"Ready, hike!" He sprints towards the end zone, glancing over his shoulder as he waits for the ball to come sailing through the air towards him. The further he goes, the more tired he feels. He sees the ball launched into the air heading his way. He steps over the line into the end zone. The ball has almost reached him. Here it comes! Splat! The ball fell right through his hands. This could happen to you!

If you are experiencing sleep deprivation, your athletic performance may suffer. Sleep deprivation does not mean you pulled an all-nighter. Building a cumulative sleep debt, getting less than the 9 1/4 hours of sleep you need per night, can produce the same results in as little as two weeks. Given that 85% of teens get less than 8 1/2 hours of sleep per night, our star quarterback is probably suffering from sleep deprivation and stifling his true athletic potential.

Some effects of sleep deprivation on sports performance are physiological, which means they happen in the body. These can include:

* Impaired motor function, which can include tremors, incoordination, blurred vision, and/or prolonged reaction time. In fact, reaction time has been shown to be equally slowed in sleep-deprived individuals as those who are legally drunk!

* Delayed visual reaction time so that by the time you see the ball heading toward you, it could hit you in the head!

* Delayed auditory reaction time means that you may not hear your teammate calling to you until it is too late.

* Reduced cardiovascular performance can mean that your fitness may be down by as much as 11%.

* Diminished mental functioning can occur so that you will not be able to remember the plays you learned at practice yesterday.

* Reduced endurance which means that you may get tired sooner because glucose storage is slowed with sleep deprivation.

Some of the effects are emotional or psychological. These can be equally harmful to your performance at a big game. They include:

* Increased perceived exertion: even if you can physically perform at similar levels, you will feel tired more quickly and give up.

* Impaired moods: sleep deprivation can leave you in a bad mood; you’ll certainly not be at the top mental state you need for a championship match!

On the positive side, getting enough sleep will actually help you to learn new physical skills. Studies have shown that sleep builds procedural memory, so you’ll remember the plays you trained for over and over at practice. Motor skills continue to be learned as you sleep. You will notice an improvement the next day, even if you have not practiced since.

Your body works very hard every day to keep up with all of the things that you do. You put it through a grueling day at school, a few hours of homework, and if you add athletics on top of that, you are really pushing the limits of your body. Sleep is absolutely essential to maintaining a level of success in all of these activities, as well as in your relationships, health and appearance.

So, get your sleep and score big!!