5 habits for quality sleep

Sleeping is of the utmost importance to everyone. However, even more for athletes. Implement these 5 habits and see the improvements.

Sleeping well can make all the difference. It is during sleep that our brain has the opportunity to reorganize the data it has collected during the day, process new information, and archive memories. Furthermore, it is also during sleep that the brain has the chance to exercise neural connections that might otherwise deteriorate due to lack of activity. Sleep also reduces our metabolism and energy consumption levels and allows the body to repair muscles and other tissues. Rest days are also truly crucial. LINK POST "Why should I rest between workouts?”

When it comes to athletes, the benefits of sleep are even more remarkable. Without quality sleep, athletes may suffer from shorter reaction times, take longer to recover, and have a lower performance. Discover our advice for quality sleep and turn off your computer or mobile phone. See you tomorrow and sleep well!

Sleep advice for athletes

According to the World Sleep Day organization, in general, the ideal for adults is between 7 and 8 hours per night. However, several coaches recognize that in the case of athletes, the optimal would be 10 hours in the weeks preceding the most intensive competitions and training. If it's not possible, then use naps (30 minutes or less). In his book Sleep, Nick Littlehales, a sleep specialist working with athletes, and Cristiano Ronaldo's sleep coach, offers some advice. Fresh sheets, a good mattress, the right pillow, and temperature between 16 and 18 degrees are some of the investments you should bet on. According to the sleep coach and author, to sleep well, the room must be dark and the electronic devices offline. You can adopt the Lux Light Meter application, which is free, and allows you to measure the lighting through the sensor of your phone.

1. What's your chronotype?

Are you an early riser or a night owl? Identify your personal clock by checking a few things. If you like to go to bed early and wake up early, you love the mornings and breakfast, you're a lark (morning profile). However, if you prefer to get up later, the alarm clock is your best friend, and you easily switch breakfast for lunch and lunch for dinner, you are an owl (night profile). In the first case, you like to lie down before midnight and usually get up by 8am. If you have the night profile, you go to bed after 24h00 and only get up after 9h00.

2. Define a sleep routine

Ideally, you should have a sleep ritual. For example, turning off electronic devices before going to bed or reducing lighting because it helps tell the brain that it is time to go to sleep. But when you get up, it' also important to have a routine. Wake up every day at the same time and create your ritual. For example, reading the newspaper. Have a cup of coffee. Or even go for a run.

3. Fetal position

The best position to sleep is fetal. This way, the body can relax better, recover more energy, and pass to the brain a feeling of comfort.

4. The nap

Your body starts to expend energy from the moment you wake up. Therefore, the ideal is to take a break in the middle of the day to recharge. In other words, take a nap! The production of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and more) is linked to sunlight, and from the middle of the day (considering the moment when the sun rises) it starts to go down. If you rest and take a nap, you can recover and even complement your nocturnal cycle. The end of the afternoon is also a good time to rest.

5. The cycles of sleep

You should sleep according to the natural 90-minute sleep cycles. The most common practice for a personal 8-hour sleep routine is to follow five 90- minute (7h30m) cycles with an additional 15 minutes. But in sleep, there are no universal truths, there are only options. That's why you have to listen to your body.