Tips for improving your sleep
Our recent article , ‘The benefits of sleep for elite athletes’ , resulted in a considerable reaction and as a consequence we decided to have a look at some tips and strategies that an athlete might use to maximize their sleep. As we have seen, getting sufficient rest is crucial in terms making the most of your training, and in turn allowing you to perform at your best when it really counts.
An illustration of how important it is to create the right sleep strategies came ahead of the Torino Winter Olympics in 2006, when US officials brought Dr. Mark Rosekind, PhD, President of Alertness Solutions and a former NASA scientist, to evaluate athlete’s sleeping conditions . Dr Rosekind, who is also a board member for the National Sleep Foundation, analyzed aspects of sleep such as lighting, beds and alarm clocks. Some of the changes might have appeared to be minimal, but they were designed to improve performance. Changes made by Dr. Rosekind included the introduction of background noise to block out intrusive sounds that can disrupt sleep, and recommendation of comfortable beds to suit personal needs. Of equal importance was the process of waking up and for athletes who tend to work hard during the day, a reliable alarm clock was deemed essential. He recommended black-out curtains to keep the room sufficiently dark, while having the right temperature was also very important. He suggested cool was better than warm but an accurate control was necessary, along with the provision of extra blankets. Finally, Rosekind considered the other end of the spectrum — waking up. For athletes who tend to burn the Olympic torch at both ends, a reliable alarm clock is essential.
Ensuring adequate sleep is a very important part of an elite athlete’s routine, but ensuring we get proper rest is something that would benefit us all in our everyday lives. James Maas, a sleep and performance expert who works with professional and collegiate athletes, reminds us that if you continue to skimp on sleep, you will pay the price.
No matter how good your nutrition is, no matter how good your exercise routine is, if your sleep isn’t any good, the other two don’t matter—that’s a brave statement, but it’s true”
How to improve sleep
There are a number of areas we can look at, particularly if we want to improve our athletic performance. Alcohol is something to avoid as although you might think it will help, it may make you sleepy at first but ultimately it fragments your sleep and makes things worse, and you end up feeling sluggish. Another thing to avoid is sugar as eliminating sugar after dinner aids in the body’s ability to fall asleep. In addition, avoid caffeine or spicy foods. Another important factor to keep in mind is that you need to personalize your sleep, and Rosekind points out that,
“You need to control and create a sleep environment that is personally the most comfortable for you”
One of the most important parts of this is to make sure you sleep in a cool environment.
One of the biggest disruptions to sleep in the modern day is our dependence on electronic gadgets and particularly their use just before sleep. There are varying estimates about how long you should switch off before sleep, and Charles H. Samuels MD, medical director at the Centre for Sleep and Human Performance in Calgary in ‘Sleep Advice for Athletic Bodies’ argues that it should be as much as four hours.
“We speculate on the amount of time that you should cut out electronics before bed—but my own personal advice is to eliminate it four hours before bedtime. Athletes need to be developing skills where they are not engaged, so they can relax. There’s no question that the light on these devices has an impact on sleep, but I think the inner activity and interaction they cause is more of an issue”
Wind down time
To help us switch off, it is important to build in some wind-down time to our routine. This routine could involve 20 to 30 minutes to prepare your body for sleep and it can include yoga, light stretching, meditation, reading a book or breathing exercises. This can be particularly important for elite athletes as often they find it difficult switch off, but it is vital that they find techniques that can calm the mind and allow them to fall asleep. If you haven’t had enough sleep then don’t be afraid to have a top-up. A 30 minute afternoon nap is a great way to overcome sleep debt. However, make sure you set your alarm before you transition into deep sleep. James Mass sums up just how important sleep may be, when he suggests it could make all the difference.
“Athletes are always looking for the silver bullet—that ‘something’ that will make them play better than their opponents. I think we have that silver bullet: sleep”
Resources
How to Sleep Like an Olympic Athlete by Heather Hatfield
Sleep advice for athletic bodies by Cassie Shortsleeve
The Man Behind The Advanced Sleep Hacking Tactics Used By The World’s Most Elite Athletes
Sleep and Recovery: An applicable approach to a lifestyle of recovery and rest for athletes by John Underwood
Sleep your way to success by Svend Bertil Frandsen
About Metrifit
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