Sleep, recovery, and performance

• Sleep extension and napping were accompanied by improvements in performance measures and mood.
• The 2021 consensus recommends routinely assessing sleep in athletes and addressing issues before modifying training.
• Sleep deprivation impairs reaction time, perceived exertion, and recovery.

Logged sleep informs the readiness assessment as context; a poor night of sleep reduces the suggested load without canceling the session.

Athletes and physically active individuals; primary utility as decision-making context.

Studies and interventions are heterogeneous. Sleep alone does not measure readiness or injury risk.

• Cunha et al., Sports Medicine - Open, 2023 DOI 10.1186/s40798-023-00599-z
• Walsh et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2021 DOI 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102025

• How Much to SleepAdults should sleep 7 to 9 hours per night; sleeping less was associated with more injuries in young athletes.
• Sleep and Fat LossSleeping too little during a deficit shifts fat loss toward lean mass loss and increases intake; extending sleep reduced intake by about 270 kcal per day.
• Monitoring recoveryRecovery should be tracked using simple, frequent measures such as perceived exertion, sleep, and mood; heart rate variability works better as a weekly trend than as a single daily figure.
• Training load does not predict individual injuryRecent training load can provide context for workout decisions, but simple load ratios do not support reliable individual injury prediction.