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

Abstract

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.