We all know a poor night’s sleep can fog our brain, dull our concentration and impact our ability to perform everyday tasks such as driving, but what happens to your workout performance if you’re not getting enough kip?
It’s fairly common for athletes at the top of their game to experience poor sleep – 50-78 per cent of elite sports people struggle to drop – but research isn’t so conclusive when it comes to sleep deprivation and performance. One review of studies in the journal concluded lack of sleep for 30 to 72 hours didn’t affect cardiovascular and respiratory responses, aerobic and anaerobic performance or muscle strength. Time to exhaustion, however, was negatively impacted, possibly due to the impact of insomnia on growth hormone and the supply of energy to muscles. Getting kip, on the other hand, does have its benefits.
