Quality vs Quantity: Why the Right Kind of Sleep Matters for Performance

Even if one gets the required hours of sleep, this does not prevent adverse consequences if it is interrupted due to frequent awakenings or problems like sleep apnea.

Quality sleep is a prescribed pathway to improving athletic performance and building endurance. It cannot be emphasized enough that when it comes to sleep, quality takes precedence over quantity and experts evaluate quality through the rest obtained. This means that quality sleep would ensure no daytime sleepiness or irritability due to feeling sleepy and tired. Additionally, ResMed’s 2024 Sleep Survey further establishes the connection between sleep and productivity, which indicates that 49% of respondents reported an increase in productivity after getting enough sleep. It is therefore obvious that having good quality sleep is an absolute necessity if an athlete wants to perform at their best and stay healthy.

Here is an analysis of why the right type of sleep is important for performance.

Importance of quality sleep for good cognitive health

Good cognitive health is a necessary condition for adequate performance. Quality sleep helps players stay alert on the field and make split-second decisions that could determine how the game goes. The inability to get enough rest is associated with anxiety and OCD. Therefore, the importance of quality sleep goes beyond performance and can impact quality of life.

Quality sleep is essential for physical health

• Lack of quality sleep is linked to a significant impact on the physical health of athletes. Another study found the correlation between BMI scores and the number of hours of quality sleep. This study showed that women who were able to benefit from restful sleep had a lower BMI and were more likely to maintain their prescribed weight. Quality sleep boosts metabolism and helps lose those extra pounds.
• Lack of sleep developing type 2 diabetes. Studies have estimated that as a person loses sleep, the chances of developing type 2 diabetes increase from 28% to 84%. This can significantly hamper the athlete’s ability to function and perform. Vulnerability to these diseases is compounded by the fact that lack of sleep also leads to an impaired ability to manage stress. Greater stress in turn leads to a decrease in immunity.

The relative importance of quantity and quality

The effects of lack of sleep discussed above are enough to ring alarm bells for athletes and anyone else. However, a central question of this analysis remains unanswered: what is more important, the quality or quantity of sleep? As noted above, experts are clear on this point: even if one gets the required hours of sleep, this does not prevent harmful consequences if it is interrupted due to frequent awakenings or problems such as apnea sleep.