Recovery after a workout
We always say that recovery is key. What if there’s a new supplement that can help with:
Quicker muscle recovery
Higher cognitive ability
Increased energy levels
Faster reaction time
Stress and anxiety control
There is actually! And it’s free. Try to improve your SLEEP’ to garner all the above benefits and to lower your chance of injury.
Sleep is one of the best recovery tools you can have.
Recovery and Sleep
Recovery’s main component is sleep and we all know this can be hard with family responsibilities amongst other things. Especially with kids or late night working, evenings can literally disappear and it’s late before we know it. So, the better your routine, the easier you’ll be able to stick to it.
Here is some information and a few tips from Dr Cheri Mah, M.S., M.D. that can help you set up better sleep routines to help yourself. Dr Mah is one of the most sought after sleep scientists in the sports world, consulting with Olympians and a growing list of professional teams. Over the past decade, her research has focused on the relationship between sleep and performance in elite athletes.
Here’s a few tips to improve your sleep quality:
Caffeine and alcohol: Limit caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine’s life duration is 6 hours! Both substances affect your REM sleep, which is your deep sleep where your body actually starts its recovery process. So, no coffee ideally later than lunch and stay conscious with your wine or beer in the evening.
Duration: Try to aim for 7 hours and more rest. Build gradually if you are stuck on around 5 hours at the moment. More sleep might help you with those headaches and migraines. Studies show that people who are sleep deprived have the same cognitive and reaction ability as an intoxicated person.
Set a Routine: After a long day it’s hard for our brain to just shut down and go to bed. So you need to get your body into a bedtime prep routine. Here’s one of Dr Mah’s suggested ideas:
Put your phone down an hour before bed
Prepare yourself for sleep, do light stretches to calm your nervous system.
Read if that helps you to relax
Write in your journal about your day and then jot down a to do list for tomorrow to empty your mind.
Core temperature and Sleep
Studies show that your core temperature has an influence on your sleep routine. Try not to have a really hot shower right before bed. Also try to make sure your bedroom temperature isn’t too high. Studies show it should be around 19 degrees celsius. Mah says. “Your sleep environment should be like a cave: dark, quiet, cool and comfortable.”
