Does sleeping well improve sports performance?
We know that for an athlete, training and nutrition are essential for reaching the peak of one's athletic abilities, however, rest is often neglected.
It plays an equally vital role, as it allows the body to recover the energy used during the day. We often forget that a good quality rest can be the determining factor in winning a competition; sleep has a significant influence on the performance of athletes.
Sleep well for sports
After all, we know that rest is essential for our life. On average An adult person needs 8 hours of good quality sleep to recover the energy spent during the day and get up rested.
For those who practice sport, at a professional and non-professional level, the body needs more time to recover energy and be ready for the next workout. The more the training will be intense, tiring and lasting, the more hours it will take ours organism to recover energy.
After a long workout, stretching and a good rest are the best allies of a athlete. It has in fact been shown by Stanford University that a improvement in sleep quality increases athletes' performance. Those who sleep well get higher performance and shorter reaction times. Lack of sleep, on the other hand, can negatively affect performance by reducing cognitive function, worsening mood and reaction time.
Rest and physical recovery
During the night the state of inactivity of the body produces general relaxation, during which precious energies are recovered, fundamental for the body.
While we rest, the body carries out protein synthesis processes aimed at reconstituting the muscle tissues stressed during sport. Sleeping well is therefore essential for all athletes, as it significantly reduces the risk of injury.
For these reasons, sleep has become part of the training programs of athletes, a phase that is taken care of as much as training and nutrition.
The importance of routine
For all sportsmen, athletes and non-athletes, it is very important to create a routine, trying to balance sleep, wakefulness and sports activity.
As we have already said it is important to sleep at least 8 hours a night, trying to always go to sleep at the same time.
In previous articles we have emphasized the importance of sport for a healthy life; equally fundamental, however, is programmingof physical activity, which goes performed consistently but without exaggerating, remembering to give time to the body to recover between one workout and another. This is crucial for significantly decrease the risk of injury, as sleep allows muscles to regenerate while we sleep.
So, if it is very important to train and improve nutrition, it is necessary remember that a good rest is equally essential.