A longer night of sleep may reduce fatigue and improve cognitive resilience among teenage athletes, according to a new study on elite junior hockey players.
A single longer night of sleep may help young hockey players feel less exhausted and sharpen their mental performance, according to research from the Université de Montréal that tested elite junior players during training camp.
The study, led by Guido Simonelli of the university’s department of medicine, followed 22 players from the Quebec Remparts in a randomised crossover trial. Each athlete completed one normal night of sleep and one night in which bedtime was moved earlier so that time in bed reached 10 hours. After both nights, they went through a two-hour practice session and then a demanding cognitive test designed to measure sustained attention and the ability to ignore distractions, according to the paper in the Journal of Sleep Research.
Researchers found that the extra sleep averaged about 67 minutes more than on a typical night, with sleep quality largely unchanged. After the extended-sleep night, players reported 23% less fatigue and posted an 8% improvement on the longer mental task. By contrast, the shorter vigilance test and measures of jump height and grip strength did not change in a meaningful way.
The results suggest that even a modest, one-night increase in sleep can help with the kind of mental endurance required in elite sport, particularly for teenagers juggling training, games and schoolwork. The team also worked with Somnolence+, a sleep-health non-profit, as part of a wider education effort, and the project received support from Polysleep, a Quebec sleep-products company. Still, the researchers cautioned that the findings come from one male junior team and may not apply to other athletes, especially female players, or to different points in the season.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
