Whether you are a professional athlete or just someone who likes to stay active, getting enough sleep is essential for peak performance. But with busy schedules and early morning workouts, it can be tough to get the recommended 7-9 hours of shut-eye. If you’re struggling to catch up on healthy sleep habits, you can try out these 5 sleep strategies specifically for athletes.
Let’s dive right in!
1. Maintain A Consistent Sleep Schedule
Your body has an internal clock of its own which helps regulate sleep patterns. Waking up and going to bed at the same time every day will allow your Body’s natural functions, like regulating clocks or waking yourself from slumber (in some cases), do their job better than before by giving you more restful nights without having any trouble falling asleep in general – even if it is hard early on!
2. Develop A Wine-Down Routine
In order to ensure a restful night’s sleep, it is important that you wind down before bedtime with some calming activities like reading books or doing yoga. If your mind cannot stop racing from the day’s stresses and worries then try installing an app on your phone which will overlay colors of orange-red over screens in different patterns while giving off less blue light than traditional LED devices do so this helps users get into better sleeping habits!
3. Optimize Your Sleep Environment
The amount of light in your bedroom can affect the product quality and quantity of hormones that are necessary for sleep, so go stealth mode. Blacked out curtains will help create a quiet environment where you won’t be disturbed by street lights or other noises outside; turn off all lights including those under furniture to cut down any excess glow coming from devices such as cell phones, it’s best if there isn’t even an open book left around!
Lastly, make sure you invest in a quality mattress so your body gets the proper support it needs. Miss this one, and you will be tossing and turning at night which will reduce your quality of sleep along with your REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep cycles. There are tons of quality mattresses available online at affordable rates. You can explore e-commerce stores like National Mattress which offer shipping to both Canada and the United States!
4. Have A Pre Bed Routine
Making a plan before bed is an easy and effective way to get more sleep. It’s also helpful if you’re traveling, as it will help keep your mind focused on familiar tasks that are routine at home such as reading for twenty minutes or writing in the journal while worn out from all-day activities.
Creating a pre-bed routine can also help slow down your heart level so you can prepare your mind and body for a good night’s sleep!
5. Avoid Hitting The Snooze Button!
The snooze button can be an enemy of productivity. When you hit it the second time, it can be detrimental to gaining that needed motivation to perform your best. That’s because your body has gone through another sleep cycle and now feels more tired than when you have first woken up by your alarm clock, sending us into what’s called “sleep inertia, so make sure you put that alarm clock as far away from your bed side table so you don’t make the mistake of hitting that snooze button!
Take Away
Sleep is a critical part of any high-performance athlete’s routine. By using the sleep strategies we outlined in this post, you can make sure you’re getting enough shut-eye to perform your best. What sleep strategy will you start using tonight?
