Sleep- How much should I be getting?
In almost every training book, manual or Coaching handout, sleep is covered as a topic very briefly: “the athlete should get 7-9 hours sleep a night” is about the norm, then the author moves on.
In my experience assuming that young athletes get enough sleep (and eat properly) is an assumption too far. Instead, poor lifestyle choices, nutrition habits and too much internet \ gaming time lead to poor sleep in a lot of people.
Inadequate sleep and nutrition prevent proper adaptation to training programmes- it is interesting in that almost all research that sports scientists quote as proving training method X, the quality and quantity of the rest is not measured or recorded.
Sleep is individual (for me 6-7 hours solid is enough, however illusory that has been over the last 3 years with the kids) some need more, but whatever it is, having more than 3 nights of disturbed sleep should lead to a lay off in your usual training loads.
I wouldn’t say abstain from training, but generally it is a good idea to work on low level aerobic work and avoid high intensity intervals or loads to allow your homeostasis to be restored. Do this for 2-3 days until your normal sleep patterns resume, disrupted sleep can be a sign of too much training of one type.
Read our full guide on sleep for athletes.
Really interesting article. This is something I have been trying to drum into my sports students for years. So many of them rely on these sports drinks or energy drinks, to keep them awake or to allow them to keep exercsing. The other reasons students state for lack of sleep and ability to concentrate at college is to much phone and computer activity before they go to bed. They are basically switching their brains on, rather then switching them off.
Paul Welch
Thanks Paul, that rapidly becomes a cycle of us all being over stimulated. I need to switch off those pesky devices at night.
Coaching is like death by a thousand cuts at present with athletes asking me for stuff 24/7!
[…] Sleep is considered very important for athletes, thus the more sleep an athlete gets the more immune to disease they are, according to research. However it must be stated that if you slept all day every day, not that students would even consider this, it can have the adverse effect. A mix of between six and eight hours a night and a good training regime and diet will all help. […]