Sleep Well, Lift Heavier: Improve Your Physical Performance By Sleeping More

Life before CrossFit, healthy eating and lifting weights…

I remember it pretty clearly. I was your typical student that went out partying on the weekends, recuperated with Chinese takeaways (although I’m definitely a pizza kinda girl now), avoided physical activity at all costs and stayed up till midnight most nights. My diet was whatever my mother cooked me, I’d snack on chocolate bars and crisps and I’d skip a meal if it meant eating a large tub of salted popcorn at the cinema. Not exactly the healthiest, huh. 

Now, when I compare my level of health and fitness to back then, it’s pretty damn amazing just how different my lifestyle is.  I CrossFit to keep fit, I count my macros, I eat a healthy and well balanced diet (80/20), I’m pretty active every single day (hitting at least 10K steps) and I love what I do. Like, really, really love what I do. 

But you see, how much we workout and what kind of foods we eat isn’t just the key to a healthy lifestyle. Sleep is just as important, if not more important. Think about your favourite athlete. Have you ever wondered how they can train so often and still manage to get stronger, fitter and better? Athletes are well aware of the importance of proper training if they want to make progress. Whilst some athletes, particularly CrossFit athletes, are often given slack for their ‘over training’ they simply manage their workload with adequate recovery. Aka, sleep. 

Did you know that a lack of sleep can reduce physcial performance, decision- making ability, immune function and increase our chances of weight gain?

Personally, I never really understood the importance of sleep until I started CrossFit. Then, with more physical goals set in place, I started to really understand how my sleeping pattern affects my physical performance. I mean, take a look at some of our top athletes out there. Studies have shown that athletes who sleep longer perform better, especially if they increase their sleep in the run up to a competition or event. Why? Sleep repairs the muscles and promotes muscle growth, whilst enabling the body to rest and recover.

In a recent interview with CrossFit athlete and CrossFit Games 2018 winner, Mat Fraser, GQ discussed Mat’s sleeping patterns and according to the athlete, he fits in 10 hours of sleep each night. Anything less than 6 hours and he’s not functioning well the next day. However, female CrossFit athlete and CrossFit Games 2018 winner, Tia-Clair Toomey states that she can survive on a little less sleep than Mat– averaging with 6 to 8 hours a night.

Slow wave sleep

Whilst you’re getting your beauty sleep, your brain actually goes through various patterns of activity. The cycle itself is pretty predictable and will happen every night in four stages including REM (rapid eye movement). Stages two and three are probably the most important stages in order to allow your body to recover. During this slow wave sleep process, our body undergoes all kinds of repair and health boosting benefits, such as:

• The natural production of the human growth hormone (HGH). This is extremely important for our physical performance, especially if you want to get stronger and fitter. The only way our body’s are able to produce HGH is by getting a decent amount of sleep each night. Not twice, or three times a week. Oh no, every night. 
• Allows the body to direct its resources to regenerating tissues
• Prevents our cortisol production. This is important because a high level of cortisol during the night can create insulin resistance for the next day.
• Prolactin release. This supports and strengthens our immune system and keeps it in check.

How to improve your sleep for physical performance

In the past month or so, I’ve really tried to focus a lot on my sleep quality and pattern. Not only have the benefits been hugely noticeable in my mood and energy, but I’m also performing 10x better when it comes to my physical performance. In the past two months I’ve bagged over 10 PB’s, put on more than 2.5kg of muscle and funnily enough, my extreme bloating has gone down too. Hooray. Here are a few of my top tips for improving your sleep for physical performance…

• Have a decent mattress and pillow. Trust me, it matters. You spend one-third of your life in bed so having a top quality sleep system is important. This is something I invested in a year ago and I’d personally recommend TEMPUR’s products. Their mattress’s conforms to the weight and warmth of your body to offer pressure relief and personalised support, and their pillows allow your neck to settle into the most comfortable sleeping position. Forget those stiff-pillows-kind-of-nonsense. 
• Get your nutrition in check. Eat the right kind of foods and eat the right amount. This has helped me the most when it comes to a good night’s sleep and believe me, under eating can seriously affect your sleep quality and pattern. Check this post out here. 
• Cut down on the technology an hour or so before hitting the hay. This decreases the activity of our brain. Viewing any type of screen straight before bed (no matter how big or small) not only keeps our brains awake and stimulated, but it often leads to us ‘overthinking’ whilst trying to fall asleep.
• Aim for at least 7-9 hours sleep a night. More if you’re training athlete style.
• Have a sleeping pattern. This means going to bed and waking up at the same time each day – including weekends too! You may aim to have a late Saturday night, but chances are, if you’re waking up at 6.30am 6 days a week then you’re going to wake up at 6.30am on a Sunday too – meaning you’re getting less sleep because you stayed up late the night before.
• Chill out before bed. I know it can’t be helped if a late night of work calls, but when possible, chill the hell out before bed. Meditate, read your favourite book or simply watch your favourite TV show (not directly an hour before bed though). Whatever you do, make sure you’re truly allowing your body to wind down after a busy day.
• If you find that training too early on in the day zaps your energy for the rest of the day, then train a little later (but not too late) for optional performance. This is sometimes the case for me if I’ve had a rubbish nights sleep the night before. 
• Sleep in a dark and cool environment. If it’s not dark, I’m not sleeping! 

What to avoid

• • Caffeine before bed.
  • Working out 3-4 hours before bed. This is another factor that keeps us up at night, as your body is still wide-awake and driving energy from those post-workout endorphins.
  • Technology an hour before bed.
  • Intense activity on a lack of sleep. This simply creates a vicious cycle of stress and ultimately, your sleep is the one that will suffer as well as your performance.
  • Stress. Easier said than done, I know. If you’re going through a stressful period, or are quite a stressful person, then find something that works for you in order to allow your body to relax and de-stress.

See it this way, sleep is your secret weapon for success in the gym. If you want to lift heavier, get stronger and be fitter then sleep should be your number 1 priority. Have you ever heard of the saying that CrossFit athletes ‘eat and sleep’ their programme? Yup. Now you know why. If you’re struggling to get the estimated 7-9 hours of sleep a night and you find your physical performance is slacking, or you’re simply stuck at a brick wall with your progress, then give my personal sleeping tips above a try.

References:

https://nutritionreview.org/2014/07/restoring-slow-wave-sleep-shown-enhance-health-increase-lifespan/

http://library.crossfit.com/free/pdf/CFJ_Sleep_RawlsMeehan2.pdf

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/fitness/a19973917/tia-clair-toomey-stay-fit-outside-of-gym/

PS, this post is in conjunction withTEMPUR® but all thoughts are my own.