You may be exercising vigorously all week, but you are most likely not going to feel it when you lack a good night’s sleep. Did you know that? It’s because poor-quality sleep affects the body in different ways. For example, poor sleep affects muscle regeneration.
In other words, if you do not sleep well after playing sports, you may easily get injured and on the other hand, cannot grow your muscles . This leads to poor performance in sports and this happens both at professional and amateur level.
How do you know if you slept well?
It sometimes becomes difficult to tell if you have rested or not. You have to go about analyzing how long you slept, how many times you woke up at night among others.
The most simple version is to lie down in a dark, quiet room and set an alarm to wake you up 15 minutes later. The idea is to see if you can fall asleep during this time.
For clearer understanding, it is also important to be aware of the warning signs of poor sleep in adults according to the National Sleep Foundation of the United States. These are:
- waking up in the middle of the night for about 40 minutes before going back to sleep;
- spend less than 74% of the time you try to sleep actually sleeping;
- waking up, even quickly, at least four times during the night.
If you are experiencing any of these situations, this could be the reason for the decline in your sports performance or in any other activity you carry out on a daily basis.
How important is sleep in sports?
After comprehending this knowledge on how to recognize good sleep, let’s now shed more light on why sleep is important for sports. Simply put, it is during sleep that the body undergoes regeneration processes and produces elements that are basic in quality of life.
Therefore, sleep deprivation interferes with the physical and mental health of any person . It turns out that the consequences tend to be more pronounced in the case of athletes, since it is part of their routine to exercise their body with much more intensity.
So, when sleep is compromised, athletes may experience impaired performance due to not undergoing the necessary recovery processes. This is especially true for professionals, but amateurs are also affected. To better understand, learn about the phases of sleep below:
- phase 1 — this is the beginning of falling asleep, when the brain begins to relax and breathing slows down;
- phase 2 — body temperature decreases, as does heart rate;
- phase 3 — this is the beginning of deep sleep, in which brain waves become smoother;
- phase 4 — the body is now unconscious and begins to release growth hormone (GH), replenishing spent energy and regenerating tissues;
- phase 5 — the body begins to dream, and it is also time to organize the information received throughout the day.
As you can imagine, not passing all the phases of sleep leads to harm to the human body . For instance, if the body does not reach phase 4, then the GH will be inappropriately released. Because this anabolic hormone acts on physical and muscular growth, it is important for sports performance.
What consequences for life in general does lack of sleep have for an athlete?
Poor quality sleep is indeed bad news for anyone, whether an active or sedentary individual. However, whereby athletes need to be even more careful with their sleep is that they often subject their bodies to a significant level of stress .
Therefore, when this stage is compromised, several consequences tend to arise. For example;
- difficulty maintaining a healthy weight;
- increased stress;
- worsening concentration;
- greater propensity to cardiovascular diseases;
- greater risk of accidents caused by fatigue;
- worsening of mood and sociability.
All of the above-mentioned harmful effects can harm anyone’s life. However, they tend to have a more intense effect on athletes due to the higher level of demand on their physical and mental health. Therefore, increasing the risk of accidents and illnesses can compromise the practice of sports activities, for example .
How to get a good night’s sleep?
After understanding in more detail the consequences of poor sleep quality, it’s time to learn how to sleep better. Follow our tips!
Avoid heavy foods before bed
During the night, your body naturally slows down its digestion to prepare for rest. So, if you eat close to bedtime, especially heavy foods, your sleep tends to be compromised. Therefore, eat light foods up to two hours before going to bed.
Take a hot bath 90 minutes before bed
A hot shower will relax your muscles and release feel-good hormones. But you’ll need to take it about 90 minutes before bed , so that the feeling of warmth gradually will cool down your body. Then, you will be able to relax and fall asleep much quicker.
Do not nap during the day
Taking naps may be very useful for people in giving them energy when they haven’t slept well at night. However, this should be avoided as a habit because it may interfere with sleep at night. After all, this is the time that hormones like GH are secreted in the system.
Additionally, anxiety about sports competitions or any other event the next day may be depriving you of sleep. In situations like this, using herbal remedies that are indicated to help reduce anxiety can be useful in controlling your mind and helping you relax .