Sleep for Speed

Sprinters, want to shave time off your best events? The Stanford Sleep Clinic recently helped swimmers cut half a second from their best times simply by sleeping longer for about six weeks. After a baseline of five to seven hours of sleep per night was established over a two week period, the researchers had the swimmers adjust their sleep schedule to include ten hours per night. After the six weeks were up, the swimmers demonstrated increased performance. Their times in a 15-meter sprint were 0.5 seconds faster, on average, and they also had faster reaction and turning times during the race. The researchers who lead the study recommend seven to eight hours per night for improved mental acuity as well as physical ability.