The Importance of SLEEP and RECOVERY
One of the biggest catalysts in youth athlete burnout is the lack of effective load monitoring in what is often an extremely demanding schedule. Unlike adult athletes, the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) population regularly must balance training and competition in multiple sports and affiliations such as school, club and representative commitments; as well as attending school and completing homework, assessments and study outside of school and training hours, and somehow get enough sleep and recovery to do these things at an optimal level.
All too frequently, the athlete’s commitments are prioritised in that order: sport and training, school, and then recovery. If more time is needed for training or schoolwork, then recovery and sleep time takes a cut, when it is arguably the most important component for student athletes of this age group.
The American Academy of Paediatrics and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommend children 6 to 12 years of age should get approximately 9 h to 12 h of sleep per 24 h and teenagers aged 13 to 18 years should sleep 8 to 10 h per 24 h (Paruthi S, Brooks LJ, D'Ambrosio C, et al., 2016). Further studies have indicated that youth athletes regularly get less than 8 hours of sleep per day, which can have adverse effects on cognitive learning, reaction time, speed, strength and overall well-being. Consistent sleep deprivation can then increase the likelihood of injury and illness which can cause significant setbacks in the athlete’s academic and sporting progress (Riederer, M., 2020).
A 2020 Australian study by Mark Riederer MD, examined 42 teenage netballers over a national multiday netball carnival to find the relationship between sleep quantity and finishing place for that team. It was found that 66% of included players got fewer than 8 hours of sleep per night over this time. The key finding was that teams that finished higher in the rankings at the end of the carnival were those with greater sleep durations than the teams that had poorer results; concluding that increased time spent in bed and sleep durations produced better sporting results.
The biggest takeaway from this article is that cramming in more training is not necessarily better, especially if this occurs at the expense of sleep and quality rest and recovery.
Talk to Sarah or Gio if you are concerned about your own, or your child’s recovery as we are experienced and qualified in athlete load monitoring and can create a training schedule that allows for all required LTAD factors.
- Sarah Mantova
B. ExSS (Hons), AES and ASCA Level 2 Coach
0457 325 902 or sarah@premierconditioning.com.au
