We all know the importance of a good nights sleep, especially when it comes sleep, here are a few more useful tips and advice from the last blog I wrote about the subject.
- get enough total sleep.
A great way to do this is to keep a sleep diary for 2 weeks monitoring when you go to bed. Over the 2 weeks you should look to increase the amount you sleep by 15 minutes until you start to feel well rested. This is especially important if you are regularly sleeping less than 7 hours a night. Regular naps are also useful to increase the total sleep you are getting. You can put these on weekends or days off.
2. healthy sleep habits.
You are aiming to sleep in a cool, dark and comfortable room. Electronic devices like phones and televisions can disrupt sleep so its better if you try and remove these. Other tips to consider are looking to reduce expose to light, no caffeine after lunch and allocating a 30 to 60 minute wind down period before you go to sleep.
3. Minimize jet lag.
The body can adjust to 1 hour of time zone difference a day. You can help combat this by starting to adjust before you go away, you can utilise online travel planners to help with planning your sleep and wake times. Factors like dehydration, physical activity and eating patterns can all impact too.
4. Measure the impact
Its always good to test out any changes you have made to see if they have had a positive impact on performance. This is best done 2-4 weeks post changes to see the benefits of the sleep strategies. Things to look for are improved concentration, improved alertness, better recovery times, improved sports performance etc.
About the author
Michael is an Osteopath, trainee strength and conditioning coach and competitive powerlifter