Dr. Harry’s Optimal Sports Performance and Recovery Series - Part 1
How Sleep and Rest Days Can Significantly Improve Performance Recovery
Over the past decade in practice, I have looked after hundreds of endurance athletes, ranging from D-grade club racers right through to professional triathletes, rowers and cyclists. They differ enormously in talent, performance, and status, but I can tell you one thing they do have in common: everybody wants to improve. And almost everyone dreams of winning.
So how do they get better? How do they improve?
It’s well understood that how you train is critical in determining how you progress as an athlete. That’s why you’ll find countless articles, books, videos and websites dedicated to describing exactly what to do during your exercise session. However, outside of the professional athlete community, very few people realize the importance of what to do between exercise sessions, otherwise known as “recovery”.
The term “recovery” does little justice to the constellation of anatomical and physiological changes that occur while resting. At the risk of labouring the point, it’s worth pointing out that virtually none of the changes that make an athlete better, stronger or faster occur during training! We know it’s the summer and you’re pushing your body to its limits. I get many questions daily asking me for tips and tricks on how to train harder and heal faster so I’ve put together this 6 part series. Stay tuned for my upcoming tips to learn how to improve your recovery and in doing so, become a much better athlete.
It’s well understood that how you train is critical in determining how you progress as an athlete. That’s why you’ll find countless articles, books, videos and websites dedicated to describing exactly what to do during your exercise session. However, outside of the professional athlete community, very few people realize the importance of what to do between exercise sessions, otherwise known as “recovery”.
The term “recovery” does little justice to the constellation of anatomical and physiological changes that occur while resting. At the risk of labouring the point, it’s worth pointing out that virtually none of the changes that make an athlete better, stronger or faster occur during training! We know it’s the summer and you’re pushing your body to its limits, given how many questions I get daily asking me for tips and tricks on how to train harder and heal faster so I’ve put together this series 6 part series. Stay tuned for my upcoming tips to learn how to improve your recovery and in doing so, become a much better athlete.
Having studied this topic extensively over the years I have countless good tips for recovery, but I’ve picked the best ones for this article and the ones to follow. I’ll first dive into why sleep and rest days are super important steps to recovery.
Sleep and rest days… sounds easy enough, but you’d be surprised just how many athletes constantly want to be on-the-go. The whole “rest is for the weak” mentality. You see this especially with a lot of up and coming athletes, trying to be the best of the best.
We’ll start with sleep...
What many athletes don’t understand is sleep is the cornerstone of true recovery. It is while we sleep that the body engages in neuromuscular, metabolic and cardiovascular adaptations. Cutting yourself short on sleep time can almost completely counteract all of the gains you would make through training.
Here are some helpful tips on how to benefit the most through sleep to help with recovery…
1. Get enough sleep
Going to bed late is the number one cause of sleep inadequacy. Endurance athletes are generally early risers because a pre-dawn session is invariably the most practical, socially acceptable, and safest way to train. Athletes who are awake by 5am should be in bed with the lights out by 10pm at the absolute latest. The magic number seems to be around 7 hours, but many pros aim for 8 or 9 hours of sleep.
2. Measure and record sleep patterns
There are many different apps and gadgets that can do this. Personally, I use a wearable sleep tracker (Steel HR by Nokia) and an app on my phone to “listen” for movement (Sleep Cycle). Both record and log sleep duration. They also give you a measure of quality so you can delve into how other things that you did that day (like what you ate or drank, how hard you trained, etc.) can affect the quality of your sleep.
3. Wear a sleep mask
Many people don’t think twice about sleep masks. However, they can be a game changer. I use them myself from time-to-time, especially when travelling. Sleep masks block out ambient room light which can be super helpful when your partner is still up surfing the web on their phone or reading in bed, which would otherwise disrupt your own sleep. Sleep masks are also great at deterring you from picking up and checking your phone all the time, helping you catch some z’s.
4. Use sleep aids if necessary
Sleep aids can be super helpful for many. Most people have heard of sleep aids like melatonin or tryptophan (an amino acid that is used in the synthesis of serotonin). Our sister company Truth Naturals (truthnaturals.co.uk) has a product specifically designed for rest that combines tryptophan with hemp oil. It’s worth checking out if you’re interested in going down that route.
Another one of my top 10 tips for improving performance through better recovery, similar to sleep, is rest days.
You would be surprised at the countless number of athletes that never take a day off. This has a lot to do with the type of personalities most often associated with endurance sports... You know who you are!
In any case, performance-improving adaptations never occur during exercise and may take days to realise after a training stimulus. Failing to take rest days is a certain way to detract from the effort that is required to force the body to adapt. My suggestion is to forget the junk miles and take one or two days off every week.
Easy peasy, right? Sleep and rest days are my first two tips for recovery.
Stay tuned for my next suggestions on how to optimize performance recovery and be the best athlete you can be.
Continue Reading Part 2
“How Using a Training Program and Post-Workout Nutrition Can Improve Performance Recovery.”
Dr. Harrison Weisinger (MBBS, Ph.D.)
Dr. Harry is the Medical Director for Truth Origins, and a practicing medical doctor in Australia. Throughout his working career as medical doctor, university professor, and scientist, Dr. Harry has committed his life to improving human health. Each month he reads the various journals and studies being conducted across the world’s leading universities and research hospitals to bring you the latest research surrounding the truth about plant-based medicine.
Read our most recent blogs:
Like these Articles? Stay up-to-date!
Join the Truth Origins club to stay up-to-date on our latest articles, blog posts, updates and exclusive discounts. You'll also receive 10% OFF your first purchase for joining.
↓