Golden State Warriors Path To Championship Begins In Bed

LeBron James recently opened up about how critical getting enough rest is to his success on the court.

“Sleep is the most important thing when it comes to recovery,” the Cleveland Cavaliers starter told CBS Sports earlier this month. “Our schedule keeps us up late at night, and most of the time, it wakes us up early in the morning [too]."

"There’s no better recovery than sleep," he added.

James won't be the only player who is well rested for Game 6 of the NBA Finals Thursday, when the Cavaliers take on The Golden State Warriors.

Warriors guard Andre Iguodala will be too. Last year, he went public about clocking enough shuteye, revealing he abstains from electronics before bedtime and focuses on deep breathing exercises to up his game. In that time, his shooting improved 29 percent and his turnovers dropped 37 percent when he got adequate sleep, according to data collected by Iguodala's Jawbone UP.

“There's a direct correlation,” Iguodala said in an interview with Arianna Huffington in April.

Last year, the Warriors enlisted Cheri Mah of the Human Performance Center -- a University of California, San Francisco, sports medicine clinic that focuses on injury prevention and performance -- to optimize the team’s sleep schedule. NBA teams are constantly on the road, and jet lag is a game changer.

“For anyone aiming to be at their best, whether a pro athlete or weekend warrior, it is important to have a strong foundation of healthy and adequate sleep on a daily basis,” Mah told The Huffington Post.

Though she has done other research on athletes, none of Mah's studies have specifically focused on the Warriors.

Sleep needs to be a priority, and part of the athlete's job, she says, is to rest.

The Warriors' sleep strategy is actually part of their playbook that they're not sharing with the public, Mah says, “or else it wouldn’t be a competitive advantage!”

Game location, time zone, travel days and game times all factor into the equation.

If you want to take your game to the next level, here is some research you might want to sleep on.

1. Good sleep lets you work harder

Mah and her team recently recruited 12 male cyclists to limit their sleep to four hours for three days in a row. She compared the athletes' workouts on those days to workouts on days after the athletes had slept for ten hours.

For the workouts after the athletes were sleep deprived, energy expenditure decreased by 3.9 percent, maximal aerobic power decreased by 2.9 percent and exercise time to exhaustion decreased by 10.7 percent.

2. Sleep keeps you in the game

Several studies have linked sleep with brain benefits like keeping your memory sharp, upping creativity and keeping you focused. And on the court, those brain benefits are linked to better performance.

Studies in tennis players have found that adequate sleep can improve accuracy and coordination on the court.

3. Sleep training can up free throw shooting

Mah's team has also previously followed Stanford University’s men’s basketball team during a five- to seven-week sleep intervention. The players got as much sleep as possible during that period -- spending a minimum of 10 hours in bed each night. Their free throw shooting percentage increased 9 percent.

Mah has not tracked how much sleep has improved the Warriors free throw shooting (at least not in a published study), but with the team’s free throw percentages just ahead of the Cavs, this is one measure the Warriors would do well to keep their edge on.

Sarah DiGiulio is The Huffington Post’s sleep reporter. You can contact her at sarah.digiulio@huffingtonpost.com.