Optimal Sleep Duration: How Much is Too Much or Too Little?

How much sleep is optimal for performance? The sleep duration recommendations outlined in the sleep duration table are from the National Sleep Foundation; sleep tips for those with post-concussion syndrome fall under different recommendations. [1]

While the range is wide and varies person to person, how often do we fall in the last column of ‘NOT recommended’?

It’s also important for our younger athletes to get quality rest! A study of 112 athletes grades 7-12: found that “athletes who slept on average <8 hours per night were 1.7 times more likely to have had an injury compared with athletes who slept for ≥8 hours. For each additional grade in school, the athletes were 1.4 times more likely to have had an injury.” [2]

Rest tip: Try changing the display settings on devices to warmer tones to decrease the amount of blue light in the evening and night. Blue wavelengths boost attention, mood, and reaction times, which is fantastic during the day, but could affect melatonin secretion.

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[1] Table from the book entitled Neuro Fitness by Rahul Jandial, MD, PhD.

[2] Milewski, Skaggs, Bishop, Pace, Ibrahim, Wren & Barzdukas (2014). “Chronic Lack of Sleep is Associated With Increased Sports Injuries in Adolescent Athletes,” Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics.