The importance of sleep and recovery for training.
Having a consistent night routine is important to create an optimum sleep environment. Every night when you come back from work, you probably do the same chores and activities; you eat dinner, you shower, and you try to unwind from the workday. It might be hard unplugging from work or really relaxing after a stressful day, however, staying as consistent as possible with your night routine is an important part of getting a good night of sleep.
A few things to consider that are often overlooked is the timing of these daily activities we do before bed. Timing your dinner, your shower and your screen time is to be considered if you want to optimize your sleep. You might want to eat dinner a few hours before going to sleep so you don’t go to bed with an uncomfortable full stomach. You also should make sure that you don’t shower right before going to bed as the warm water might help the blood flow going and you might feel a bit more awake after showering. You also want to withdraw from screen time before bed as blue light indicates to your body that it is daytime. It is easier said than done, so if you must look at a screen, try your best to put it in night mode if the device does have this function as it will help your body recognize that it is almost time for sleep. Or get yourself a pair of blue light glasses, as they block out the blue light from your device.
Once you get into bed, you want to relax the mind and the body. One of the best ways to do this is to practice mindfulness and focus on each part of your body and relax them one after another. Start with the feet and go up all the way to your head. Relax your feet, your lower legs, your upper legs, your pelvis, your back, your chest, your shoulders, your upper arms, your lower arms, your hands, your neck, and your face. If you need more time, you can go slower and take a few deep breaths per body part. This exercise will help you relax your body but also relax your mind as it gives it something to focus on instead of wandering to some stressful thoughts.
If you are someone who has trouble falling asleep despite having a solid night routine and trying relaxation exercises, you can try to practice guided meditation. There are some good apps as well as YouTube channels that are good resources for this and that will help you fall asleep faster! Give this a try this week and let us know if it helped!