What's the most important thing for athletes (运动员) to win? Training hard? Having an excellent coach? Never giving up? Probably these are all very important, but according to a new book, the most important thing is getting enough sleep.
This book is Sleep to Win! by Dr. James Maas and Haley Davis. In this book, you can find out how getting more sleep helped fifteen-year-old Sarah Hughes win an Olympic gold medal. She said the biggest change she made in her training for the Olympics was getting more sleep. Sleep to Win! also gives examples of other professional athletes as well as student athletes becoming faster runners because of getting more sleep. For example, after Amber Way, a high school student in Michigan, changed her sleeping time from seven to over nine hours each night, her running speed increased a lot. She finally became the state champion (州冠军) after breaking five school records.
Dr. Haley Davis explained, "Why is sleeping so helpful? The reason is that teenagers whose bodies are still growing need to get about 9.25 hours of sleep each night. That's about two hours more than most American teenagers are getting. Enough sleep helps the brain work properly. While teenagers are sleeping, their brains are preparing for the next day. A good night's sleep can help them pay attention, make decisions and be creative."