Sleep Hygeine and Athletes
Written by Ben Bunting: BA(Hons), PGCert. Sport & Exercise Nutrition. British Army Physical Training Instructor.
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When you play sports or perform physical exercises, you might wonder how your sleep hygeine affects your health.
The answer depends on how much exercise you get and what you eat, but there are also other factors to consider. For example, your circadian rhythm plays a big role in the way you sleep.
Sleep Hygeine Explained
Good sleep hygiene is an essential part of your wellness. It can boost your physical and mental health and improve your productivity.
A few simple tips can help you achieve the quality sleep you need. Sleep hygiene is a healthy habit that you can practice on a daily basis.
This can give you a restful, refreshing night of sleep every night.
You may have heard of sleep hygiene before, but you might not understand exactly what it is.
Sleep hygiene is the collection of behaviors and habits you engage in during the day that affect the length and quality of your sleep.
These habits are designed to promote the relaxing environment you need to fall asleep and to maintain a normal sleep rhythm.
When you get the right amount of sleep, you will feel refreshed and alert for the following day. In addition, good sleep hygiene can lower your risk of health problems.
Those who don't get enough sleep, especially during the night, are at an increased risk of physical and mental disorders. The CDC estimates that over one-third of Americans don't get the recommended amount of sleep.
When you don't have enough sleep, your body doesn't have the time it needs to repair itself.
Your mood, energy, and concentration are all affected. However, you can improve your sleep hygiene by making changes to your schedule, diet, and environment.
One of the most important aspects of sleep hygiene is avoiding things that will make it difficult to fall asleep.
For example, caffeine can prevent you from falling asleep if you drink it shortly before bed. Similarly, alcohol is a stimulant that can keep you awake if you have it before bed.
In addition to avoiding alcohol, tobacco, and other unhealthy items, sleep hygiene also involves establishing a regular routine.
Practicing meditation, exercise, and light reading can be beneficial for your sleep. Make sure your bedroom is comfortable and relaxing. Keep the room cool (below 60 degrees Fahrenheit) and use comfortable bedding.
Using eye masks and ear plugs can also help block distracting outside noise.
There are many things you can do to improve your sleep hygiene, but the key is to be consistent.
Start by setting a regular bedtime. Try to avoid working late or getting distracted by things like TV or internet. If you need to, try to take a nap after work to refresh yourself. Avoid smoking and drinking coffee before you go to bed.
As you continue to improve your sleep hygiene, you will find that it becomes easier to fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. Sleep hygiene can also help you stay alert during the day and improve your mood.
While sleep hygiene may seem overwhelming at first, you can easily start implementing it today.
A checklist can be printed out and included with your prescription. Keeping a sleep hygiene checklist can help you track your sleep habits and see how you can improve them.
Exercise helps get better sleep
There is a good chance that your athletic performance is affected by how much sleep you get. Not only does a good night's rest help your performance, it also has other benefits such as reducing your risk of injury and illness.
The quality of your sleep affects everything from your mood to your physical and cognitive abilities.
Exercise is a great way to improve your sleep. Moderate-intensity exercise is a good way to help your body get a decent nights rest.
In addition, regular exercise can reduce stress, which can improve your sleep.
As you may already know, the sleep-enhancing effects of exercise last for hours. Specifically, exercise has a number of benefits, including increased heart rate and sweat rate, a lowering of core temperature, and the release of endorphins.
All of these effects aid in the process of settling your brain into a deep and restful sleep.
It's no secret that athletes need a good night's sleep to stay at their top form. If you're not getting enough rest, you may be prone to overtraining.
This can lead to a host of problems, from muscle fatigue to reduced endurance.
When it comes to the best way to get a good nights rest, there's no one size fits all answer. You need to try to maintain a consistent and reliable routine.
For many athletes, that means exercising in the evening, which is the ideal time for your body to wind down.
Another good idea is to keep your bedroom cool. Some experts recommend keeping your room at 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Although this might seem like a small thing to keep in mind, it can make a huge difference for athletes.
In addition to keeping your room at the right temperature, you might want to consider a few other factors.
First, is your workout going to be a major factor in your sleep? Athletes who are over-trained may have trouble sleeping due to elevated cortisol levels.
Next, you need to find out the exact best time to exercise. While it's not clear which time is optimal, some experts suggest morning and late afternoon are the optimal times to perform this task.
Circadian rhythm affects sleep hygeine
Circadian rhythms play a major role in our biological system. They influence our sleep, immune function, metabolism, and weight regulation.
Many people have problems sleeping due to a change in their circadian clock, which is the body's internal clock. These disturbances can also affect our emotional and cognitive performance.
The effects are often similar to what we would experience if we were jet lagged or had a head injury.
A recent study examined the impact of circadian rhythm on sports performance. It found that athletes who sleep for less than 8 hours a night are more likely to have a poor cognitive performance.
Other studies have shown that a circadian cycle can influence anti-cancer drug effectiveness.
One of the most prominent circadian rhythms is the sleep-wake cycle. When we are in a good sleep routine, we experience a positive effect on our mood and our cognitive abilities.
However, it is important to keep in mind that not all sleep disorders are the same.
For example, delayed sleep phase disorder and non-24 hour sleep wake disorder can be caused by a variety of factors, such as a head injury, shift work, or a late night.
Circadian rhythms also influence how quickly we recover from physical exertion. Studies have demonstrated that elite athletes' total sleep time is significantly reduced after a night's competition.
This could be caused by an increase in the homeostatic pressure.
Sleep is crucial to athletes. As the body's master clock is not well regulated, athletes may experience frequent changes in their sleep schedule.
To optimize performance, athletes should follow a training schedule that allows them to get a full eight hours of sleep each night.
Athletes can use a variety of strategies to improve their sleep. Some of these include avoiding screen time before bed, avoiding stimulant medications, and limiting alcohol and caffeine consumption.
In addition, athletes should try to integrate the recommended recommendations for good sleep hygiene into their daily routine.
A sleep study is a valuable way to determine if your sleep patterns are on the right track.
The study can be conducted in either the daytime or at night. If you suspect you are experiencing a sleep disorder, contact your healthcare provider.
Depending on the type of sleep disorder you are suffering from, your health care provider will develop a personalized treatment plan.
COVID-19 sleep deprivation
Sleep quality is a fundamental component of athletes' performance, recovery and well-being.
Insufficient sleep can negatively affect a number of physical, mental and cognitive factors. Lack of sleep can also increase the risk for illness, injury and cognitive decline.
Sleep deprivation in athletes is not uncommon. Many young athletes are known to have poor sleep quality.
Athletes with high cognitive demands or those who compete for a long time may suffer from chronic sleep deprivation. Fortunately, there are ways to improve sleep quality.
The key is to maintain a regular sleep-wake schedule and avoid alcohol, nicotine and caffeine during the second half of the day.
Researchers conducted two studies to determine the impact of COVID-19 on sleep quality.
The first study included 565 individual and team-sport athletes. They completed a multilingual cross-sectional survey.
The questionnaire included questions about the athlete's training habits, napping and sleep patterns.
COVID-19 impacted the sleep habits of athletes in a similar way to the general population. It induced changes in sleep and training patterns and caused a deterioration in sleep quality in 47% of participants.
Moreover, the severity of impaired sleep was not associated with the sport category or the number of years of playing and competing.
A significant increase in sleep-onset latency and insomnia-like symptoms was reported during the lockdown phase.
Additionally, older athletes had more negative impact on sleep quality than younger ones. These findings are important because they could be relevant in future lockdowns and lockdown-like situations.
To assess the impact of COVID-19 on sleep, researchers used the Single Daytime Sleepiness Item (SDTI).
Students were asked to answer bespoke questions about their sleep pattern to determine their average training hours.
Results indicated that 159 of the 339 students showed a decrease in their sleep quality. An additional 60 of the students showed an improvement in their sleep quality.
There was a correlation between the amount of time athletes spent in lockdown and their sleeping behavior.
Lockdown mediated a circadian disruption, which was further reflected in the changes in sleep quality and sleep-wake schedules. Training volume was reduced by 30-90% in 81% of the students.
Negative effects of poor sleep on mental health
Sleep is important to maintaining the mental health of athletes. Poor sleep quality can lead to anxiety, depression, and fatigue.
This can negatively impact the athlete's performance, and is a major factor in athlete development.
A number of studies have investigated the relationship between sleep and mental health. Researchers have noted a wide variety of relationships between the two, including poor quality sleep, fatigue, and mental illness.
These associations have suggested that both sleep and mental health may be modifiable.
The University of Liverpool's Centre for Sport and Exercise Sciences conducted a study to examine the impact of sleep on athletic performance.
They found that partial sleep deprivation affected exercise and had a negative effect on performance.
Gouttebarge, et al., conducted a meta-analysis of previous studies to determine the prevalence of sleep disorders among current and former athletes.
They found that a substantial percentage of former elite athletes had sleep disturbances. In addition, they found a high prevalence of sleep apnea in ex-NFL players.
Sleep and mental health are two of the most overlooked aspects of sport. However, they have an enormous impact on performance.
It has been found that athletes can suffer from a variety of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and stress.
Developing an understanding of the relationship between these disorders and sleep can help to prevent injuries, increase athlete health, and improve athletic performance.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) recently published Mental Health Best Practices. Their guidelines include recommendations for screening student athletes for sleep and other mental health disorders.
Studies have found that athletes are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of poor sleep. Research suggests that the amount of time required for sleep is short, and the quality of that sleep is not good.
Other sources of stress, such as travel and competition, are also contributors to poor sleep. Moreover, sleep is especially important to an athlete's physical and cognitive performance.
Ultimately, it is important to conduct further research to better understand the relationship between sleep and mental health in athletes.
As research advances, it will be critical to develop a standard set of measures to screen for mental health issues, and to determine the severity of any disorders.
By examining the relationship between sleep and mental health, future studies will be able to refine the effectiveness of interventions and identify causal pathways at play.
Conclusion
Sleep is a vital aspect of an athlete's health. It helps the body to recover from the wear and tear of training and competition.
Adequate sleep can also help the immune system and cardiovascular system. However, athletes may not always get the amount of rest they need. Often, they need to find the best solution to stay healthy and fit.
Athletes are subject to intense training schedules and travel to different time zones. These factors can disrupt their circadian rhythm.
Using a sleep monitor can help assess their sleep quality.
Sleep deprivation may reduce cognitive performance and lead to increased pain and anxiety. In addition, it can increase the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. This can aggravate muscle injuries and increase cardiac injury risk.
To improve sleep and promote overall health, it's important to create an optimal sleep environment.
Regular routines and activities promote restful sleep. You might consider waking up at the same time each day, avoid using electronic devices before bed, and limit caffeine intake.
Proper scheduling can make a huge difference in the way you feel and perform. Getting enough sleep before, during, and after competition can help to optimize your physical and mental performance.
Ideally, you should strive to achieve adequate sleep every night, but if this is not possible, then consider naps.
Naps should last no more than an hour. They can be beneficial for athletes who are struggling to get to sleep, but they're not recommended for insomniacs.
