Sleep improves athletes' performance.

More sleep at night, smarter on the court. It seems, in fact, that enjoying a few extra hours of sleep per night for an extended period of time improves athletic performance, mental presence and mood. This was revealed by a study at Stanford University, which was presented in San Antonio (Texas) at 'Sleep 2010'.

The U.S. study involved seven American College football players that were monitored to assess the performance 'au naturel' by resting to a minimum of 10 hours per night.

Researchers led by Cheri Mah, Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic and Research Laboratory of Stanford, have discovered that extra sleep, after seven or eight weeks, led to improved performance, alertness and mood. In particular, benefit from the positive effects, were sprint performances. Moreover, it reduces daytime fatigue. The importance of sleep to restore the hormonal balance of the athlete. "Sleep well and for long it is really important, not only for performance on the field. We have seen that in this case you get sick and injured less. "

The "duration of sleep can be very important for daily training regimen of an athlete," says Mah. According to the researchers 'the sleep cure' can be very useful for overwhelming physical decline that is registered at the end of a season sports. Results, which confirm those obtained previously by the team, on the effect of sleep for men and women engaged in other sports such as basketball, golf, skiing and athletics. That is why the researchers emphasize that plenty of sleep should be part of regular physical training of professional sports.

According to the authors, these results apply equally to athletes from other disciplines and to all of us to be more present in every day routine.