You Snooze You Lose: Importance of Sleep for Students

Sleep is so important for overall health and well-being. Healthy People is an initiative aimed at guiding national health promotion and disease prevention efforts. These health promotion and disease prevention efforts are set every 10 years to improve the health of the nation.

There are a variety of objectives set by Healthy People 2030 that cut across health conditions, health behaviors, populations, settings and systems, and social determinants of health. Within health behaviors, sleep is set as a priority objective among important areas such as drug and alcohol use, injury prevention and others.

Specifically, Healthy People 2030 prioritized sleep and set out objectives to increase sufficient sleep, increase diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea, and prevent accidents due to drowsy driving.

Needless to say, sleep should be a priority for all; however, not getting enough quality sleep (the good stuff) can seriously and negatively impact adolescents more so than other age groups. There is research suggesting poor sleep’s link to increased risk for developing diabetes and decreased mental function for this age group. In addition to these negative effects, lack of sleep and poor-quality sleep (the bad stuff) leads to other negative effects in students such as decreased physical performance, decreased academic performance, slowed recovery from injury and negative effects on mental health.

To compound the issue, a student’s physical and social environment are not really built well enough to encourage the benefits of sleep. Whereas in some respect an athlete’s schedule is structured (comparatively speaking), things like travel, practice and game schedules, meal schedules, and team meetings challenge a consistent bedtime and wake schedule.

A 2015 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) study indicated that athletes reported spending 27–41 hours per week on athletics. Considering other demands such as academics, extracurricular activities, relaxation and/or socializing, few of them are able to build into their schedules, a consistent and effective sleep routine, which is critical for experiencing quality sleep.

To make matters worse, like other college students, collegiate athletes often practice poor sleep hygiene like evening use of electronics, consuming caffeine and other stimulants throughout the day, and in general not keeping a consistent sleep schedule. When we think of this plus a college athlete living in student housing where it can be loud, crowded, bright and generally disruptive, it almost seems impossible for them to get enough quality sleep.

As outlined in a journal article titled Wake up call for collegiate athlete sleep: narrative review and consensus recommendations from the NCAA Interassociation Task Force on Sleep and Wellness published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the NCAA put together a task force on sleep and wellness in 2017. The task force was made up of a variety of content specialists including sleep experts, coaches, collegiate athletes, athletic administrators and educators.

The goal for the task force was to establish a set of “feasible sleep-supportive strategies” for collegiate athletics departments; however, the findings presented in the study are applicable for all students across a variety of age groups. The study utilized the Delphi method which generates unbiased expert opinions while also allowing for multiple stakeholder voices.

This study led to the development of five key recommendations. Following these recommendations, we provide below how this may play out within high school athletics.

Recommendations

• Recommendation 1: Conduct a collegiate/high school student time demands survey annually.

• Recommendation 2: Ensure that consumer sleep technology, if used, is compliant with HIPAA and FERPA laws.

• Recommendation 3: Incorporate sleep screening into the preparticipation exam.

• Recommendation 4: Provide high school students with evidence-based sleep education that includes: (1) information on sleep best practices; (2) information about the role of sleep in optimizing athletic, performing arts and academic performance and overall well-being; and (3) strategies for addressing sleep barriers.

• Recommendation 5: Provide educators, coaches and directors with evidence-based sleep education that includes: (1) information on sleep best practices; (2) information about the role of sleep in optimizing athletic, performing arts and academic performance and overall well-being; and (3) strategies to help optimize high school student sleep.

Ultimately, these recommendations are strongly related to a few main takeaways for high school athletics and performing arts students, and individuals who support the students (e.g., parents, coaches, educators and directors). Regular and consistent data collection is a great way to guide educational efforts that can be used for students, parents, coaches, educators, directors and administrators.

Data collection could be done in a variety of ways, but importantly it should include the voices of the students and those working closest with students. Use the collected data to then guide educational efforts that include some of the findings presented in the recommendations. High school students, parents, coaches, educators, directors and administrators should be provided with guidelines for sleep best practices, information about how sleep can impact academic, athletic and performing arts performance, and specific strategies that can be used to create consistent, effective and quality sleep. This type of education should be provided regularly and not just in a “one and done” fashion at the beginning of the school year. As schedules and seasons change, students, parents, coaches, educators, directors and administrators should be reminded of the importance of quality sleep.

Improving sleep for any student has significant implications for health, athletic performing arts performance, and academic achievement. Students at all levels and ages are challenged to get the necessary amount and quality of sleep they need to be successful. There are many factors that can impact the amount and quality of the sleep they get.

It is critical for athletic and performing arts administrators to implement annual data collection of student well-being topics, including sleep, to inform the identification and implementation of educational efforts aimed at students, parents, coaches, educators, directors, administrators and others who serve students who participate in athletics and performing arts programs.