Could Circadian Timing Give Football Teams an Edge?

A recent analysis of National Football League results show that the body's natural circadian rhythm can actually work as a performance advantage in the West Coast when teams play East Coast rivals at night. 

"Over the past 40 years, even after accounting for the quality of the teams, West Coast NFL teams have had a significant athletic performance advantage over East Coast teams when playing games starting after 8 p.m. Eastern time," said lead author and board-certified sleep medicine physician Dr. Roger S. Smith, via a press release. "Both the power and the persistent nature of this sleep-related athletic advantage were surprising."

Researchers from Harvard and Standard worked to analyze NFL games from 1970 to 2011 that started after 8 p.m. EST and involved East Coast versus West Coast teams. They studied 106 games in all that met the inclusion criteria as well as an additional 293 daytime games that involve the same match-ups that were analyzed in the control group.  Findings showed a strong advantage for West Coast teams even after adjusting the Las Vegas point spread that took into account factors including quality times, injuries and home-field advantage. During these games, 66 percent of the West Coast teams beat the point spread, and did so by an average of 5.26 points. The daytime games also did not show a significant advantage for West or East Coast teams. 

"This study is a reminder that the body has an intricate timing system that regulates both sleep and aspects of human performance," said American Academy of Sleep Medicine President Dr. M. Safwan Badr. "We function best when we maintain a daily routine that promotes healthy sleep, which is critical for daytime alertness, performance and public safety."

More information regarding the study can be found via the journal Sleep.