Ahhh, a good night’s sleep. Sometimes we don’t know how much rest we really need until we discover how good we feel when we actually get it. And as I write this at 2:11am - I am most certainly craving a good night’s sleep!!! Most of us who are very physically active usually have no problem sleeping once our head hits the pillow. The exception to this rule is the night before a race or other competition or when we’re under a lot of mental stress.
Unfortunately, many of us also have multiple commitments (work, family hobbies) that prevent us from getting the proverbial eight hours; which, by the way, is the minimum requirement during hard training. But make no mistake, if you’re serious about your workouts, you’re not doing yourself any favors by depriving yourself of much-needed rest. In fact, you might find that by dreaming more, you can actually make some of your competitive dreams come true.
Optimal Stress + Optimal Rest = Optimal Performance
This is the most basic law of training, but it’s also the most neglected. Just as too little training won’t improve your performance, too little rest can eliminate any gains you’ve worked hard to produce. The body needs rest to repair itself from the stresses of hard training and it’s during deep sleep that your body’s cells do much of their regenerating. Think of it this way: for the 16 hours of damage you do throughout your day, you owe your body at least eight hours of repair time.
Age Makes a Difference
Unfortunately, the older you get the more restful nights and easy days you need. Older athletes require more rest for their muscles to repair and rebuild. For example, a 25-year-old and a 50-year-old could do the same interval workout, but the younger athlete may only need one easy training day to recover, while the older athlete needs at least two not to mention two good night’s sleep.
Pre- and Post-Race Rest
The two times competitive athletes most benefit from a good night’s sleep are often the only times they experience insomnia. I used to envy athletes who can sleep before and especially after a race, something I was never able to do even after 20 years of competing. No matter how well or how poorly I raced, I was always wide awake most of the night afterward. The longer the race, the worse my insomnia.
Lack of Zzzs Bad for the Waistline
According to the experts, one bad night’s sleep isn’t harmful, but chronic sleep loss can have negative effects on a host of physiological and cognitive processes. Furthermore, chronic sleep loss may lead to weight gain. Sleep deprivation may lead to a reduced ability to process carbohydrates (also known as insulin resistance) and an increased level of the stress hormone cortisol. Researchers also suspect that when a person is not properly rested they compensate by eating more during their waking hours. This makes sense as the hormone leptin, which suppresses appetite, is produced primarily during sleep, while production of the hormone, ghrelin, which stimulates appetite, is suppressed during sleep.
Tips
The following are a few of my favorite tested sleep enhancers:
- warm milk with a little cinnamon – within an hour of turning in
- a baked sweet potato with a little EVOO within 2 hours of turning in
- Valerian root tincture – in a small glass of H2O – 1hr before sleep
- essential oil of lavendar – keep open bottle by bedside and inhale in each nostril before closing your eyes and again if you wake up in the middle of the night
Sweet dreams and Be Well,
Carolyn
