Sleep For Performance

Ever hear the phrase “your body is a temple.” 

Cliche, but true. We only get one.

So you’ve gotten into a pretty routine gym schedule. You’re feeling good, losing weight, feeling strong, hitting PRs, etc. How to we ensure longevity in sport & in life. Aside from the post-workout recovery like we’ve discussed in previous blog posts, one of the most crucial external factors contributing to our personal well-being is sleep.  

You’d think the solution is just get more hours, right? Most people feel that if they get more sleep, they will feel better. Less sleep, more fatigue. What we really want is quality over quantity. Tossing and turning for 10 hours can leave you feeling drained, but a deep 6-8 hours of sleep can leave you feeling rejuvenated. 

In his 2012 crossfit journal article, Martin Rawls-Meehan outlines how sleep

impacts your athletic performance. 

  “Exercise, nutrition and sleep make a virtuous circle comprising the three essential elements of fitness.”

Research has shown that people who don’t get enough sleep are more prone to diabetes, obesity, hypertension and other various cardiometabolic and endocrine disorders.

Just a few days of little to no sleep impact the body’s insulin sensitivity by more than 25 percent in normal, healthy people. This essentially brings them to a pre-diabetic state—the equivalent of gaining 18 to 30 lb.

People who don’t sleep enough are often more irritable because the brain works differently when we are sleep deprived. An irritable athlete usually is not a positive athlete. Thus, sleep deprivation can rob you of the mental edge necessary for success

To see significant improvements in performance, we have to train right and eat right. But without enough sleep, that work is wasted and could even be harmful for a body so sleep deprived it can’t heal itself. You can’t achieve your body’s maximum potential in athletic performance or be at peak levels of health unless you pay attention and work hard at all elements.

To help improve sleep, try adopting some routines to help you “wind-down.”

* Unplug. If you have access to this blog, chances are you probably stay up late answering emails on your phone or computer , browsing through your phone late at night in bed. The light emitted from these devices is going to trick your brain into thinking it’s still daytime. 

* Avoid caffeine after the early afternoon and try not eat a big meal or have alcohol within 3 hours of going to bed. 

* Avoid taking long naps during the day. Sometimes it’s unavoidable, but try to keep them under 30 minutes to avoid throwing off your biological clock. Taking long naps can have a similar effect on the body as jet lag. If you need to take a nap that is longer than 30 minutes, try to get in at least one full sleep cycle—about 90 minutes—to avoid feeling groggy.

While life happens, and its not always realistic to get your full 8 hours of sleep; some simple adjustments to routine can turn the princess and the pea into sleeping beauty.

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Sleep_RawlsMeehan2.pdf

Coach Emily