Anyone who has heard me talk about training has probably heard me say that I think sleep is the most under-rated component of a good training program.
I don't only mean getting one good night's sleep the night before a race (although that's a good idea!), I mean a strategy that supports a routine for consistently getting enough sleep to recover and consolidate training.
I acknowledge up front that what works for one person might not work for another. It's hard to say exactly what a given person needs, and I'm sure it varies by age, activity level, etc. I also admit that I don't always follow my own advice. I typically get 6-7 hours of sleep a night, and I think I'd do better with 1-2 hours more. What I have noticed is that a slight lack of sleep on a given night doesn't make much difference. It's only when that slight lack of sleep is repeated for several days that I start noticing the signs that I am functioning below par: it takes me longer to wake up, longer to feel productive; I have less patience and am more irritable. Worst of all, I no longer look forward to that track workout or tempo run.
That's a warning sign: when you stop looking forward to the daily challenge of training, you're entering the twilight zone where you run and you run but you don't see any results. Prolonged lack of sleep doesn't stop you from training, but it can prevent you from getting any benefit from your training.
The New York Times had an essay a week ago citing a small study that followed five members of the Stanford women’s tennis team. According to the article, "for two to three weeks, the athletes maintained their regular schedules, sleeping and working out as usual. They took part in sprinting and hitting drills to measure their performance. Then the players were told to extend their sleep to 10 hours a night for five to six weeks." After the period of enforced extra sleep, all the players performed better on all the drills, including sprinting drills.
To Improve Fitness, Try Sleep
I feel like this is an open secret: everyone knows (or should know) that a chronic sleep deficit impairs performance, and catching up on sleep can improve performance. And yet, ask any runner to list their top priorities in their training and sleep will not be on the list. It's wrong-headed to focus on all the workouts and mileage you're going to do if you don't build in the basic recovery your body needs to get stronger and stave off injuries.
For anyone who writes out a training plan, chances are it includes daily runs, track workouts, hill repeats, strength training -- maybe even massage and stretching. Does it include time to sleep?
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6 comments:
You are right. Sleep is the most important aspect of a training program--without proper sleeping one's training or runnung just tears one down. We don't talk much about sleep because we take it for granted that a person will get the sleep he needs. It's not usually an issue unless there is some other problem such as depression. The harder the workouts the more sleep a person needs and if he is listening to his body he will get the needed sleep. If he is not listening to his body, he has another problem because it takes much motivation to overcome the need for sleep. Anyway, good topic.
Great post, and the article was interesting. In high school running, and athletics in general, getting sufficient sleep is difficult. the BSC is graced with many top scholars, and the workload for those students impairs their ability to sleep adequately. I know I found nothing more frustrating than having to do homework until a bit past 2:00 a.m. the night before EMASS.
Definitely agree with what you said, Jon, but to anonymous: you definitely should never need to stay up that late, and if you find yourself doing homework at 2:00 AM the night before EMASS then you're doing something wrong. An important aspect of getting enough sleep is time management. If you spread out your work over time instead of blowing it off until the last minute and work to do it quickly and efficiently than you shouldn't have more than a few hours of homework a night in high school. No offense, but if you knew you had a big assignment due the night before a meet then you should have planned ahead. Another important thing is to know when to say "f*** it" and just go to sleep even if you're not done. It may lead to handing things in late occasionally, but I know that I personally don't typically get good work done late at night anyways.
Clif- Ironically, a post sent at 1:35 AM.... sometimes you want it and you just cant get it. You wont be at your best, but there are other things in the world to think about than just track. Some kids just cant get those precious 8 hours. Talk to the kids from Boston who take 90+ minutes to get to and from school. Still think everyone can get all that sleep?
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