How Sleep Deprivation and Optimization May Impact Health and Performance

Adequate sleep is crucial for health and well-being. Research shows that 1 in 3 Americans reportedly sleep less than the recommended guidelines and over 70 million experience some type of chronic sleep issue. Sleep deprivation has been shown to impact health negatively; however, more and more current research is emerging supporting the link between inadequate sleep and a range of various disorders, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, arrhythmias, mood disorders, dementia, neurodegeneration, and more. Beyond general health, sleep deprivation has been shown to have a negative impact on athletic performance, including deficits in accuracy, reaction times, and cardiovascular endurance. The purpose of this mini-review is to investigate the key variables that most significantly contribute to sleep deprivation in athletes while covering strategies that may optimize one’s health by adjusting sleep-based factors.