Recovery

The Importance of Sleep in Athletic Performance - A Systematic Review

Białeta J, Rowińska K, Siembab K, Jurkiewicz M, Napieralska A, Garbarczyk W, Kapla A, Černohorská A, Pysiewicz W, Bednarczyk D · 2025 · Quality in Sport

REZA evidence rating B: Reasonable confidence

Methodology

Systematic review

Population

Athletes

Intervention

N/A (systematic review of observational and intervention studies)

Findings

Sleep quality and duration significantly impact both physical and cognitive performance; sleep deprivation impairs reaction time, accuracy, endurance and recovery. Optimal sleep duration for athletes is 7-9 hours with individual variation — sleep is a modifiable performance factor.

Outcome measures

Physical performance, cognitive performance, recovery

Limitations

Heterogeneity in study designs; mostly observational; limited causal evidence.

Original source

DOI: 10.12775/qs.2025.38.58162

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