How much sleep do I need to recover?
7–9 hours for most adults; sleeping less than you need measurably hurts training performance and recovery.
When basketball players in a small study stretched their time in bed to about ten hours a night, their sprint times and shooting improved, which suggests many athletes sleep less than they could use.
If you regularly sleep less than you need, fixing that is cheaper and better supported than any recovery gadget or supplement.
Sources
3
- Fullagar, H.H. et al. (2015). Sleep and athletic performance: the effects of sleep loss on exercise performance, and physiological and cognitive responses to exercise. Sports Med 45(2). Reviews the performance cost of restriction and extension.
- Mah, C.D. et al. (2011). The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players. Sleep 34(7). Extending to ~10 h improved sprint times and shooting accuracy.
- Hirshkowitz, M. et al. (2015). National Sleep Foundation's sleep time duration recommendations: methodology and results summary. Sleep Health 1(1). Expert panel: 7 to 9 hours for adults, 7 to 8 for older adults, 8 to 10 for teenagers.