12/15/2025
Most people think the downside of poor sleep is simply “feeling tired.”
That’s the easy part to override.
The real impact is the automatic processing you can’t control:
reaction time, decision speed, and how quickly you read the game.
Athletes who slept only five hours reacted 0.15 seconds slower.
Over a full game, that changes outcomes.
Sleep is one of the few controllable performance variables. Small improvements compound into real results.