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.