Sleep More to Run Faster & Train Harder
Active families, busy lives, hectic work schedules and the obligations of life it can sometimes make it seem impossible to find the time for sleep. Many runners I work with are low on sleep! Both the CDC and the Canadian Government report only 1 in 3 adults get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
How does sleep deprivation affect runners? And what can we do if we know we won’t be getting enough sleep?
The Consequences
In his presentation, Sleep – The Only True “Fixall” for Health and Performance Brandon Marcello explains that lack of sleep results in lowered physical and psychological performance, increased injury risk, less resistance to illness, and lower pain threshold (among other undesirable consequences).
When we are sleep deprived, we don’t metabolize or store carbs very well. That means our bodies can’t use carbs optimally. That’s one of the reasons why we can’t recover as well on little sleep — our bodies don’t store glycogen to the same extent as when we’re rested.
According to a study on injuries in adolescent athletes, the athletes sleeping less than 6 hours a night are 1.7x more likely to get injured than those who sleep 8 or more hours. That’s almost double the risk of injury!
Lowering Expectations
Getting enough sleep every night isn’t a prerequisite to training, we just need to understand that realistically, sleep deprivation lowers the quality of training we are able to do.
As a coach I try to learn if the runners I’m working with have time in their lives to get enough sleep, and this factors into the decisions I make on their workout schedule. We may not need to change our goals, but instead adjust how long takes to reach those goals. Training should be approached more conservatively and more time scheduled between hard sessions in attempt to accommodate the increased risk of illness and injury due to sleep deprivation.
Realistically, most of us don’t have ideal training, nutrition, sleep, and stress levels. Let’s not sacrifice “good” because we can’t have “ideal,” but let’s also not pretend we’re working at full capacity. We can’t train as hard when we’re tired, and that’s ok. It doesn’t have to be “all or nothing.”
Making Time
If there’s a way to find more time for sleep, do it. For the sleep deprived runner, this might mean actually cancelling a run or workout to sleep in, or go to bed earlier, or take a nap in order to catch up on sleep. And I don’t mean just one time. Cutting out one run a week to sleep more for a tired runner is likely more beneficial to training and performance than doing the run. Never forget that rest is part of training, and a little extra sleep is worth it, even if it’s not as much as we really need.
The Good News
Just because we might be in a phase of life that doesn’t allow for ideal sleep, we don’t need to expect our entire lives to be that way. If we’re not getting enough sleep (which is most people) and then we start getting enough sleep, Marcello explains that we can expect to enjoy wonderful amazing benefits like improved motivation, recovery, muscle strength, and suability to manage stress. Doesn’t that sounds great?
Quality Matters
Sleep expert Cheri Mah, MS explains that duration (number of hours) isn’t the only important factor when it comes to sleep. Sleep “hygiene” has 3 factors: 1) duration 2) consistency 3) quality.
If there’s only time for 5 hours of sleep, is it possible to get 5 hours of quality sleep consistently? Knowing the duration is less than ideal, what can be done to assure that those hours are as good as possible? Mah suggests several strategies to improve sleep quality, including:
Developing a wind-down routine (keep it consistent)
Powering down technology an hour prior to sleep
Limiting caffeine and alcohol
Creating a cave-like sleep environment, cool, dark, and quiet.
Research
Sleep – The Only True “Fixall” for Health and Performance
Presentation by Brandon Marcello, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D, RSCC*E
https://www.nsca.com/education/videos/sleep-the-only-true-fixall-for-health-and-performance/
“Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6446394/
Podcast: How To Apply Sleep Science Into Practice With Athletes w/ Cheri Mah MS
https://drbubbs.com/season-2-podcast-episodes/2018/3/s2-episode-11-how-to-apply-sleep-science-into-practice-with-athletes-w-cheri-mah-ms
Nicole Sifuentes is a full-time Running Coach for adults of all ages and abilities. She is a former professional runner and 2-time Olympian, and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. Read more about her services, and schedule your free coaching consultation.