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As I am looking to all avenues for improving my performance, I am now looking at one of the most important aspects of staying at the top of my game. Sleep. The average person needs about 7-8 hours of sleep daily. A recent study showed that when given as much time as possible to sleep, the participants in the study slept an average of 8 hours and 15 minutes per night. I personally try to get 7 hours on the weeknights and 7-8 hours on the weekends. It's tough sometimes though. Between my wife, the pets, work, and training, it's hard to fit everything in and still get enough time for sleep. And it didn't help that I became addicted to a reality TV show these past few months. But it's over now and I'm not watching TV anymore. But if I do, I'm getting a digital video recorder. I digress. While researching this topic, I came across an interesting term: "Sleep Debt". I've always heard people say they need to catch up on their sleep but I never actually believed lack of sleep accumulated. Well guess what? It does. Your brain keeps a record of when it doesn't get enough sleep and it wants it back. In the study I mentioned above, when the participants initially entered the study, they were sleeping up to 12 hours. It was only after this debt was made up that they were then averaging 8 hours and 15 minutes.
I won't go into a long dissertation about the stages or benefits of sleep other than to say that when you sleep, your mind and body are repaired. For an Ironman athlete, having both the mind and the body at an optimum level is crucial to being as successful as you can. We are able to find the time to swim, bike, run, lift weights, go to work, and spend time with family and friends. We now need to figure out how we can squeeze in enough time for sleep. It's that simple. For me personally, I'm going to try and get that extra hour nightly. In another study with obvious results... athletes did not perform as well as when they were given enough sleep. They could've just given me the money and I could have told them that. From my experience, when I don't have enough sleep and attempt to perform a workout, I am less mentally prepared to initiate the workout. I don't think I've ever been physically over-trained but I know I've definitely crossed the line mentally. I attribute this completely to lack of sleep. Ok, enough said, you get the point, sleep is important. Time to move on.
I feel old some days when I am unable to remember things from the past. But one of the things I do remember from my childhood is nap time. I loved it then and I love it now. Just last week, I was feeling like I wasn't 100% so I made the time to take naps. Studies show that 20 minutes of napping are more beneficial than 20 minutes more sleep in the morning. Nap lengths only need to be between 15-30 minutes to receive the benefits. Anything longer than that may cause difficulty in waking up and may affect your sleep at night. Now I just need to figure out the benefits of milk and cookies. As final thought, I came across another piece of information I wanted to share. I sleep like a baby. My head hits the pillow and I don't remember anything else until I wake up in the morning. But maybe you're not like me. Are you one of those people who are unable to sleep the night before a big race? I have good news for you. Studies have shown that your performance will not be impacted on race day from one sleepless night as long as you get enough sleep regularly.
Now get some sleep!
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