Exceeding your limits requires more than regular training. Healthy nutrition and mental strength are also crucial for athletic success. Unfortunately, one thing often gets neglected in this context, even in the coaching process: sleep!
Fabian Foelsch explains how important it is to give your body the rest it needs to regenerate after a demanding day. As a former competitive athlete, he knows the positive effects high-quality sleep has on training success.
Table of contents
It all started during my active, but unfortunately also injury-plagued, athletics career, and it still haunts me today as a coach of numerous competitive athletes and office athletes: my enthusiasm for the topic of sleep.
Wearables and apps allow you to analyze your sleep patterns very effectively. They help you better understand your body, essentially "hacking" it, and using the data to discover potential for improvement so you can get even more out of yourself.
Without good sleep, neither homeostasis nor supercompensation can occur. Sleep is an integral part of every recovery process and should be monitored and optimized by coaches at both the recreational and professional levels.
1. Why is good sleep so important for the body?
The more, the better? That would be too simplistic. The sheer number of hours alone doesn't make for good sleep . Athletes should advise their clients to get at least five cycles, or at least 7.5 hours of sleep per night . However, quality trumps quantity.
It's crucial to maximize the proportion of deep sleep and REM phases . These are the times when the body recovers best from a strenuous workout. It's precisely during this time that the crucial muscle building and repair processes , as well as neuronal restructuring, take place .
Stimuli and impulses are processed. During the night's rest phase, the glymphatic system is also active. It transports the toxic compounds produced by dead cells in the brain during the day, so that the brain is fully functional again the next day.
This is the only way athletes can be mentally fit and ready for new sporting challenges after getting up .
In general, the more intense the exercise, the greater the need for sleep ! The amount of sleep each athlete needs is highly individual. Therefore, it's crucial to carefully analyze the client's needs and incorporate them into a holistic training plan.
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2. How does exercise affect sleep?
Regular exercise is good for the body. However, those who exercise very late risk short, restless sleep . Scientists have discovered that sessions after 8 p.m. negatively impact the body well into the night .
The body releases the stress hormone cortisol and adrenaline . This boost, which is initially desirable, but unfortunately also disrupts the body's production of the sleep hormone melatonin . As a result, high performers often have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep in the evening.
So, when is the best time to train? This seemingly simple question isn't so easy to answer upon closer inspection. The decisive factor is the specific chronotype . The temporal organization of physiological processes occurs individually and is controlled by hormones, which in turn depend, among other things, on the day-night rhythm .
This so-called biological clock has a significant influence on when an athlete can reach their full performance potential . This is crucial when designing a training plan. However, the general rule is: It's better to train sooner rather than later, if your schedule allows.
Sleep is a key performance factor and thus the " secret recipe " of successful athletes . During this phase, information acquired during the day is processed and consolidated, the immune system is boosted , and psychomotor processes are internalized.
The latter occurs primarily during REM phases, which are significantly longer, especially in the second half of the night, and are therefore all the more valuable. Researchers have proven that learning actually occurs during the deep sleep phase.
Brain waves act as a filter, determining which information is transferred from short-term memory to long-term memory . These processes are only possible during the deep sleep phase.
Therefore, after an intensive psychomotor movement and coaching session, nighttime sleep should be somewhat longer than usual and used strategically by trainers, otherwise the brain cannot process what has been learned.
Good sleep boosts performance . Researchers have shown, for example, that basketball players' three-point shooting rate increased by nine percent after a night of rest of at least ten hours. Tennis players also significantly improved their accuracy after eight hours of sleep compared to those who suffered from sleep restriction.
Injury risk is also closely linked to recovery. Harvard scientists found that athletes who slept less than eight hours a night were significantly more likely to injure themselves.
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3. The sleep routines of top athletes
Routines are absolutely crucial, especially in competitive sports, to ensure performance levels and achieve supercompensation. This is the key reason why doctors and coaches of elite athletes now pay such meticulous attention to recovery.
A wide variety of methods have been developed for this purpose. Perhaps the most interesting sleep pattern is exhibited by world-class footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. He sleeps polyphasic, meaning he doesn't sleep for even eight to nine hours at a time. He splits his sleep into five 90-minute periods.
And he does this throughout the day, adapted to his daily routine. This works out to just 7.5 hours a day. Unusual, and probably only feasible for very few people. But his success proves him right.
Caution: Anyone advising their clients to adopt such a sleep routine must always keep in mind that each session should last at least one and a half hours, which corresponds exactly to one sleep cycle. This is the only way to ensure that the athlete truly recovers.
Roger Federer, a true sleep enthusiast, takes a completely different approach. He's a real late riser and takes 11 to 12 hours a day to process his intense training. So-called power naps also contribute to improved athletic performance .
These should only last about 20 to 30 minutes so you don't wake up completely exhausted. The different approaches show that each athlete must work with their team to find the right solution for their individual needs.
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4. How athletes can improve their sleep quality
Sleep can be learned. This is especially important for coaches, but also for the athletes themselves. Physiological and psychological recovery are just as important as a balanced diet. This is the only way to ensure long-term performance.
The most important tip is preparation. Raising awareness among athletes about a healthy pre-sleep routine is therefore my recommendation to all coaches and physiotherapists.
Reading a book , listening to relaxing music , or even gentle yoga poses can help you wind down in the evening. They activate the parasympathetic nervous system , the part of the nervous system responsible for relaxation.
High performers should also be informed about the importance of avoiding artificial blue light in the evening . It radiates from televisions and laptops and reduces the body's production of the sleep hormone melatonin.
If the urgently needed level isn't reached, regeneration is less effective. The result is a tired start to the day, making it almost impossible to perform at peak performance.
Timing is (almost) everything in life. It's therefore hardly surprising that the time you go to bed also plays a crucial role in recovery . For most athletes, sometime between 10 and 11 p.m. is ideal .
Scientific studies indicate that under these conditions the highest levels of HGH, a growth hormone that is essential for muscle recovery, are released.
The most helpful tips in brief:
1. Darken the room well or wear a sleep mask
2. Ensure sufficient oxygen supply
3. Create a quiet environment or wear earplugs
4. Stop consuming caffeine five hours before bedtime
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5. Supplements support in challenging times
A balanced , varied diet can provide the body with the necessary nutrients in the right amounts . During stressful times, such as intensive training or traveling to competitions that take place very late or in a different time zone, your body's biological rhythm can be thrown off its usual rhythm.
Therefore, the additional intake of dietary supplements such as melatonin can be helpful to support the body in this exceptional situation.
A melatonin dosage of 0.3 to 1 mg in the evening can help you reach your natural level again, allowing you to fall asleep faster and recharge your batteries, especially after a demanding workout.
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6. Talking Brains Episode 26: Learn to sleep better again - Interview with sleep researcher Dr. Michael Feld
7. Conclusion
Anyone who trains clients should emphasize the importance of recovery after intense physical and mental exertion. Taking the time is worth it. Sleep is the most important lever for success here.
It promotes muscle recovery, the storage of new information, and the long-term maintenance of performance and well-being. Coaches and trainers should address this issue and actively support their clients in optimizing sleep. The result is better training results and fewer injuries.
