A08. Sleep for athletes

TOC

Adequate rest is important for athletes . First, it is important to have a rest period after a big event, second, to sleep every day so that fatigue doesn't carry over to the next day, and third, to have time to calm down during the day's activities.

So how much sleep should we get? For the general public, 6 to 8 hours of sleep is said to be the lowest risk of longevity and lifestyle-related diseases such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia. However, it has been reported that athletes need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep to avoid carrying over fatigue from the previous day (Sargent C, et al 2014) , which is longer than the general public.

How can we get a good night's sleep? Our biological clock manages our approximate circadian rhythm. This clock is the reason why we naturally become sleepy at a certain time and wake up at a certain time. One of these clocks is melatonin, a hormone released from the pineal gland in the brain. It is released at a certain time at night, especially when it gets dark, informs our bodies that it is night, and promotes sleepiness. On the other hand, after waking up in the morning, we gradually become sleepy due to fatigue. Athletes sleep longer because they are physically fatigued from intense training and need to recover from that. By the way, even if you go to bed thinking that you will go to bed an hour earlier than usual for the game tomorrow, you can't fall asleep easily. It is not yet time for sleep according to your biological clock, so it is natural that you cannot fall asleep.

It is important to establish a sleep pattern by going to bed at the same time every night, including weekends. Establish a pre-sleep ritual, such as reading for a few minutes before getting into bed, to let your body know it is time to rest. Also, if you are unable to fall asleep within 15 minutes, get out of bed, rest, avoid stimulating activities, and return to bed when you feel sleepy.

Take a nap. Athletes often cut down on their sleep due to morning practice, late night practice, and travel for games. Also, they may not be able to sleep the night before a game or selection due to anxiety and tension. If they don't get enough sleep, they worry that their performance in the game will decrease, which makes it even harder to sleep. At times like these, a nap is effective in replenishing sleep time. In this case, try to take it by 3pm so as not to affect your nighttime sleep, and drinking coffee or something before your nap will help you wake up easily. The recommended length of time varies depending on age, and for the general public it is about 10 to 30 minutes, but for athletes, many take longer, about 2 hours, because they are using their physical strength.

By the way, there is an experiment in which healthy young adult males were made to go without sleep for 88 hours to examine their performance levels (Van Dongen HPV, 2005). Not sleeping for 24 hours significantly worsened their attention and reaction speed. However, taking a two-hour nap every 12 hours almost eliminated the deterioration in attention and reaction speed. But, even if they did the same thing, their performance the next day worsened, so I think it is only effective for one day. What we can learn from this is that even if you can't sleep the night before a game, "if you get a little sleep, your performance will be fine, and you just need to take a good nap." This may put your mind at ease and help you sleep a little more. Let's think about it from your own experience. How did you do in a game when you didn't sleep well the day before? Have you ever felt that you were able to perform reasonably well?