Tips for a Better Night's Sleep
--From Coach Drew
“It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.” ― John Steinbeck
Sleep…we all need more of it, but how do we get it?
According to the National Sleep Foundation (https://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/what-circadian-rhythm),
"If you’ve ever noticed that you tend to feel energized and drowsy around the same times every day, you have your circadian rhythm to thank. What is it, exactly? Your circadian rhythm is basically a 24-hour internal clock that is running in the background of your brain and cycles between sleepiness and alertness at regular intervals. It's also known as your sleep/wake cycle.
For most adults, the biggest dip in energy happens in the middle of the night (somewhere between 2:00am and 4:00am, when they're usually fast asleep) and just after lunchtime (around 1:00pm to 3:00pm, when they tend to crave a post-lunch nap). Those times can be different if you’re naturally a night owl or a morning person. You also won’t feel the dips and rises of your circadian rhythm as strongly if you’re all caught up on sleep. It’s when you’re sleep-deprived that you’ll notice bigger swings of sleepiness and alertness."
I truly value my sleep because I’ve learned that it has a direct effect on my performance as a coach and as an athlete. I want everyone to understand why sleep is important so I’ve put together some tips on how to improve your sleep.
I. Practice Good Habits
Avoid caffeine in the afternoon. Caffeine can potentially raise the stress hormone cortisol and can affect your ability to sleep later that night. This can vary for individuals, but it may be worth testing out for a week and see if it has improved your sleep quality.
Its Bedtime! This is one way to take advantage of our natural circadian rhythm. Now this only works if we can keep this up through the week as well as the weekends. Throwing off your sleep 2 days in a row and then playing catch up all week is no way to increase quality. Studies have shown that people who struggle with sleep tend to improve when they have a set bedtime between 9:30 to 11:00 p.m. There is a new feature on the iPhone that works great for this concept called “Bedtime”. You can manually set your wake/sleep cycle, and keep track of how consistent you are.
Sleep in cool temperatures. Our body temperature peaks as the sun sets to keep us warm through the night. This also sets off the release of two hormones - leptin (which suppresses hunger) and melatonin (which reduces brain function).
II. Light At The Right Time
Natural Light. We all need some good ‘ol fashion outside time (roughly 30-60 minutes a day), preferably in the morning after waking up. This has a huge impact on our internal “master clock” and can provide an anchor for the day.
Black Out. When it’s time for bed there needs to be complete darkness. You can invest in some black-out curtains which are great for keeping light out. You also need to be aware of devices that give off light. Your body can sense light through its eyelids even when they are closed. This can be disruptive for the deep quality sleep we want.
Blue Light Not So Special. There are tons of studies and research that show going to bed directly after watching TV, doing computer work, or scrolling through social media on our phones has a huge negative impact on our quality of sleep. Why? Because they mainly decrease the production of melatonin.
III. Exercise
Peak times. Studies have shown that training between the hours of 3 to 6 p.m. have the best performance results due to our body temperature elevating and protein synthesis peaking. Early morning workouts are great for our body’s circadian rhythm, but can have a negative effect on performance with our body temperature being lower and coordination reduced.
Get up & move! If you have a desk job, even if you regularly workout, chances are you still are pretty sedentary. A couple of ideas to ensure you are staying active while at work, would be to invest in a standing desk. If you don’t have access to a standing desk a good alternative is to take a knee while working at your desk and rotate legs every so often. You can also set a timer to remind you to get up and move around.
Sleep is such an important part of staying healthy as well as integral to your training. It is difficult to be at your peak performance for anything when you haven’t had enough sleep. So remember when it comes to sleep, make it a priority!