Sleep and Sleep Hygiene for Athletes
Many of the athletes I work with understand how to prepare their mind and body for sport and performance. However, I often find that we ALSO need to help our mind and body prepare for rest and sleep. Rest is often not prioritized in our society and sport culture. We live in a society that emphasizes the “Go Go Go”, more is better, and if you aren’t doing something you aren’t being productive enough. This isn’t always conducive to good quality sleep and non-sleep rest. We need to help athletes understand that sleep and non-sleep rest are a biological imperative for our overall health and well-being. Overall health and well-being are a precursor to athletic performance. When we DON’T get consistent adequate sleep and non-sleep rest, this can impact our mind and body in profound ways.
How does sleep/non sleep rest help an athlete?
- Restores our mind- body resources that we use and expend throughout the day
- Helps us consolidate learning and memory
- Supports nervous system regulation and helps our nervous system shift into a more parasympathetic state (which is needed for recovery and well being!)
- Supports an athletes muscle recovery
- Supports and boosts immune function, which is critical for overall well being and helps us be less susceptible to illness
- Supports ALL other bodily systems like digestion, endocrine, lymphatic system and more
- Helps all cognitive functioning so that we can think clearly, process information and communicate with others
- Plays a critical role in helping us navigate our emotions and stress response
How much sleep does an athlete need?
It depends. We know that sleep is one of the most beneficial things an athlete can provide their mind and body with. Generally, the more sleep the better. We also know that elite athletes tend to live very hectic and stressful lives. Eight or nine + hours of sleep per night might not actually be possible. Ideally, athletes are getting somewhere between 7-9 hours of sleep. Both sleep hygiene and non-sleep rest can help an athlete prioritize and get adequate rest for overall health and athlete performance.
Shift perspective on sleep and rest
First, we often need to help athlete’s get rid of any guilt or shame around sleeping. Our society and sport culture in particular, often emphasize that rest is earned and that an athlete has to “work” and put in the effort in order to rest. As a former DI athlete and DI coach, I fully I understand the importance of teaching our athletes work ethic and how to push themselves in and around performance. However, if we actually think about it, no athlete can do that well (let alone on a consistent basis) WITHOUT rest. The real message is that adequate rest is the PRECURSOR for working hard and giving it your all, not the other way around. In my opinion, sleep and rest are the most beneficial and “healthy” thing we can do for our mind body system, let alone our performance. Rest is a biological imperative and human right. It’s harmful in many ways to teach our athletes that rest is determined by or a tradeoff for hard work. There are better and more effective ways to emphasize the lessons of hard work that don’t negatively impact our athlete’s perception of sleep and rest.
I constantly emphasize with my athletes that rest is not earned. Rest and sleep are a given. Give yourself permission to explore how you feel when you’re tired and how you feel when you’re well-rested. Take note of the differences and start to listen to your body’s cues. When you feel tired, prioritize your sleep needs. Gently remind yourself when you feel any guilt or shame around sleep or rest that it IS the most productive and effective thing you can give your mind and body.
What is sleep hygiene?
I refer to sleep hygiene holistically as the habits, routines and practices we put in place and implement in and around sleep. This also includes our actual sleep environment. Here are some things to assess around our sleep hygiene to set ourselves up for success in and around sleep.
- Sleep Environment
- Assess the space you sleep in. Ideally you want your bedroom to be a space or environment that helps you feel safe, relaxed and calm. Generally, we sleep better when our spaces are darker, cooler and quiet (unless you are like me and love a fan or white noise!). Think about the changes or adjustments you might need to make in order to set up your sleep environment in a way that helps support you in sleeping well.
- Sleep schedule and Pre Bed Routine
- Think about the time you wake up and go to bed.
- Sleep Time: The number of hours you need to function well and at your best (for most this is roughly 7-9)
- Wake Up Time: The time you need to wake up and get going in the morning. Its best if we keep this as consistent as possible.
- Bed Time: Based on your Wake Up time, the time you need to fall asleep in order to hit your Sleep Time feeling rested. Factor in what time you need to be getting in bed knowing that it may take you more/less time to actually fall asleep.
- Pre Bed Routine: Based on our bed time, our pre bed routine is all about the practices and routines that help our mind body system slow down, relax and ease in to rest. This will be completely unique and individual. I personally need roughly 45 minutes to an hour to help my body relax and wind down while some of my athletes only need about 10 minutes. This may take time to explore and figure out a routine that works best for you.
- Example
- Sleep time: 8 hours
- Wake up time: 7:30 am
- Fall Asleep Time: 11:30pm (get in bed at 11:15pm)
- Pre Bed Routine: 10:45pm (allows 30 min prior to getting in bed at 11:15pm)
*All of this will be individual and nuanced based on your needs
Pre Bed Routine
Many people struggle with sleep. They struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep or toss and turn all night. If you are struggling with any mental health challenges, you may notice that sleep is even more challenging.
Our ability to slow down, relax and settle in to rest involves our Autonomic Nervous System (ANS). Our ANS has two main branches called the Sympathetic nervous system and the Parasympathetic nervous system. Our parasympathetic branch then has 2 main systems called the Dorsal Vagal system and Ventral Vagal system. Rest and our ability to access sleep occurs when our nervous system can shift into a combined Parasympathetic Dorsal and Ventral state. In this state, we feel safe, relaxed, at ease and grounded.
The challenge is, our society emphasizes a fast paced life, productivity and constantly being on the go. What is required of us to live or be here is to be shifted in to our sympathetic nervous system. This is quite literally, the opposite of where we need to be for rest and sleep. The goal is to have a nervous system that can flexibly shift through states and be balanced throughout the day. I find that MANY of my elite athletes are spending too much time in their sympathetic system. More often than not, what we need to be helping our athletes do is what is called “downregulate” the nervous system. You can think of this as shifting DOWN from sympathetic into that combined dorsal and ventral parasympathetic state. Its important to note that we can’t simply snap our fingers and “downregulate”. Many people need help making this shift and this is what sleep hygiene and developing a pre bed routine is all about.
A Pre Bed Routine can be very helpful in downregulating our nervous system and cueing our mind-body system that its time for rest. When it comes to Pre Bed Routines we want to think about any practices or routines that help us prepare our mind and body for sleep. These will NOT be things that overly excite us or create more energy in the mind and body. The time you need for your Pre Bed Routine will vary depending on how much you need to prepare your mind and body for rest.
- Here are some Ideas:
- Self care like face washing, facial, putting lotion on
- Using candles and essential oils
- Restorative postures like legs up
- Slow mindful movement like slow yoga followed by restorative postures or savasana.
- Playing calming, slow music (make a sleep playlist)
- Meditation or Yoga Nidra
- Breath work
- Vagal Nerve stimulation
- Foam rolling or Myofascial release
- Hot shower or bath with Epsom Salt
- Reading or listening to soothing podcasts
- Put your phone on silent or do not disturb
- Technology:
- I encourage my athletes to practice a balanced or loose “limit technology” close to bed time. Its not always possible to completely avoid technology but we can do our best to keep interaction to a minimum.
- Put your phone on silent or do not disturb
- Use blue light glasses or dim screen light
- Set a timer on apps
Non sleep rest
Non sleep rest is allowing our mind body system to gain rest outside of sleep. Non sleep rest can also be very helpful in downregulating the nervous system. I encourage all my athletes to find little moments throughout their day and week where they can add in shorter practices that give their mind-body opportunities for rest.
A Go To and favorite for many of my athletes is legs up the wall!
**Please note: Many of us love to Netflix and chill. All though watching tv and lying around on the couch is not BAD and it 100% is needed, it doesn’t always count as “rest” for our mind body system. The reason being is that our mind isn’t really resting when we are engaging in technology.. even tv! Any of the above pre bed practices could also be utilized as non sleep rest practices.
- Here are some ideas:
- Various forms of yoga like Yin or Restorative
- Meditation and Yoga Nidra
- Vagal nerve stimulation
- A Slow mindful walk
- Taking time throughout your day to pause and do nothing in small moments (30 seconds here and there)
- Incorporate small breath work practices throughout your day
- Lounging on the couch with a friend or someone who feels safe and connected
- Taking time to do arts and crafts
- Being in nature
- Sitting with animals or pets
Sleep and Sleep Hygiene Resources
Better Sleep App
The Sleepy Bookshelf – Podcast
Emily Perrins Youtube – sleep practices and meditation
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy_qGHBiqZCrH2XrfRBXawg
Studies on Sleep and Athletes
Mah, C. D., Mah, K. E., Kezirian, E. J., & Dement, W. C. (2011). The effects of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate basketball players. Sleep, 34(7), 943–950. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21731144/
Vitale, K. C., Owens, R., Hopkins, S. R., & Malhotra, A. (2019). Sleep hygiene for optimizing recovery in athletes: Review and recommendations. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 40(8), 535–543. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31288293/
