In the very intense world of professional sports, one of the key factors to winning performance is often overlooked: sleep.
But studies show that strict sleep habits can give athletes a significant performance advantage over competitors who are less strict.
We asked Claude to summarize for us an article on the topic written by neuroscientist Joanna Fong-Israywongse of the University of Pittsburgh for The Conversation.
As a neurologist specializing in sleep medicine, she has seen firsthand the enormous impact sleep has on athletes' physical ability, mental acuity, resilience to injury, and overall well-being.
During deep and restorative sleep, the body releases growth hormone, which helps to fuse muscles and bones.
The brain's cleansing system also flushes out toxins and waste.
Sleep deprivation deprives athletes of these restorative effects.
Studies have found that athletes who get minimal sleep are almost twice as likely to get injured.
Their reaction times are slower, their accuracy is reduced and their judgment is impaired - deficiencies that may prove to be critical in competitions.
Alternatively, those who get enough sleep demonstrate improvements in speed, strength, endurance and pain tolerance.
The reasons why most athletes fail to prioritize sleep boil down to a lack of awareness of its benefits, along with the misconception that sleep equals laziness.
But science shows that sleep provides an array of performance-enhancing biological benefits.
The most successful athletes make sleep a consistent priority, not a luxury that can be foregone.
Among the athletes who proudly announce that they make sure to sleep longer than the minimum required, we can mention the tennis player Roger Federer and the basketball player LeBron James, who sleep at least ten hours a night.
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