bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Paul McNamara

It is a wonder Olympic athletes ever doze off at all, given competition pressure now comes with warnings about the consequences of not managing gold-standard sleep every night.
A 2023 study of 122 athletes revealed that sleeping for fewer than eight hours per night increased injury risk by 65 per cent.
“Tell that to any athlete, and after one bad night’s sleep, they’ll be asking, ‘Will I get an injury now?’” said Anna West, a sleep and recovery specialist whose clients include English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Brentford.
Over the past eight years, West has noted more attention being paid to the correlation between quality sleep and elite sports performance.
In turn, athletes have developed heightened awareness, in many cases anxiety, around the value of sleep. Plenty have developed a reliance on sleeping pills.

A 2016 study on sleep medication and athletic performance stated: “Olympic champions have openly been placed into drug rehabilitation due to dependence on sleep medication.”
In 2012, Australian multiple Olympic champion swimmer Grant Hackett disclosed that he overused sleeping pill Stilnox late in his career. By the time of the 2016 Rio Olympics, in a move strongly opposed by some team members, the Australian Olympic Committee had banned its athletes from using sleep medication.
Pre-Paris Olympics mental health screenings conducted by the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee revealed sleep remained athletes’ “number one concern”.
A spokesman for Hong Kong Sports Institute (HKSI) said: “At HKSI, a comprehensive support system is in place for athletes, which includes resources and advice around optimising sleep.”
The absence of air conditioning from the Paris Olympic Village has left some athletes worried about restless nights. Gregory Koenig, the French coach of Hong Kong fencer Cheung Ka-long, said that if necessary he would use local contacts to install air conditioning in his athlete’s accommodation.
“Previously, everyone knew the obvious, that athletes were more tired after poor sleep, but there was no link between the science and athletic metrics,” West said.
Of 283 elite Australian athletes sampled for a 2015 study, 64 per cent had suffered poor sleep the night before competition over the previous 12 months.
“The poor sleep reported by athletes … was situational rather than a global sleep problem,” said the study.
West views a large part of her role as “creating resilience towards poor sleep”. “Everyone can tolerate a bad night,” she said.
“We create a lot more fear around sleep, than we see sleep as an opportunity.
“There is a logical explanation for athletes struggling to sleep before competition. When we are nervous, we produce more cortisol and adrenaline, the hormones working against sleep.”
Bryony Page, the British trampolinist, said she “probably only slept two hours because of the buzz and excitement and adrenaline”, the night before claiming silver at the Rio Olympics. “I just rested my eyes and accepted that was going to be that,” Page said.
Sleep expert Richard Swinbourne, whose 2015 presentation to local athletes is housed on the HKSI website, describes the body as a “survival machine”. “If you are put under the pump and have to perform, you can,” he said.
At the height of his career, Roger Federer reportedly slept 11 to 12 hours each night. Usain Bolt had eight to 10.
“Sleep is extremely important for me,” Bolt said. “I need to rest and recover for the training I do to be absorbed by my body.”
Trying to consistently manage those unbroken stretches following late-night competition, or amid the hullabaloo around an Olympics or tennis grand slam, is a recipe for stress.

“The question is, when science and reality aren’t meeting, how can we create a bridge?” West said. “Premier League footballers have late kick-offs. They probably have caffeine before the match. Nothing in their system is building up to a good night’s sleep.
“I never want my athletes to strive for optimal. I want them to strive to optimise within their framework.”
Another cause of sleep anxiety, said West, was a blind trust of data. “We need to take some feedback with a grain of salt, and that requires education,” she said.
“Devices provide generic feedback, and don’t always take into account what you are doing … or where you are in your athletics cycle.”
The prevailing pursuit of marginal gains, married with some individuals’ profiles, leaves us well informed about athletes’ sleep habits.
Erling Haaland, the Manchester City striker, tapes his mouth shut to encourage nasal breathing, which is said to speed recovery and reduce daytime fatigue.
“I am not a fan of mouth taping,” West said. “After [Haaland’s revelation], I got a storm of questions from footballers.
“It is not that [mouth taping] is why he sleeps well. If you don’t have the basics in place – hydration, nutrition, movement, exposure to light and schedule management – you get no effect from the cherries on top.”

Recognition of advantages from efficient sleep means we now “accept everything in the 24-hour cycle is defining performance potential”, according to West.
“We need to address the root cause of any components around their physiology that are causing a sleep deficit. Changing mattress isn’t going to be the solution. If they have anxiety, we need to understand where it stems from, and learn to deal with it in the day.
“The most impactful time [to implement sleep behaviours] is during preparation for competition. Athletes will have both good and bad nights [during Olympics] and if they have the strategies to embrace both, sleep is exceptionally powerful.”


Chinese Olympic gold medallist Zheng Siwei retires at 27, says titles ‘hold little appeal’

Taiwan Olympic boxing champion Lin Yu-ting quits event after gender eligibility questions

Olympic champ Zheng, Hong Kong’s Haughey on strength, sacrifice and a winning mentality

Two months on, a Summer Olympics high turns into winter blues for Paris

Paris 2024 Olympic Games

Paris Olympics: Usain Bolt got 10 hours, but sleep can be the stuff of sporting nightmares

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt crosses the 100 metres finish line well clear of his rivals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Photo: AFP

Australian former swimmer Grant Hackett has revealed that he overused sleeping pills. Photo: EPA

Roger Federer (left), who won an Olympic silver medal in 2012, would sleep for up to 12 hours. Photo: AP

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has said he tapes his mouth shut at night. Photo: Action Images via Reuters

Paris Olympics: Siobhan Haughey eyes yet more improvement in final straight before Games

Siobhan Haughey recently won the three-part Mare Nostrum Tour for a second year in a row. Photo: X/WorldAquatics

Siobhan Haughey competes in the 100m breaststroke at this year’s World Aquatics Championships. Photo: AP

Hong Kong’s trials in May saw Siobhan Haughey swim the 800m freestyle for the first time. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Paris Olympics 2024: Hongkonger Edmond Ho to head 3x3 basketball refereeing crew in his second Games and as only Asian man

Hong Kong referee Edmond Ho is the only Asian man among 11 officials at Paris’ Place de la Concorde, where a total of 68 games will be played. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Ho has officiated at several world-level 3x3 basketball tournaments. Photo: Handout

Ho says referees need to “be ahead” of the players so they can deal with any situation on the court. Photo: Handout

Paris Olympics: Cheung unfazed by prospect of making fencing history, will treat Games as just a ‘normal competition’

Cheing Ka-long is keeping calm despite having a chance to make history at the Paris Olympics. Photo: Elson Li

Daphne Chan will be making her Olympics debut as a foilist for Hong Kong in Paris. Photo: Elson Li

How 2024 Paris Olympics organisers are planning for the most sustainable Games yet, and why not everyone is satisfied

Workers on a crane at the Aquatics Centre under construction in Paris, where swimming events will take place during the 2024 Olympics. Organisers are employing sustainable practices in areas from venue construction to food provision, but some say their efforts aren’t enough. Photo: AP

A surfer rides a wave in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. Photo: AP

The coral reef visible beneath the water in Teahupo’o. Building a viewing tower on the reef has met with opposition on the grounds that it could damage marine life. Photo: AP

The Olympic Village, under construction in 2023. Photo: AP

A vegetarian cheeseburger shown as part of the meat-free food line that will be available for spectators and athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Photo: AP

Cyclists ride near the Aquatics Centre in Saint-Denis, northern Paris. Photo: AP

Athletes swim in the River Seine for the first leg of the women’s triathlon test event for the Paris Olympics. Photo: AP

Workers build the athletics track at the Olympic Stadium, now called the Stade de France, in Saint-Denis, northern Paris. Photo: AP

Sport

Paris Olympics 2024

Adrenaline, late-night matches and perils of sleeping pills make it easier said than done, and many athletes find sleep a source of anxiety


Adrenaline, late-night matches and perils of sleeping pills make it easier said than done, and many athletes find sleep a source of anxiety.


Hong Kong Sports Institute