Sleep - The Most Underrated Training Session Happens at Night

Most athletes think training ends when practice does.

Sleep is treated like an afterthought - something you squeeze in once everything else is done. Homework. Screens. Travel. Late nights. Early mornings.

But science tells a different story. Sleep isn’t what happens after training. It’s part of training.

For hockey players, sleep is one of the most powerful performance tools available and one of the most overlooked. Strength gains, reaction speed, emotional control, and decision-making don’t fully develop during practice. They develop later, when the body is still and the brain gets to work.

The most underrated training session doesn’t happen on the ice.
It happens at night.

Strength isn’t built during the effort itself - it’s built during repair. Lifting weights breaks the body down. Hard skating places stress on muscles. Games push the body into real physical fatigue. Training creates the stimulus, but recovery is where adaptation happens and strength is actually formed.

During deep sleep, the body releases growth hormone, a key driver of muscle repair, tissue recovery, and physical development. Research published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism shows that the majority of daily growth hormone secretion occurs during slow-wave sleep.¹

For hockey players, this matters more than most realize. Without enough sleep there is a higher risk of getting injured. Additionally, the muscle recovery slows and the progress in strength begins to flatten.

Sleep is not optional for development - it’s foundational. Skipping sleep is like skipping half the workout and expecting the same result. You can train hard all day. But if you cut sleep short, your body never cashes in the work.

Hockey is a game of milliseconds.

• A puck bouncing off the boards.
• A lane opening for half a second.
• A goalie reading a release.

Reaction time is often blamed on “focus” or “awareness.” But research shows sleep plays a major role in how quickly the brain processes information.

Studies published in Sleep and Nature Reviews Neuroscience demonstrate that sleep deprivation significantly slows reaction time, impairs motor coordination, and reduces alertness - even when athletes feel “fine.”²

In hockey terms:

• You’re a step late on the forecheck.
• Your stick arrives just after the pass.
• You hesitate instead of reacting.

The body is on the ice, but the brain is still tired. Reaction speed isn’t just trained with drills. It’s protected with sleep.

The best players don’t just skate fast. They think clearly - especially when the game turns chaotic. Their decisions don’t come from panic or guesswork, but from recognition and trust in their instincts.

In hockey, decision-making happens under constant stress. Reads must be made in fractions of a second, often while moving at full speed and absorbing contact. The difference between a good player and a great one is rarely physical alone - it’s the ability to process the game, choose the right option, and execute it when the moment is demanding the most.

Sleep plays a critical role in this.

Research from Frontiers in Human Neuroscience shows that sleep loss impairs the prefrontal cortex - the part of the brain responsible for judgment, emotional regulation, and decision-making.³

That means less sleep leads to poor reads, riskier decisions, slower problem-solving and emotional overreaction. A tired player doesn’t just lose speed. They lose clarity.

Sleep allows the brain to organize information, reinforce learning, and regulate emotion. It’s why plays feel “slower” when you’re well-rested - your brain is processing the game more efficiently.

Most players don’t skip sleep on purpose. They lose it quietly — to late practices, early school mornings, travel schedules, and the constant pressure to “grind.” The idea that doing more always means doing better pushes athletes to stay up later, wake up earlier, and ignore fatigue as a sign of commitment. Rest starts to feel unproductive, even lazy, when in reality it’s one of the most important parts of development.

Research from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that adolescent athletes are especially vulnerable to chronic sleep deprivation, often getting far less than the recommended 8–10 hours per night.⁴

The problem isn’t lack of effort. It’s lack of awareness.

In most minds, sleep doesn’t feel productive. You can’t post it, measure it in reps or sets, or visibly see it happening. But its impact shows up everywhere — in energy levels, emotional control, consistency, and on-ice performance.

Hockey culture often celebrates exhaustion.

• Early mornings.
• Late nights.
• Playing through fatigue.

But modern sports science is clear: chronic sleep deprivation doesn’t build toughness - it limits performance and increases injury risk.

Studies published in Sports Medicine show that athletes who consistently get less sleep have higher rates of injury, slower recovery, and decreased performance over time.⁵

True toughness isn’t ignoring fatigue or pushing through exhaustion at all costs. It’s understanding when the body needs recovery so it can perform again tomorrow — and the day after that. It’s respecting the systems that allow consistency, not just one good effort.

Sleep isn’t softness - it’s strategy. It’s the difference between simply getting through the next day and building the capacity to perform consistently over time. When sleep is protected, the body recovers, the mind sharpens, and performance becomes sustainable.

Elite players protect their sleep the same way they protect their bodies - with intention and discipline. They understand that sleep sharpens instincts, stabilizes emotion, and reinforces skill learning, allowing the game to slow down mentally even when it speeds up physically.

Quality sleep helps movements become automatic, reactions more precise, and decisions more composed, especially under pressure. It’s not an afterthought in their routine; it’s a competitive advantage they guard as carefully as their training.

Research on skill acquisition shows that motor skills practiced during the day are consolidated during sleep, especially REM sleep.⁶ That means the work you do at practice becomes more automatic, but only if you sleep enough for the brain to lock it in.

That’s why sometimes a skill feels easier the next day.
Your brain finished the rep while you slept.

The best players don’t just train harder.
They recover smarter.

This article blends lived hockey experience with insights supported by contemporary research in sports psychology and athlete development

¹ Van Cauter, E., et al. (2000). “Roles of sleep and circadian rhythmicity in the human endocrine system.” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

² Killgore, W. D. S. (2010). “Effects of sleep deprivation on cognition.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

³ Lowe, C. J., et al. (2017). “Sleep deprivation and decision-making.” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

⁴ Owens, J. A. (2014). “Insufficient sleep in adolescents.” American Academy of Pediatrics.

⁵ Simpson, N. S., et al. (2017). “Sleep and athletic performance.” Sports Medicine.

⁶ Walker, M. P., & Stickgold, R. (2006). “Sleep, memory, and plasticity.” Annual Review of Psychology.