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Recovery – Why is it always such a rush to get enough sleep?
Why is it always such a rush to get to bed in our house?
I’m sure that if you are anything like me, and I am not atypical in any sense, just maybe a little OCD…, then getting to bed at a decent time to score some decent quality regenerative rest is not as easy as it should be. It’s always high on the list of priorities for the day – “must get to bed early and sleep well…”.
Like many of you, starting up a new business venture in sports and fitness, being a caring & helpful Dad, assisting with homework, making school lunches etc etc all run into the plan for an early night. Well, I say that, those important and enjoyable tasks run in alongside the heavy exercise programme that we undertake, so it’s not the tasks and loving daily chores that lead to the ‘late*’ nights. It’s all things taken together that lead us to pack as much into the day as possible – and often a good bit more too.
*I say ‘late’ because for many working parents with a love of sport, an early night can be bed at 11.30 for 6-7 hours rest.
Personally, 6 hours is inadequate, 7 hours is ok but not regenerative and 8 hours is my optimum for restoration benefits. For some folks, e.g elite triathletes it can be 8-10 hours and famously Paula Radcliffe would sleep for 10 hours plus some sneaky cat-naps throughout the day.
One of my best friends and a super, high energy Group Exercise instructor and Personal Trainer (Gill Garner) regularly grabs cat-naps of up to 1 hour during the day in between her busy schedule of classes and PT sessions.
What’s the learning point? What can we all try and do better or differently to get the rest and recuperation we need so that we can be productive, helpful, powerful & fast (and sweet-natured!) tomorrow?
First thing – no electronic devices in the bedroom, no iPads, laptops etc. Leave them outside the door, the bedroom is your sanctity of rest. No TV either. Read a book and drift into a deep slumber. Waken with your alarm or with the daylight – whatever you use, force yourself up and out once you waken, do not hit snooze. Hit the day running, and make a pact with yourself to get to bed at a specific time. If you haven’t got all your ‘To-Do’s” done then rise early tomorrow to finish them – the body and mind will be stronger and fitter for the high quality rest that you invest in your sleep bank.
For all you athletes out there, when we sleep the body releases human growth hormone (HGH), that’s what Dwaine Chambers infamously injected to himself to build his strength, speed, stamina, & accelerate his recovery so he could train harder next day…. and cheat!
We can do this naturally by sleeping well – HGH rebuild and repairs muscles, boosts the immune system, repairs micro-damage to tendons, ligaments and bone structures.
All massively important for all sports people and indeed all of us.
Sleep Well, Sleep Tight