What if the key to a winning sports franchise isn't more and better practice but more and better sleep?
A growing body of evidence shows athletic performance of all shapes and sizes improves with even just a little bit of extra shut-eye, and yet the "sleep is for the weak" attitude persists.
In some cases, that is. Slowly but surely, more and more collegiate and professional athletes and their coaches are realizing that a little extra sleep isn't a sign of weakness after all, but more like a predictor of strength.
And it's not just that getting enough sleep improves performance; getting too little sleep hurts, too. One study of 25 years of Monday night football games found that West Coast teams won 63 percent of the time over East Coast -- read, sleepier -- teams.
So far, baseball and football teams seem to be the biggest believers, but hockey isn't far behind. Earlier this year, the NHL began investigating the use of Ambien among players and also made a number of changes to league policies that allow the players more rest during the season, writes sleep specialist and HuffPost blogger Michael J. Breus.
Hopefully, more and more professional -- and amateur! -- athletes will soon reap the benefits of some additional sleep. But in the meantime, here are some of the well-rested athletes paving the way.
This season, the Wildcats are wearing on-body devices that track and analyze the quality and quantity of their sleep, according to the Chicago Tribune.
"We made it a performance aspect they can use as a tool to prepare," Fitzgerald told the paper. "Anything we can do to maximize performance on the field and in the classroom is a positive thing."
Practices and meetings were rescheduled to better accommodate the players' sleep -- and they noticed the difference. "They're trying to help us in any way they can so we can perform at a high level," right tackle Austin Howard told ESPN. "It's absolutely a smart move."
The team's medical staff examined sleep patterns and suggested changes like moving weekday practices from 8:15 a.m. to 9 a.m. and learning how to most effectively handle jet lag when traveling to play West Coast teams.
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