Sleep is a fundamental aspect of health and wellness along with exercise, diet, and mental/emotional health. These interconnected characteristics all affect one another. Ignoring one of these will cause the others to suffer. As sleep is the #1 recovery tool we have, we would do well to optimize it.
Most adults require 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Not getting enough sleep is associated with the following:
Poor judgement/decision making
Obesity/Diabetes
Cortisol release (the stress hormone)
Inflammation
In a high performing adult or athlete, these negative consequences of limited sleep will affect our mood, focus, energy, strength, and power. It may also contributing to injury. In fact, a study of 95 endurance athletes found those who received less than 7 hours of sleep per night over a 2 week period increased the risk of developing a new injury by 51%.
So how can we set ourselves up for success? Sleep hygiene and extension are 2 evidence based methods which demonstrate effectiveness.
What is Sleep Hygiene?
Sleep hygiene is a routine utilized to prepare and execute your nightly rest. Do you have a sleep plan? My toddler does. Every evening after dinner he drinks a milk, takes a bath, puts on pajamas, cuddles up with mom and dad for a few stories and songs. In fact, a night time routine was recommended to my wife and I in every “how to get your baby to sleep” book. It works! And guess what, research says it can work for adults too.
Healthy sleep can be trained through use of regular routines and structure. Utilizing simple strategies will improve total sleep time, as well as fatigue and energy the next day. Here are the most common components used to optimize sleep?
Consistent bed and wake times
Sleep in quiet, cool, and dark bedroom
Avoid caffeine and other stimulants prior to sleep. Some suggest no caffeine after lunch
Avoid light-emitting devices 2 hours before bed
Implement relaxation strategies before bed: shower, read, diaphragmatic breathing, progressive muscle relaxation
Sounds good in theory. In practice, utilizing sleep hygiene education and behavior training improved sleep quality and energy levels in 390 computer IT workers in Japan. Meanwhile, elite female athletes who attended a 1 hour workshop on the benefits of sleep hygiene were able enhance their sleep quality and quantity.
How About a Nap?
Intentionally staying in bed or taking a nap are interventions known as sleep extension. Once in a while even the best sleep hygiene plans get spoiled! Those with children know there’s definitely not a way to consistently reap the rewards of a full nights rest.
In healthy folks who have received 5 hours or sleep, a mid day nap of at least 30 minutes improved mood, focus and energy. Researchers have done this numerous times over the past 20 years. Interestingly, naps have been useful in improving physical function. Notably, sleep deprived folks who take a nap improve sprint and reaction times as well as basketball and golf shot accuracy. If you are unable to get quality sleep at night, rest assured (pun intended) you can make up for it with a next day siesta.
How Can a PT Help?
As a PT helping active people with their injuries, I must go beyond the aches and pains to help get to the root of my clientele’s issues. Often my treatment focus is on stretching, strengthening and manual therapy. However injuries are multifaceted, they require a full look at your lifestyle and well being to develop a plan to unlock your potential.
Reviewing sleep habits and positioning is a must in each evaluation I perform. Providing simple recommendations and teaching folks how to get comfortable lying in bed go a long way to helping athletes and active adults sleep well and more!
Notes:
https://www.jsams.org/article/S1440-2440(18)30854-5/fulltext
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22293726/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466408/#b15-ijes-10-04-522
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6988893/