Research by Mah et al 2011 , Roehrs et al 2007, and Barbato et al 2009 have demonstrated that adequate sleep quality and quantity confers to improved

• Memory, Emotion stability
• Thinking clearly- complex learning tasks
• Alertness and concentration

With lack of quality or quantity of sleep it is more difficult to focus and pay attention, so you’re more easily confused. This hampers your ability to perform tasks that require logical reasoning or complex thought.

Sleepiness also impairs judgment. Making decisions is more difficult because you can’t assess situations as well and pick the right behavior.

Research also suggests that the nerve connections that make our memories are strengthened during sleep. “Sleep embeds the things that we have learned and experienced over the course of the day into our short-term memory,” says Avelino Verceles, MD.

The latest research from Trent University in Ontario, Canada, showed complex learning tasks such as getting the hang of a new song on Guitar Hero becomes easier if you sleep well – so the same goes for learning swim technique or mastering fast transitions. Good sleep equals good performance. Great sleep equals great performance.