Recovery and SLEEP😴

Welcome to this week’s blog, I hope everyone has had an excellent week so far!

We are nearing the end of the Spring/Summer training season and just about ready to test ourselves at the end-of-season championship meets! No matter what level you are racing at it is important to approach these meets properly. Today I want to talk about the importance of Recovery, both for the body and the mind.

For starters, the mind. A positive mindset can be difficult to maintain while stressing about the championship meets. A constantly running, stressed out mind is not conducive to enhanced performance. It is important to understand how to relax the mind so that it can stay focused on the task at hand. There are a number of great tools to use including meditation, mental imagery, self-talk, etc. But the easiest and most important one is to engage in light mental activity and be present in the moment. This light mental activity should be enjoyable and unrelated to the sport (or task that is causing the stress). Examples could be reading a book, watching a movie or TV, listening to a podcast, playing board games, and hanging out with friends or family. Really anything that occupies the brain without requiring intense usage.

A recovered brain will assist in recovering the body, but there are also a number of techniques an athlete can utilize to further recovery the body and prep it for another great training session or competition. There has been an increase in interest in recovery techniques, and new techniques are popping up all the time. Many of these you have probably tried. Techniques like stretching, foam rolling, wearing compression, massage, ice baths, cupping, cooling down, yoga, and more.

There are literally hundreds of techniques and tools an athlete can use to help be recovered. But the most important thing an athlete can do in terms of recovery is to CREATE A RECOVERY PLAN! All athletes have training plans (whether they make it, or their coach does), good athletes will have a nutrition plan, and great athletes will have a recovery plan. I suggest that athletes try every type of recovery they can find and discover what works well for them. What did they like, what made their body feel great, what did they do the night before an amazing practice, and then create a plan to follow each day/week/month/season that helps keep their body ready to train and race at their potential. This is one of the services I offer in the Performance Consultation Package that I offer. If you need help developing a Recovery Plan, book a session now and let’s get you ready to Exceed Your Potential!

With all that being said, the main topic I want to discuss is sleep. The MOST IMPORTANT and EFFECTIVE technique to recover the mind and the body, and is always the first technique to get pushed to the side. We live in a society that constantly encourages activity and engagement, and our sleep suffers from that, which then in turn negatively effects our mental and physical capacity.

I get it though, I’ve been a high school/collegiate athlete, and now as a coach I see it from a different perspective. Athletes have school, work, practice, homework, chores, social events, etc. and then also need to browse their Twitter, Instabook, Face-a-gram, and all those sites. It’s hard to find time for everything AND get enough sleep. But here is the importance of sleep and some tips to help developing healthier sleep habits.

Sleep is the most important tool of recovery for both the mind and the body. Much of the night is spent in the Rapid Eye Movement (REM) cycle. While in the REM cycle, the brain transfers information from the short-term memory into the long-term memory. This is important for school and education, but also for learning new skills and techniques in athletics. Also, while in the REM cycle the body switches to a mode that repairs tissues and cells. Within the first two hours of sleep the body releases a large amount of Human Growth Hormone (HGH) which is a major factor in recovery and muscle development. The brain and the body undergo many cycles throughout a night of sleep, each which are important in mental and physical recovery.

There have been many studies comparing sleep and athletic performances, many of which were based on swimming. Some confirmed findings were that reaction times from the blocks, short sprints and turns were completed faster with healthier sleep habits. Also, athletes were able to maintain a faster pace for a longer time during distance swims before fatiguing. Not to mention, studies have also found that people with healthier sleep habits have a more positive mindset, a better mood and better grades.

There is the somewhat standard rule of eight hours of sleep per night is enough. While that is true for many people, it is not true for high performing athletes, especially as adolescents. It is suggested that maturing athletes should be getting at least 9.25 hours of sleep per night. While that number seems like a lot, especially with their busy academic, social, and athletic lives, there are steps that athletes can take to optimize sleep time and quality. The single best tip I have for sleep is to create a BEDTIME ROUTINE.

A bedtime routine prepares the mind and the body for sleep. Humans are very adaptive creatures and learn unconsciously. When initiating this routine, the body and mind will understand that it is time to sleep and will prep itself to do so. This will allow for athletes to fall asleep faster, sleep longer, and have better quality of sleep. Routines can be difficult to create and stick to. Much like any other skill, it is recommended to start with a short routine (lasting five minutes or so) and slowly lengthening the routine as the body and mind become more accustomed. It is unrealistic to start off with an hour-long routine on day one. There are many things that could be added into a bedtime routine and each should be done for a specific reason (like turning on “night mode” on your phone at a specific time to reduce the amount of blue light that you absorb). To learn more about why sleep is important, what is hurting your sleep, and how to improve sleep sign up for a Performance Consultation Package!

An example of a bedtime routine could be:

· 8:30pm: Night mode turned on phone

· 9:00pm: Plug in phone and keep away from the bed

· 9:00-9:30pm: Read, study, audiobook/podcast, etc.

· 9:30-9:45pm: Get ready for bed (brush teeth, etc.)

· 9:45-10:00pm: Breathing exercise, stretch, meditate until sleep

· 7:00am: Wake up

Routines have been shown to dramatically increase sleep quality and in turn performance. Sleep is a huge component to training and competing. Learn how to create a bedtime routine that is productive and reasonable.

Spend some time these next couple weeks recovering! Value sleep, prepare the body, and develop a positive mindset, then go out there and light up your championship meets! Good luck!