The importance of quality sleep for athletic performance and training recovery

As endurance athletes, you already know how important training and nutrition are to your sports performance and recovery. But how much thought do you give to sleep: routine, duration and quality?

Regular, good quality sleep is the missing piece of the puzzle for many endurance athletes. Better (and more consistent) sleep can help with muscle repair, mood and energy, weight loss and weight management, hunger and cravings, strength, power and the ability to train harder. Nothing in life is a magic wand but good sleep is about as close as it gets!

Sleep is highly anabolic, this means that it helps the body recover, repair tissue and rebuild after training or racing. Sleep also increases the natural secretion of the hormone "growth hormone", which is responsible for cell regeneration (including muscles, tendons and ligaments). If you don't get enough sleep, or if the sleep you do get is interrupted or of poor quality, your body will not get enough time in this lovely anabolic state. The result will be impaired recovery, possibly leading to niggles and injuries and certainly leading to sub-optimal performance. 

Plenty of quality sleep leaves you feeling amazing: energised, confident, and in a positive frame of mind. You don't need me to tell you that you're far more likely to train hard, race fast, push through tough training sessions, pay attention to technique and get PBs when you've had a consistent spell of really great sleep.

Sleep actually makes it easier to manage weight and body composition. When we're well rested, we have far better control over our hunger, we are less likely to reach for comforting foods (the ones which don't help us meet our nutrition goals!) and our bodies are actually better set up to lose excess body fat and retain muscle tissue. Good sleep balances the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which are responsible for hunger, cravings and satiety.

For many of you, it's not about why you should get more sleep, but how. Perhaps you struggle with stress or even have insomnia. Or maybe a very busy schedule, including a young family, keeps you from getting enough shut-eye.

Try these tips for getting more consistent good quality sleep.

Manage your caffeine intake: Even if you don't think you're sensitive to caffeine, try cutting caffeine completely for a week or two (tea, coffee, hot chocolate, even caffeine in sports drinks). If you can't manage that, try to leave at least 8 hours between caffeine and bed time.

Go to bed at the same time: As athletes, our bodies love routine. So try to go to bed at the same time every night, even on weekends.

Set up a sleep routine: Turn off the TV or computer. Put your phone away. Potter about the house quietly if you need to do any chores. Wind down slowly, look forward to getting in to bed, and let your brain and body anticipate sleep.

Go to bed before midnight: If you can get to bed between 9-11pm, you will see a difference in your sleep patterns and quality. Every hour of sleep you get before midnight is worth its weight in gold.

Keep electronics, lights and tech out of the bedroom: Try to make your bedroom as dark and calm as possible. Remove as many lights as possible (this includes lights from chargers and electronics). And if you heed one bit of advice, make it this: leave mobile phones, ipads, tablets and other tech out of the bedroom. The artificial light plays havoc with our brains when we're trying to wind down, and we need to avoid the temptation to stay awake too late idly browsing social media!

Enjoy your sleep all!