The Myth of Load Management: Sleep and Recovery in the Women’s National Basketball Association

in Sociology of Sport Journal

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Sarah BarnesDepartment of Experiential Studies in Community and Sport, Cape Breton University, Sydney, NS, Canada

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2021-0044
Keywords:
Women’s National Basketball Association; sleep; rest; athlete welfare
First Published Online:
20 May 2022
In Print:
Volume 39: Issue 4
Page Range:
373–381
Restricted access

This article uses a feminist cultural studies of sport framework to explore dominant storytelling about sleep in the Women’s National Basketball Association. In a historical moment when rest is understood as a vital component in athlete performance, being denied full access to the conditions and resources that are imagined to be conducive to sleep is problematic. However, the Women’s National Basketball Association’s embrace of a commercial, technoscientific promotional sleep culture often comes at the expense of understanding the impact of structural forces on recovery. By exploring a variety of stories about sleep and performance, it is possible to understand the limitations and possibilities of using sleep enhancement frameworks to foster healthier and more humane sport settings and societies.

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