Sleep and Recovery for Athletes: Protect Your Melatonin, Own Your Nights

A man stretching in a dim living room at night after training, wearing Melavue Midnight red lens glasses

Short answer: Sleep is where recovery happens. One night without sleep cut muscle protein synthesis by 18% in healthy young adults (Lamon et al., 2021), and basketball players who extended their sleep sprinted faster and shot more accurately (Mah et al., 2011). The night starts with melatonin, and bright evening light holds it back (Gooley et al., 2011). So the athlete's wind-down is simple: finish hard training an hour before bed, keep evening light low, and put on a red lens like Midnight for the last 1–3 hours before bed. Your next PR starts tonight.

Why is sleep the most underrated part of training?

Training breaks you down. Sleep is where you build back. A 2021 expert consensus in the British Journal of Sports Medicine describes sleep as key to athlete health and performance, and warns that elite athletes are especially prone to short, poor-quality sleep (Walsh et al., 2021).

  • One bad night shows up in muscle. A single night without sleep cut muscle protein synthesis by 18% the next afternoon, raised cortisol by 21% and dropped testosterone by 24% (Lamon et al., 2021).
  • More sleep, better numbers. When 11 college basketball players aimed for 10 hours in bed for 5–7 weeks, they slept about 111 minutes more a night, sprinted faster, hit more free throws and three-pointers, and reported more vigor and less fatigue (Mah et al., 2011).
  • No sleep, no performance. Performance drops after a night or more without sleep (Walsh et al., 2021).

What does melatonin have to do with recovery?

Melatonin is the hormone that rises in the evening and helps your body get ready for sleep (NHLBI). Think of it as the starting signal for the recovery shift. And light is what tells it to wait:

  • Room light pushes it back. Ordinary room light before bed delayed melatonin onset in 99% of people and shortened their melatonin night by about 90 minutes, compared with dim light (Gooley et al., 2011).
  • Screens cut it down. Reading on a light-emitting tablet before bed meant less melatonin, a later body clock, longer to fall asleep and less alertness the next morning than reading a printed book (Chang et al., 2015).
  • Experts say dim early. Sleep scientists recommend keeping light low from at least three hours before bedtime (Brown et al., 2022).

For most athletes, those last three hours are refuel, foam roll, film, phone. Lots of light, right when melatonin should be rising.

Can blue-blocking glasses protect your evening melatonin?

That's what the lab studies show for the lenses they tested:

  • Melatonin held steady. Under a bright light, people wearing orange blue-blocking lenses saw no significant drop in melatonin, while grey lenses let it fall by 46% (Sasseville et al., 2006).
  • Even all night. Goggles that blocked short-wavelength light kept melatonin close to dim-light levels through a bright-lit simulated night shift (Kayumov et al., 2005).
  • Better sleep reported. Adults who wore amber lenses for three hours before bed for two weeks reported better sleep quality and mood than those in yellow-tinted control lenses (Burkhart & Phelps, 2009).
  • In athletes too. Recreational athletes who wore amber glasses for three hours before bed reported falling asleep about 7 minutes faster, sleeping better and feeling more alert the next morning (Knufinke et al., 2019). A follow-up adding morning light found faster self-reported sleep onset again, especially with a fixed sleep schedule (Knufinke et al., 2021).

Those studies used orange or amber lenses. Our evening lens, Midnight, is red, and in a lab test of 50 lenses red tints let through the least of the light that affects the body clock (Mason et al., 2022). The glasses handle the light. Sleep does the recovering. For the wider evidence, read do blue light glasses work?, and for choosing a pair, see blue light glasses for sleep.

How much sleep do athletes need?

The CDC recommends 7 or more hours for adults aged 18–60 (CDC). For athletes, the 2021 expert panel recommends a personal target based on how much sleep you feel you need, rather than one number for everyone (Walsh et al., 2021). If you need an alarm to drag you out of bed and you crash every afternoon, you're leaving recovery on the table.

Does training late at night hurt your sleep?

Usually not. A review of 23 studies found evening exercise generally didn't hurt sleep in healthy adults. The exception was vigorous exercise ending within an hour of bedtime, which may delay sleep and cut total sleep (Stutz et al., 2019). Train late if you need to. Just finish the hard stuff an hour before bed, and watch what comes after: the bright gym, the drive home, then screens until midnight.

What does an athlete's wind-down look like?

Wear Midnight after training. Let your melatonin do its job. Wake up ready to go higher.

  1. Get bright light by day. Sleep scientists recommend plenty of bright light during the day, ideally daylight (Brown et al., 2022). For daytime screens, DayLight is our light yellow lens.
  2. Finish hard sessions an hour or more before bed (Stutz et al., 2019).
  3. Dim the house after dinner. Warm lamps, overhead lights off.
  4. Last 1–3 hours: Midnight on. Our deepest red lens, built to filter the blue light from evening screens and lamps. Never wear it to drive (can you drive in red or yellow glasses?).
  5. Same bedtime, dark room. Keep the same schedule every day, and skip caffeine in the afternoon and evening (CDC).

More on timing: how long before bed to wear blue light glasses. The everyday version of this plan is our evening wind-down routine. Traveling to compete? See blue light glasses for jet lag.

An athlete's evening routine: train, refuel, Melavue Midnight red lens glasses on for screens, lights out

Built for athletes' evenings

Protect your melatonin. Own your nights. Midnight for after the evening session, DayLight for film and desk time, or both in The Day & Night Set (DayLight Somnara Black + Midnight Nocturna Black) for $102. See Melavue for athletes.

Every pair is $59.99 with a hard case and a cleaning cloth. Shipping is $7.99, or free on orders over $69.99. 30-day returns, worn pairs included (you pay return shipping, no restocking fee).

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FAQ

How much sleep do athletes need?

The CDC recommends at least 7 hours a night for adults. A 2021 expert consensus for athletes recommends a personal target based on how much sleep you feel you need, rather than one number for everyone.

Why is sleep important for muscle recovery?

Sleep is where recovery happens. In a lab study, one night without sleep cut muscle protein synthesis by 18% the next day in healthy young adults. Basketball players who extended their sleep for several weeks sprinted faster and shot more accurately.

How does evening light affect melatonin?

Bright evening light suppresses and delays melatonin, the hormone that helps you get ready for sleep. Room light before bed delayed melatonin onset in 99% of people in one study, and reading on a tablet before bed meant less melatonin and longer to fall asleep than a printed book.

Do blue light glasses help athletes recover?

They protect the sleep window, and sleep does the recovering. In lab studies, blue-blocking lenses kept bright light from suppressing melatonin, and recreational athletes who wore amber glasses before bed reported falling asleep faster and feeling more alert in the morning. Wear a red lens like Midnight for the last 1 to 3 hours before bed.

Is it bad to work out late at night?

Usually not. A review of 23 studies found evening exercise generally didn't hurt sleep. Vigorous sessions ending within an hour of bedtime were the exception, so finish hard training at least an hour before bed when you can.

Sources

  • Brown TM, et al. Recommendations for daytime, evening, and nighttime indoor light exposure to best support physiology, sleep, and wakefulness in healthy adults. PLoS Biol. 2022. https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3001571
  • Burkhart K, Phelps JR. Amber lenses to block blue light and improve sleep: a randomized trial. Chronobiol Int. 2009. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20030543/
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About Sleep. https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about/index.html
  • Chang AM, et al. Evening use of light-emitting eReaders negatively affects sleep, circadian timing, and next-morning alertness. PNAS. 2015. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25535358/
  • Gooley JJ, et al. Exposure to room light before bedtime suppresses melatonin onset and shortens melatonin duration in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3047226/
  • Kayumov L, et al. Blocking low-wavelength light prevents nocturnal melatonin suppression with no adverse effect on performance during simulated shift work. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15713707/
  • Knufinke M, et al. Restricting short-wavelength light in the evening to improve sleep in recreational athletes: a pilot study. Eur J Sport Sci. 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30427265/
  • Knufinke M, et al. Dim light, sleep tight, and wake up bright: sleep optimization in athletes by means of light regulation. Eur J Sport Sci. 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32022640/
  • Lamon S, et al. The effect of acute sleep deprivation on skeletal muscle protein synthesis and the hormonal environment. Physiol Rep. 2021. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7785053/
  • Mah CD, et al. The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players. Sleep. 2011. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3119836/
  • Mason BJ, et al. Spectrophotometric properties of commercially available blue blockers across multiple lighting conditions. Chronobiol Int. 2022. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9106867/
  • National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. How Sleep Works: Your Sleep/Wake Cycle. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep/sleep-wake-cycle
  • Sasseville A, et al. Blue blocker glasses impede the capacity of bright light to suppress melatonin production. J Pineal Res. 2006. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16842544/
  • Stutz J, et al. Effects of evening exercise on sleep in healthy participants: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30374942/
  • Walsh NP, et al. Sleep and the athlete: narrative review and 2021 expert consensus recommendations. Br J Sports Med. 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33144349/

This article is for general information and isn't medical advice. Melavue glasses are not a medical device and don't treat any condition. If you have ongoing trouble sleeping, talk to your doctor.