What if I told you of a legal sports performance aid, involving
zero out-of-pocket cost, and virtually no side effects. This aid can be
used in high mileage or low mileage, IM or free, distance or sprint, age group
or master. Too good to be true? The answer (as you judged from the
title) is SLEEP!
There are
two ways to improve in swimming: find ways to make yourself faster, and remove
things that make you slower. Sleep deprivation is one thing that makes
you slower. Adding sleep won’t make you faster than you are like a
synthetic suit, but removing sleep deprivation can improve your training return
on investment. (For additional discussion on sleep, see recent articles
on Becoming
a Morning Person, Jet
Lag, and Diurnal
Variation)
Swimmers are generally high achievers outside the water in school and at work. Other than a select few professionals who can train full time twelve months per year, a full time training load must balance with other “life” factors. As disciplined and highly motivated folks, swimmers usually find a way to cram everything in, with sleep often sacrificed. In fact, a culture of sleep deprivation is actually a badge of honor in many circles, particularly in academic settings and in the workplace. Swimmers are not immune to this form of informal competition, and often thrive!
Swimmers are generally high achievers outside the water in school and at work. Other than a select few professionals who can train full time twelve months per year, a full time training load must balance with other “life” factors. As disciplined and highly motivated folks, swimmers usually find a way to cram everything in, with sleep often sacrificed. In fact, a culture of sleep deprivation is actually a badge of honor in many circles, particularly in academic settings and in the workplace. Swimmers are not immune to this form of informal competition, and often thrive!
Despite
the well established claims that exercise can improve sleep quality, as
athletes we tend to go beyond moderation in exercise, particularly in sport
where two hours of training can be a considered an easy day. Athletes
have exhibited poorer markers of sleep quality than an age and sex
matched non-athletic control group. Compared to non-athlete controls,
Leeder (2012) found reduced sleep efficiency and increased sleep fragmentation
among a group of athletes. Sleep fragmentation is as it sounds: a measure
of continuity in sleep, with more fragmentation being less restful. Although the athlete results fell within recommended ranges for
healthy sleep, one could argue the recommended daily value for athletes is
higher given the increased physical demands. More study is required to
test this hypothesis.
Though
many sleep studies push subjects into extreme sleep deprivation or require
peculiar sleep-wake cycles to assess circadian rhythms, the Stanford men’s
basketball team was fortunate to enjoy a period of sleep extension all in the
name of science! During this study, players spent five to seven weeks
with the requirement of sleeping or remaining in bed at least ten hours each
night. Sprint times, shooting accuracy, and subjective well being
improved after sleep extension (Mah 2011). Some might claim that added
sleep is a placebo, but who cares?! If added sleep makes you feel more
confident in the pool, then it has served its purpose. Note that most
studies measure subjective qualities like mood as part of their outcomes.
Most
readers been through heavy training periods during which we tune out the
instant the head hits the pillow at night. Heavy training camps can
impact sleep, but don’t assume that just because you are training hard and are
tired that sleep will improve. Jurimae (2004) studied rowers in a six day
training camp in which load increased 100% over baseline levels. Multiple
measures of stress increased (including fatigue, injury, and cortisol levels),
while measures of recovery decreased, which included sleep quality. Heavy
in-season loads can be tied to injury, as Luke (2011) noted an increase in
fatigue related injuries among youth athletes averaging less than or equal six
hours of sleep the night before the injury occurred.
Sleep and
performance can also be affected by pre-competition jitters. Erlacher
(2011) studied thirty two athletes from various sports and polled
their sleep habits during the night(s) before an important
competition or game. Results indicated, “65.8% of the athletes experienced poor sleep in
the night(s) before a sports event at least once in their lives and a
similarly high percentage (62.3%) had this experience at least once during the
previous 12 months. Athletes of individual sports reported more sleep difficulties
than athletes of team sports. The main sleep problem was not
being able to fall asleep. Internal factors such as nervousness and thoughts
about the competition were rated highest for causing sleep problems. Most athletes stated that disturbed sleep had no influence on
their athletic performance; however, athletes also reported effects such as a
bad mood the following day, increased daytime sleepiness, and worse performance
in the competition or game.” (see The
Cause of Choking and How to Avoid it for
mental relaxation tips)
Conclusion
At a clinic I attended recently, a leading triathlon coach at a clinic gave the simple advice “protect sleep.” I’ll admit that I can be pretty bad myself in this area, but there’s no doubt adding sleep is the simplest performance enhancement tool that is highly underutilized. Whether you add 10,000 yards per week, spend two years remaking your stroke, or simply add an hour of sleep a night, if the end result is faster times, it means you’ve attained the goal. Sometimes we forget the simplest solution! In addition to the areas discussed above, know that the scientific links between sleep deprivation and unhealthy weight gain . If you’re dealing with any athletes struggling with weight, don’t overlook insufficient sleep as a culprit.
At a clinic I attended recently, a leading triathlon coach at a clinic gave the simple advice “protect sleep.” I’ll admit that I can be pretty bad myself in this area, but there’s no doubt adding sleep is the simplest performance enhancement tool that is highly underutilized. Whether you add 10,000 yards per week, spend two years remaking your stroke, or simply add an hour of sleep a night, if the end result is faster times, it means you’ve attained the goal. Sometimes we forget the simplest solution! In addition to the areas discussed above, know that the scientific links between sleep deprivation and unhealthy weight gain . If you’re dealing with any athletes struggling with weight, don’t overlook insufficient sleep as a culprit.
Finally,
although sleep is crucial, don’t use this information as an excuse to sleep
through morning practice. Find a way to get to bed earlier!
Resources
- Cook C, Beaven
CM, Kilduff LP, Drawer S. Acute caffeine ingestion
increases voluntarily chosen resistance training load following
limitedsleep. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2012 Feb 15. [Epub
ahead of print]
- Leeder J, Glaister
M, Pizzoferro K, Dawson J, Pedlar C.
Sleep duration and quality in elite athletes measured using
wristwatch actigraphy.
J Sports Sci. 2012;30(6):541-5. Epub 2012 Feb 14.
- Jürimäe J, Mäestu
J, Purge P, Jürimäe T. Changes in stress and recovery
after heavy training in rowers. J Sci Med Sport. 2004
Sep;7(3):335-9.
- Erlacher D, Ehrlenspiel
F, Adegbesan OA, El-Din HG. Sleep habits in German
athletes before important competitions or games.
J Sports Sci. 2011 May;29(8):859-66.
- Luke A, Lazaro
RM, Bergeron MF, Keyser L, Benjamin H, Brenner
J, d'Hemecourt P, Grady M, Philpott J, Smith A.
Sports-related injuries in youth athletes: is overscheduling a risk
factor? Clin J Sport Med. 2011 Jul;21(4):307-14.
- Mah CD, Mah
KE, Kezirian EJ, Dement WC. The effects
of sleep extension on the athletic performance of collegiate
basketball players. Sleep. 2011 Jul 1;34(7):943-50.
By Allan
Phillips. Allan and his wife Katherine are heavily involved in the strength and
conditioning community, for more information refer to Pike Athletics.
