Buffalo, NY - As athletes from around the globe compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics, one Canisius University graduate-turned-researcher-turned-adjunct professor is shedding light on an important yet often overlooked aspect of athletic performance: sleep.
“Sleep enhances cognitive performance – critical for decision-making, reaction time, concentration and focus,” says Matthew Crawley MS ’13, MS ’18, a PhD candidate in health and human performance. “Physically, it influences power, speed, strength and endurance, which is crucial to create force quickly and sustain movements in competition.”
Crawley has spent the past 15 years in human performance and the last four years examining the realm of sleep science, using his role as a strength and conditioning coach for elite athletes in the XFL professional American football minor league, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and now the NHL’s Dallas Stars, to inform his research.
“No one wants to talk about sleep. It’s seen as boring, something you do at night,” Crawley says candidly. “But I saw it as a gap in training and human performance that needed attention.”
Crawley monitors the sleep patterns of elite athletes through the use of wearable technology, such as the Oura ring. In analyzing the data, he’s gained critical insights into sleep patterns as they relate to performance, which he has shared with the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
“For elite athletes, sleep isn’t just downtime, it’s a strategic asset,” he notes.
So much so that the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) recently reported “sleep is the number one concern among Olympic athletes.”
These elite-level competitors are known to maintain meticulous routines, finely tuned to maximize performance. However, the challenges of international competition introduce new variables that can derail these routines. Traveling across multiple time zones interrupts internal body clocks, making it difficult to adjust to new sleep schedules. Disrupted training routines and unfamiliar sleep environments further compromise sleep quantity and quality.
“When athletes travel for competitions like the Olympics, they encounter new environments with unpredictable factors like noise levels, lighting, and room temperature,” Crawley explains. “In Paris, concerns about the lack of air conditioning in the athletes’ village could significantly impact sleep quantity and quality and consequently, performance.”
Sleep disruptions can also be attributed to factors beyond the immediate environment.
Changes in diet, exposure to unfamiliar foods and various sources of stress – including societal influences, individual expectations, family commitments, media scrutiny and social media – “can all impact an athlete’s ability to sleep effectively,” says Crawley.
In the high-stake games of the Olympics, adaptability and adherence to what Crawley describes as “sleep hygiene practices” can make all the difference in an athlete’s ability to perform.
He emphasizes that achieving eight to nine hours of sleep each night is essential for recovery and peak athletic performance. Crawley points to top athletes like LeBron James, who prioritizes up to 12 hours of sleep, and Tom Brady, who maintains a nine-hour sleep schedule, as prime examples of how critical adequate rest is for excelling at the highest levels of competition.
To help offset shortfalls in nightly sleep, Crawley advocates for “banking sleep.” The high-level athletes he trains “often incorporate naps ranging from 15 to 90 minutes into their routines to accumulate additional rest and improve recovery.”
Additionally, Crawley advises elite athletes to plan their travel with time zone changes in mind.
“Ideally, they should arrive a day ahead for each hour of time difference to help their bodies adjust.” If that’s not feasible, “gradually adjusting sleep schedules before the day of travel can help align their internal clocks with the new time zone.”
The quality of the sleep environment plays a similarly important role in achieving peak performance.
Crawley emphasizes that athletes should keep their sleeping area cool, quiet and dark. Attention to details, including room temperature and bedding, and minimizing electronic distractions can contribute significantly to better sleep. “I recommend tools like breathing techniques, mindfulness or meditation, white noise machines and sleep-promoting apps to a lot of the athletes I work with to create an optimal sleep setting.”
As the Olympic Games unfold, Crawley will be watching to see if – and how - the athletes’ accommodations affect their performance. It could provide a compelling case study on the importance of optimal sleep environments - and potentially mean more gold medals.
“It will be interesting to see if the setup in the athletes’ village supports their recovery and impacts their success,” Crawley concludes.
Matt Crawley, PhD(c), earned an MS in health and human performance in 2013 and an MS in applied nutrition in 2018, both from Canisius University. He is a PhD candidate in health and human performance at Concordia University.
