Oliver Topping is a health and wellbeing physiologist for Nuffield Health, helping people understand how lifestyle behaviours (i.e., exercise, diet, sleep etc.) can impact their health, mind, and body. He has also previously been involved with research to support the growth and maturation of young players from the English Premier League as they progress through the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). 

In this blog, he discussed the impact that sleep has on a young person's physical development and why this is a key consideration from both a health and performance perspective. 

The benefits of good quality sleep for young people are well known, such as improved attention, academic performance, managing emotion and better physical health and well-being (1-2). Did you know that the recommended amount of sleep for a young person differs dependent on age, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (2). Young people aged six-12-years-old need nine-12 hours sleep while those aged 12-16-years-old require slightly less at 8-10 hours. Importantly, it is clear young people need more sleep than adults (i.e., 7-9 hours) to promote optimal health and well-being.  

Given young people are growing and maturing rapidly throughout their adolescent years (1), it makes sense their need for sleep would be greater than adults (2). Some of the physical developments young people experience include increases in height, strength, the energy they use, and hormonal changes (3-4). From a performance perspective, getting enough sleep can help young people grow and repair muscle, recover faster from exercise, spend less time injured, improve their on-field decision making and control their emotions (2-4). If coaches can positively influence a young person's sleep, then could this aid their physical development and performance on the pitch?  

As a coach, it is almost impossible to get the most out of your team if they are sleep-deprived. There are many signs and symptoms of inadequate sleep which include a lack of energy, focus and concentration (1), feeling hyperactive, sleepy, irritable, and unsociable, or having a low self-esteem (6). Over time, poor sleep can increase the amount of illness experienced (2), which could impact how often young people are available to train or be selected on a match day.  

A lack of sleep may not only impact a young person’s health and performance but also their relationships and behaviours with others. This can have an influence on other young people at training or during matches, and lower team morale. If coaches can foster the best sleep practices amongst young people, then could this also promote togetherness and morale boost within the team? 

When it comes to optimising sleep, it is not just duration that requires thought but also the quality, regularity, timing, and absence of disturbances (also known as sleep hygiene) (1). Sleep hygiene practices are daytime and night-time behaviours which encourage sleep onset, promote sleep quality, and aids sleep duration. During the day, caffeinated beverages and foods should be discouraged from the afternoon onwards, while protein rich foods (i.e., oats, milk, white poultry) rather than refined carbohydrates (i.e., cereals, white bread, cakes) consumed 60 minutes before sleep may aid it (5). It is also recommended to not exercise intensely within two hours before bed to prevent delaying sleep onset1, which is an important consideration for young people who typically train in the evening. Could you structure late training sessions so that the more intense bouts are earlier in the session and do a thorough cool down to minimise the impact it may have on sleep that night? 

It is beneficial for young people to establish a routine of going to bed and waking up consistently at the same time. Controlling a young person's sleep environment through noise, temperature (~24°C), and lighting (i.e., reduce blue light exposure 60 minutes before sleep) also plays a key role in improving the sleep/wake cycle (1). As a coach the influence you have over some of these practices will often be limited, which makes it important to engage with parents and signpost them to appropriate resources. However, if you identify tiredness and fatigue as an issue in your sessions, then using team challenges and setting sleep goals with your players could make a difference to what you get from them during training and matches.  

Identifying when lack of sleep is having an impact on your team's physical and emotional health can be challenging, and even more difficult is having the ability to influence your team to make positive changes. This is where ‘the greater game’ can support you with the knowledge and resources to make a meaningful impact. 

A collaborative approach between the club, parents and young people may be necessary to ensure sleep can be a superpower to help deliver results for the team. But when this superpower works you will witness your team feel the positive benefits for their health, mood, emotional well-being, performance, and the playing environment.  

How do you instill the importance of sleep for young people and their parents? 

How do you identify the signs of inadequate sleep and understand how to address these? 

Comment below. 



References

1.) Galland, B.C. & Mitchell, E.A. (2010) Helping children sleep. Archives of disease in childhood, 95, pp. 850-853.

2.) Paruthi, S., Brooks, L.J., D'Ambrosio, C., Hall, W.A., Kotagal, S., Lloyd, R.M., Malow, B.A., Maski, K., Nichols, C., Quan, S.F. & Rosen, C.L. (2016) Consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine on the recommended amount of sleep for healthy children: methodology and discussion. Journal of clinical sleep medicine, 12 (11), pp.1549-1561.

3.) Hannon, M.P., Carney, D.J., Floyd, S., Parker, L.J., McKeown, J., Drust, B., Unnithan, V.B., Close, G.L. & Morton, J.P., 2020. Cross-sectional comparison of body composition and resting metabolic rate in Premier League academy soccer players: Implications for growth and maturation. Journal of Sports Sciences, 38 (11-12), pp.1326-1334.

4.) Torun, B., 2005. Energy requirements of children and adolescents. Public health nutrition, 8 (7a), pp.968-993.

5.) Binks, H., E. Vincent, G., Gupta, C., Irwin, C. & Khalesi, S. (2020) Effects of diet on sleep: a narrative review. Nutrients, 12 (4), pp. 1-18.

6.) Fadzil, A. (2021) Factors affecting the quality of sleep in children. Children, 8 (2), pp. 1-8.