The Seattle Sounders, a club of the MSL, discovered the influence and importance of sufficient quality sleep on the performance of their players.
With help of high-tech wristwatches they examined for two to three weeks the sleeping habits of their players in different phases of the season. Performance analyst Ravi Ramenini states: “sleep is the best recovery tool. If you have a good sleep seven nights a week you minimize the risk of getting injured. And probably, you are going to be in better shape, physically and mentally.”
Dave Tenney, manager of sports science and of performance: “The players with small children had the worst results. Nearly all the guys end up having some sort of soft-tissue issue not soon after the birth of their first child. Why? They go from getting 8-9 hours sleep a night to only 4-6 hours.”
But, domestic life has a further influence: the coaches noticed that, in presaison, married players slept far worse away than at home. This effect was not visible with single players. The explanation is easy: at home, the partner cared for an early enough sleeping time. Away the players spend more time in front of the TV and hence go to bed later.
But, the importance of a good sleep hygiene was also revealed: the best players of the team always go to bed resp. get up at about the same time and sleep from seven to eight hours per night.
Once again, it clearly shows that high-quality sleep is especially important in professional sport. Not only for performance but also as a contribution to prevention of injuries. One more reason to focus on the proper sleep surrounding and –hygiene and above all to the proper sleeping-underlay that is supporting relief and relaxation!
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