How Access to Physiological Data Informs Student-Athlete …€¦ · team. WHOOP has shown that students who can see the performance cost of behaviors (e.g., alcohol and WHOOP Recovery,

How Access to Physiological Data Informs Student-Athlete BehaviorWhite Paper by Kristen Holmes-Winn

Table of Contents

IntroductionInsuffi cient and Inconsistent SleepSleep and Performance Overview of WHOOP Technology and Performance CorrelationsAccess to Data Drives BehaviorAlcohol and WHOOP RecoveryConclusion

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Introduction

Insuffi cient and Inconsistent Sleep

Athletics departments face a similar reality that any successful organization must navigate: how to sustain a level of “excellence in spite of fi erce competition” while continuing to defi ne and take advantage of opportunities moving forward. As athletics departments seek to fully maximi-ze potential, they must systematically recalibrate their defi nition of success. Providing student-athletes with access to their own physiological data is the fi rst step to sig-naling an unapologetic desire, interest, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of what they are capable of and challenge the current defi nitions of success. Providing students with access to their own physiological data around sleep, recovery, and strain will enable an institu-tion to tangibly diff erentiate itself among competing institutions in the eyes of the coaches and student-athletes they recruit. The end goal, in addition to attracting the very best student-athle-tes, is to provide the education, resources, and roadmap for student-athletes to cultivate their talents in a conscious progression that maximizes their long-term potential.

College is a period of uncertainty for most young adults, leaving home for the fi rst time and le-arning how to manage an unlimited number of stressors. Some of the changes and challenges college student-athletes face are reduced parental oversight into routines and habits, increa-sed athletic strain, dangerous stress/rest imbalances, various extracurricular activities, and increased academic workload. A detrimental shift in sleep habits and routines is one of the fi rst challenges facing the college student (Pilcher J, Huff cutt, 1996). Approximately 70% of college students report “poor sleep,” which includes comments around quality, duration, and irregular sleep patterns (DeMartini and Fucito, 2014).

In a study by Lund et al., 2009, college students classifi ed as “poor-quality sleepers” reported signifi cantly more problems with physical and psychological health than did good-quality slee-pers. Students overwhelmingly stated that emotional and academic stress negatively impacted sleep (Lund et al., 2010). In fact, evidence suggests that mental health issues on college cam-pus are correlated to sleep debt (Gilbert et al., 2010).

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These facts demonstrate that insufficient sleep and irregular sleep–wake patterns, which have been extensively documented in younger adolescents, also exist at troubling rates in the col-lege student population. Given the correlations between sleep quality and physical and mental health in this population, interventions such as education in combination with biofeedback should be considered.

Sleep and Performance

Despite a significant body of literature to suggest a positive relationship between sleep and general well-being (Czeisler, 2015), sleep regularity and college academic performance (Phillips et al., 2016), students have low sleep quality and quantity, and poor sleep habits (Brown et al., 2002). Insufficient sleep among college students may be due to scheduling constraints and not prioritizing sleep relative to other demands. Realms of athletic performance (e.g., speed and en-durance), neurocognitive function (e.g., attention and memory), and physical health (e.g., illness and injury risk, and weight management) (Goel et al., 2009, 29: 320–339) have all been shown to be negatively affected by accumulated sleep debt or sleep restriction (Pilcher and Huffcutt, 1996).

To compound the issue, healthy individuals are incapable of self-assessing the extent of the ef-fect of sleep loss (Alhola and Polo-Kantola, 2007). Consequences of inadequate sleep extend into every facet of the student’s life; students who get insufficient sleep are more likely to use medication/alcohol as sleep aids and use stimulants to increase alertness and focus (Taylor and Bramoweth, 2009). The continued rise in sleep issues on college campuses suggests that institutions are failing at communicating the role of sleep in optimizing mental, emotional, and physical health (Campsen and Buboltz, 2016) and have to date offered no meaningful solution to address the growing insufficient sleep epidemic.

These facts highlight the need for a response beyond what is currently being done on college campuses. Researchers suggest that students will perform and learn better when they are analyzing their own data (Freeman et. al., 2014). This differs from the current modus operandi which includes hypothetical scenarios played out in seminars or health recommendations pos-ted on flyers around college campuses. WHOOP introduces a tangible solution that has shown to improve sleep quantity of Division 1 NCAA student-athletes (Figure 1).


Fig 1. Student Athletes dedicate 41 more minutes in bed the fi rst 4 months on WHOOP. Time dedicated to sleep per night over 129 days. The blue trend line shows each day’s average time in bed across the NCAA Division I collegiate athletes who joined WHOOP on 9.15.2015. The dashed red line shows the trend generated using a standard least square linear t across the en-tire available data set (Breslow, June 2016).

Overview of WHOOP Technology

WHOOP provides a performance optimization system that combines a wrist-worn hardware device with an innovative cloud-based analytics system. Combined, the system off ers students the ability to harness physiological data to inform their decision-making around Sleep (quality, duration, and regularity), Strain (cardiovascular load), and Recovery (capacity to adapt to stimu-lus). The relationships between sleep, resting heart rate, and heart rate variability on athletic performance and their positive correlation with performance have been well-documented in the literature. WHOOP has quantifi ed the correlation between Recovery and various metrics in per-formance (Figure 2, 3, 4, 5). WHOOP has also quantifi ed the powerful behavioral modifi cations students experience while on the platform.

As a result, WHOOP is uniquely positioned to inform decision-making to facilitate optimal Sleep performance, speed Recovery, and promote general health and wellness. In addition to student-athlete insight, long-term and short-term responses to exercise can be monitored and shared with coaches, athletic medicine, and strength staff through a web-based portal (Figure 6) that helps enable data-driven training decisions. Data from this setting provides the ground-work for the selection of exercise appropriateness and the facilitation of overall mental and physical readiness.


Figure 2. Field goal % correlates with WHOOP Recovery A diff erence of 50 Recovery percentage points predicts about a 35% diff erence in fi eld goal shooting accuracy compared to their season’s average (Breslow, 2015).

Figure 3. Free throw performance correlates with the WHOOP Recovery A diff erence in 50 Recovery Score percentage points predicts about a 50% diff erence in free throw shooting accuracy compared to their season’s average (Breslow, 2015).


Figure 4. Baseball athletes shows a positive trend for WHOOP Recovery and Fastball Velocity (Breslow, September 2016).

Figure 5. All individual athletes shows a positive trend for WHOOP Recovery and Exit Bat Velocity (Breslow, September 2016).


Figure 6. WHOOP Team System

Access to Data Drives Behavior

Drawing on Peter Drucker’s “if-you-can’t-measure-it, you-can’t-improve-it” theory, educators at the collegiate level must consider how wearable technology may help students better under-stand the factors that infl uence their ability to perform on any given day.

Visibility into one’s own physiology gives the insight necessary to make choices that support a “performance lifestyle” in step with the academic and athletic goals of the student-athlete and team. WHOOP has shown that students who can see the performance cost of behaviors (e.g., alcohol and WHOOP Recovery, Sleep Debt and Strain, quality Sleep and focus) make incredible behavior modifi cations.

After just four months on the WHOOP Platform, student-athletes, on average,

• Dedicate 41 more minutes to sleep per night.

• Consume 79% less alcohol.

• Drink 89% less caff eine.

• Engage in screen time 20% less prior to bed.

• Report 60% fewer injuries.


Alcohol and the Student-Athlete

Student-athletes often underestimate the impact of alcohol on performance. As mentioned, stu-dent-athletes report consuming 79% less alcohol when on the WHOOP platform (Figure 7). This evidence suggests that visibility into how alcohol consumption impacts next-day WHOOP Reco-very (Figure 8) encourages positive actions around choices of when and how students drink.

• A decrease in RHR by 4.4 BPM

• An increase in HRV by 8.3 ms.

Not surprisingly, these behavior changes have led to substantial physiological improvements,

(Breslow, 2015)

Figure 7. Distribution of the incidences of athletes reporting consuming at least two alcoholic drinks within two hours of bedtime over their fi rst 129 days on WHOOP (Breslow, June 2015).


Figure 8. Distribution of Return to team average Recovery after drinking. The blue bar shows the number of drinking events after which the users’ Recovery was immediately greater than or equal to his/her team’s average. The data in red show the cumulative number of users who on 1 through 5 days after drinking had Recoveries below their team average, such that the athletes on day 4 had Recoveries that were lower than their teams’ average 1, 2, 3, and 4 days post drinking (Breslow, 2016).

Conclusion

Many regard consistent, high-level performance as something magical (e.g. “the zone”). Yet from an objective standpoint, there are three factors that, when considered together, unveil the mystery behind any given level of performance; 1) Biological potential, 2) Skills/expertise (information, know-how) and 3) “performance lifestyle” management. The factors that include biological potential and skills/expertise (factors 1 & 2), are generally well understood and/ or accounted for by individuals and teams who perform at a high level in any fi eld. The 3rd factor (performance lifestyle) is largely in the hands of the student-athlete.

WHOOP helps deliver insight directly to the student so they have the ability to account for, measure, and subsequently manage the variables, internal or external, that infl uence their performance.

The extent to which the student identifi es and manages these factors eff ectively determines the quality of their eff ort and the ability to sustain long-term, consistent outcomes. Helping stu-dent-athletes manage Sleep and balance Strain and Recovery is the key to a solid foundation of mental and physical wellness.


At WHOOP, we believe in a future where everyone will have access to their physiological data to make more informed, intelligent decisions about their body. In this context, “Performance” no longer is a mystery but a “choice”. Athletic departments, with unprecedented, quantified insight into athlete well-being, now have the opportunity to blaze a trail of leadership in the advance-ment of human performance education.

References

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How Access to Physiological Data Informs Student-Athlete …€¦ · team. WHOOP has shown that students who can see the performance cost of behaviors (e.g., alcohol and WHOOP Recovery,