Cognitive Enhancement of Sport Technique Learning by Sleep: A Systematic Review

Purpose The importance of sleep in enhancing the consolidation of memory for movements has been demonstrated. A possible application of sleep manipulation to sport techniques learning is also potentially helpful for training. Method Eligibility criteria encompass the group of studies (cross-sectionals and interventions) on humans correlating sleep with physical performance. A search on the topic was performed in Medline. Results After a review of sleep organization and memory systems, an overview of literature specific to learning and sport performance is presented. Building on existing literature, it was found that, in the short period after awakening from a night deprived of sleep, a strong activation of CNS happens possibly due to increased catecholamines secretions. This is thought to benefit performance in sports of short duration where the nervous component is predominant, such as jumping and sprinting. On the contrary, complex cognitive tasks performed in sports such as tennis are instead impaired by sleep deprivation. The same applies for maximal performance in endurance running and weightlifting. Placement of a cognitive challenging training before sleep can therefore benefit the acceleration of the learning process of a novel motor task. Conclusion Cognitive and emotionally challenging tasks promote an increase of deep sleep, due to the stress put on the brain during learning. In conclusion, practice and/or rehearsal of complex techniques before sleep appears to accelerate the learning process, increasing accuracy and decreasing error rate. However, few studies exist on specific sport techniques, and further research is needed.