When All-Star point guard Steve Nash talked to The New York Times about how he was going to stay on top of his game after so many years playing in the NBA, he didn’t say that he would run more, lift more, or do anything special with his diet. He said he’d sleep more. “If you nap every game day, all those hours add up and it allows you to get through the season better,” Nash told the newspaper (1). Nash was on to something. It turned out in the newspaper’s story that NBA players, along with NHL, were among the most likely professional athletes to take up napping because their games occur more often than others. There are even NBA teams that have adopted training programs from Dr. Charles Czeisler, the Director of the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Chief of the Sleep Medicine Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. They’ve dubbed him the “sleep doctor.” The nickname is no joke. In 2013, Dr. Czeisler wrote in an article in Nature that between 50 and 70 million people in the United States suffer from sleep disorders and sleep deficiency, which is linked to greater risk of obesity, heart disease, depression, and stroke (2;3). Some 40 percent of people don’t get enough sleep, while 25 percent report difficulty concentrating because of fatigue. Those numbers are expected to rise (2;3). All things considered, we are a nation plagued by sleep troubles and that’s sapping away at energy and performance. Recognizing this problem amongst their players is the reason why NBA teams seek Dr. Czeisler’s recommendations for improving sleep quantity and quality for athletes. As far as Dr. Czeisler’s advice, he says to avoid caffeine at night and turn off electric lights—that means room lights, TVs, mobile phones, tablets, and more. He writes that light “affects our circadian rhythms more powerfully than any drug.” Sleep is “essential to our physical well-being,” Dr. Czeisler writes, so it’s important to consider how using artificial light at night affects our health and performance. The way artificial light interferes with circadian rhythms is by suppressing the release of the pineal hormone, melatonin. Melatonin is a focus of Dr. Czeisler’s lab because restoring the hormone in the brain can help to normalize circadian rhythms. Moreover, Dr. Czeisler’s lab is trying to understand how specific wavelengths of light, as well as their timing, duration, and intensity, act on photoreceptors in the eyes to determine circadian rhythms of humans. The research is key for athletes because better regulation of sleep is vital for human performance. After all, it’s during sleep that the majority of recovery and renewal of muscles and the brain take place. Not getting enough or good quality sleep daily can mean not making the necessary adaptations from training for improved performance during competition. But as with NBA players, generally, most athletes don’t have the luxury of a normal schedule or can avoid being surrounded by artificial lights. Quite the opposite—athletes often have the most hectic of schedules, resulting in “jet lag,” and are under the spotlight more than the average person. The decrease in their melatonin levels and interference in circadian rhythms these athletes experience can result in trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, and more sleepless hours can cut into athletic potential. Another problem is that as athletes grow older, their melatonin levels generally drop over time. Nash, for example, at age 39, is likely to release less melatonin than younger counterparts, which can mean a big difference on the court in terms of energy levels. Apart from minimizing the interference of artificial light and caffeine, there is one other method that scientific studies show works well to normalize circadian rhythms in anybody, helping them to fall asleep faster, have a better quality sleep, and wake up more refreshed (4). That method is melatonin supplementation to help reset the body’s “sleep-wake” cycle. One of the most common questions of athletes regarding supplementation is whether or not it’s safe for them. All evidence considered, melatonin supplementation has not only shown to be well-tolerated and completely safe, even when used over the long-term, but also can counteract the effects of the harmful “drug” that is artificial light (4;5). Isagenix Sleep Spray and Renewal™ is a melatonin supplement designed for ultimate convenience. The fast-acting spray is light for traveling and one that can be left by the bedside table for quick use prior to napping or sleeping at night, offering rewards of more rapid recovery after training for improving health and performance. References 1.Abrams J. Napping is prevalent among NBA players. The New York Times. 6 March 2011. Available at: http://nyti.ms/xruM7k. 2.Czeisler CA. Perspective: Casting light on sleep deficiency. Nature 497, S13 (23 May 2013) 3.Colten, H. R & Altevogt, B. M. (eds) . Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem (National Academies Press, 2006). 4.Lemoine et al. Prolonged-release melatonin improves sleep quality and morning alertness in insomnia patients aged 55 and older and has no withdrawal effects. European Sleep Research Study, 2001;16:372-380. 5.Lemoine et al. Efficacy and safety of prolonged-release melatonin for insomnia in middle-aged and elderly patients with hypertension: a combined analysis of controlled clinical trials. Integr Blood Press Control 2012;5:9-17.