Sleep is the great natural healer and is particularly important if you wish to perform consistently at high levels in endurance sports.
During sleep tissues broken down by intensive exercise are repaired,the hormone balance changes.The levels of stimulating hormones Adrenaline and Corticosteroids etc are reduced and the level of the body building hormones are increased.
Growth Hormone and Testosterone are just some of the hormones and chemicals which are released in greater amounts during sleep.You can help this system by having regular sleeping habits.
You should wake up feeling refreshed,generally eight to ten hours of good quality sleep are necessary when training hard, however there are exceptions to all rules the important thing is to find out whats right for you.
Disturbed sleep patterns are often an early indicator of overtraining problems so in this case check your training diary (you do keep a training diary?) . If there is a pattern developing of difficulty getting to sleep and or early morning waking and disturbed sleep you may need to reduce the amount and intensity of your training to correct this. If the sleep problems persists a visit to your GP may be adviseable
How to get QUALITY sleep: Carry out some relaxation exercises in the evening. Avoid an excessive amount of caffeine based drinks, particularly late in the day as caffeine can cause sleeplessness. If studying etc a period of relaxation maybe a period of very gentle exercise should be taken before retiring to bed.
Develop regular evening dietary habits, some people may sleep better by not eating just before bedtime others may sleep better by having a light supper. It is a matter of what you find works best for you.
If you can manage it a nap during the middle of the day can be very refreshing and speeds recovery from training and competition.
Relaxation:The ability to relax is often a characteristic of the elite athlete. It is something that can be learned with regular practise. Practise while sitting or lying in a quiet comfortable place take long slow deep breaths which are exhaled slowly.
This can be done in conjunction with concentrating on relaxing different parts of the body.For example begin at the feet and work upwards through the different muscle groups until you are quite relaxed. these type of exercises will help your body recover on stage races especially.
If you have serious problems with relaxation you should consider seeing a Sports Psychologist who can be very helpful in addressing these problems.
