tends to be something that is overlooked within the lives of young athletes. Sleep has a major effect on one’s physical health, causing “daytime sleepiness” but more importantly, lack of sleep can affect our mental health, cause a loss of cognitive function, and impair one’s decisional capacity. For the adolescence age group (12-18 years), sleep is of critical importance in their daily routine. Sleep amongst this age group has been decreasing over the years due to external factors, such as extracurricular activities, academic demands, TV, cellphone use, and more. For athletes, being sleep deprived may have a negative effect on decisional capacity, affect one’s capability to comprehend and retain information, and decrease an individual’s energy levels. In addition, prolonged sleep deprivation may result in numerous health issues such as obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

When discussing sleep and rehabilitation, sleep deprivation may hinder an individual’s performance which may increase the risk of accidents and injury. Insufficient sleep may also alter muscle recovery, and growth which can result in possible injury over time. According to a finding by, Hanson (2016), “Decreased sleep quality and quantity can impair performance in athletes. Athletes may take longer to fall asleep and have lower sleep efficiency than non- athletes. Social demands, technology and caffeine can interfere with total sleep time.” Which brings up the question, how much sleep does an adolescent need to have optimal performance for game day? According to the National Sleep Foundation, adolescences require at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night to achieve optimal performance. In a study written by Melisa Moore and Lisa J Meltzer the two authors discuss the average number of hours adolescents sleep per night. On average, adolescents sleep around 7.5-8.5 hours per night with 26.6% of adolescents obtaining <6.5 hours per night. (Moore & Meltzer, 2008). The number of hours these individuals to sleep is insufficient. It is recommended that adolescents must receive around 9 and 9.5 hours of sleep anight. As previously mentioned, insufficient sleep results in a major impact on an individual’s functioning and performance. We had briefly mentioned some factors leading towards daytime sleepiness. Now, we will further examine and discuss the causes towards this matter.

What is causing the “daytime sleepiness” in adolescents? Like stated before, extrinsic factors can play a vital role in our young athletes sleep deprivation. Due to their extracurricular activities outside of school hours, young athletes have a tendency towards staying up late which may be overlooked. With these extracurricular activities usually occurring on school nights, this gives the young athletes obstacles regarding managing their school requirements and social needs in a timely manner in order to obtain the recommended amount of sleep. Depending on the sports schedule, sleeping in on the weekends can also be obstructed, reducing the number of hours one must sleep even more. While being sleep deprived with a busy schedule may take a major toll on an individual’s body, one must be cautious of caffeinated beverage consumption during the day or prior to a competition. Many of these young athletes rely on these beverages in order to optimize their performance. Although these energy drinks may be a placebo or a compensation for lack of sleep, these drinks have a major effect on a young adolescent’s body internally due to excess sugars and lack of nutrients. With external factors playing a major part on a young athlete’s sleep schedule, it is imperative for one to remember the internal factors that can cause lack of sleep, with puberty approaching in these young athletes, if it hasn’t already, a “change in the timing of melatonin release” occurs. Melatonin is a hormone that regulates our sleep/wake cycle that is primarily released by our pineal gland. With puberty altering these young athletes’ bodies, this results in a delay of melatonin release which also results in staying up later, causing them to have a tendency to wake up late. From the Sleep Foundation, here are some solutions in to help with sleep deprivation:

1. No pills, vitamins or drinks can replace good sleep. Consuming caffeine close to bedtime can hurt your sleep, try to avoid late in the day.

2. Naps can help pick up and make you work more efficiently, IF YOU PLAN THEM RIGHT. (20-30 minutes are ideal when sleep deprived).

3. Establish a bed-and wake- time and stick to it, coming as close as you can on the weekends. A consistent sleep schedule will help you feel less tired since it allows your body to get in sync with its natural patterns.

4. Don’t eat, drink, or exercise within a few hours of your bedtime. Try to avoid TV, computer and telephone in the hour before you go to bed. Stick to quiet, calm activities and you’ll fall asleep much more easily.

5. Most teens experience changes in their sleep schedules. Your internal boy clocks can cause you to fall asleep and wake up later. You can’t change this, but you can participate in interactive activities and classes to help counteract your sleepiness. Make sure your activities at night are calming to counteract your already increased alertness.

6. Sleep, you’ll be less likely to stay awake worrying or stressing. (www.sleepfoundation.org)

In conclusion, we have to remember sleep is a vital aspect to the human body that is overlooked in our daily lives which can hinder our physical energy, our ability to recover from an injury but more importantly our mental health over time. With all the consequences that can follow with inadequate sleep, we have to analyze and identify the sleep deprivations that is occurring and focus to achieve the recommended amount of sleep and adapt to our busy schedule. In young athletes, their sleep schedule is just as important as any other aspect in their lives to achieve optimal performance in their desire sport or daily routine.