Written by Sandy Wilson, PhD, Sleep Researcher

Sleep is one of the biggest performance variables in sport, yet most athletes treat it as an afterthought. Research shows that around two-thirds of elite athletes have poor sleep quality. Here's what the science says, and what you can do about it.

My name is Sandy, and I was previously a sprinter for Bath University and Scotland. Having left the sport due to injury, I completed my PhD at Hartpury University, investigating sleep education among student-athletes.

How Common is Poor Sleep in Athletes?

How often do you think about your sleep as an athlete? Maybe once or twice a month, or in passing when you're dreading how tired you feel before training? For something we do for several hours every single day, sleep is often treated as an afterthought, something we have to do, but almost an inconvenience.

During my time competing, I had real difficulties with sleep, and these experiences were shared amongst most of my peers, particularly those in performance sport.

• Around two-thirds of elite and student-athletes have poor sleep quality. This is well above the typical population (1)
  
  

• Young adults are recommended to get between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night (2)
  
  

• Athletes should aim for the higher end of that range, given the physical demands of training and competition
  
  

• Despite this, studies consistently find large numbers of athletes falling below these values

How Sleep Affects Sport Performance

While it may feel like your body isn't doing much while you sleep, it's actually an incredibly active state. If you looked at a brain scan during certain sleep stages, many areas show greater activation than when you're awake.

The exact functions of sleep are still being studied, but what we know is that they're essential for optimal functioning when you are awake.

This becomes most apparent when researchers intentionally sleep-deprive people and observe what changes. For athletes, poor sleep is associated with:

• Worse sporting performance, especially in tasks that are cognitively demanding (3)
  
  

• Lower academic performance for student-athletes
  
  

• Unfavourable mood changes that affect training and competition

Why Athletes Have Poor Sleep

Understanding why athletes struggle with sleep is more complex than it might seem. There are a number of unique risk factors, such as early morning training and high physiological stress from training loads. Student-athletes face a double hit with athletic risk factors combined with student-specific ones, like exams and shared living arrangements. Some of these can be addressed at an individual level, while others require change at an organisational or societal level.

Sleep Education in Student-Athletes

My research at Hartpury identified factors most detrimental to sleep that are also realistic to change, and explored how a targeted sleep intervention could support healthier behaviours.

A key finding was that student-athletes have a poor understanding of sleep, meaning they're not in a position to address sleep issues or change behaviour, even when they want to. That's why sleep education is central to any real solution.

How to Improve Sleep as an Athlete

If you have access to a sports psychologist or lifestyle advisor, sleep is absolutely worth raising with them. They may have practical advice or can point you towards the right resources.

But for most people, who are thinking, "My sleep isn't great, and I wish it were better, but I don't know why or how to fix it."

Good sleep hygiene habits are a solid starting point for most:

• Consistent sleep and wake times, even on weekends
  

• Limiting screen time in the hour before bed
  

• Keeping your room cool and dark
  

• Avoiding caffeine in the afternoon and evening
  

And take any sleep advice you find on Instagram with a very large pinch of salt. Accurate, athlete-targeted information is hard to find, which is exactly why I collaborated with The Athlete Place (see below) to provide sleep education athletes can trust.

If you're worried you might have a clinical sleep disorder, contact your GP or a medical professional who will be able to help you.

📸 Header Image by: Jodi Hanagan

Last updated May 2026

References

(1) Gupta, L., Morgan, K., & Gilchrist, S. (2017). Does elite sport degrade sleep quality? A systematic review. Sports Medicine, 47(7), 1317–1333.

(2) Hirshkowitz, M., et al. (2015). National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations. Sleep Health, 1(1), 40–43.

(3) Lastella, M., et al. (2015). Sleep/wake behaviours of elite athletes from individual and team sports. European Journal of Sport Science, 15(2), 94–100.