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Sleep: Why Runners Need It and How to Get More!!

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Sleep is the one component not listed on marathon training plans that should be!

You get up extra early to fit in the miles and slog through sprints when you’re tired, but without placing the same emphasis on sleep your efforts might all be in vain when you come down sick race week!!

A sleep study at Stanford, noted that athletes who “increased their sleep time ran faster sprints and hit more accurate tennis shots than they did while getting their usual amount of sleep.”

So yes, I know you’re busy and you need to get up at the crack of dawn to make your run happen. BUT too many days of neglecting your sleep is going to lead to a decrease in performance, which will also make running a lot less enjoyable.better sleep

Let’s start with the the general good and bad of sleep or lack of sleep:

  • Sleep is when your body produces growth hormone which stimulates muscle growth and repair
  • In sleep deprivation you produce less HGH and your muscles pay the price (think slower progress)
  • Sleep is when your body synthesizes protein, creates new cells and repairs tissue, boosts your immune system
  • Sleep deprivation combined with workout exertion you’re more likely to get sick and of course all your runs feel crummy
  • In sleep deprivation, we feel hungrier add that to distance running and it explains the never ending runger.
  • In sleep deprivation the body is less effective at converting carbs to glycogen — hello hitting the wall!
More sleep = better running = life is better - Tips to make it happen via @runtothefinish Click To Tweet

How Much Sleep Do You Really Need???

The general rule is to add 1 minuter per mile you are running per week.This comes a shock to many runners, but it makes since…you ask more of your body, you need to give it more to recover.

Example: if you need 8 hours of sleep to feel well rested when you aren’t training and are now doing 40 miles a week, aim for 8 hours and 40 minutes.

A few different studies have said that endurance athletes need a minimum of 8 hours, but many need more to continue training without fatigue. If you feel like you just cannot find time for that, you’ll find many high profile athletes who say eating a certain way has decreased their sleep needs. This seems to be related to a few things:

  • Eating enough protein to fuel muscle recovery
  • Removing inflammatory foods which would slow down recovery
  • Eliminating food intolerances which increase inflammation (yup even healthy foods fall in here)

I thought this tip from Asics was the best I’d seen on finding your perfect amount if sleep:

The best time to figure out the perfect amount for you is when you’re on vacation. A few days into your trip (after you’ve paid off your sleep debt), see what time you wake up on your own, without relying on an alarm clock. The amount of sleep you got that night should be your goal every night.

If the hour total is very far off from the amount you’re getting when you’re not on vacation, try increasing your sleep time in small increments. Go to bed 20 minutes earlier for one week, and then tack on 10 more minutes each week.

Bonus points because science shows that long term runners appear to have higher quality sleep.Photo from Sarah Marie Design Studio.

SLEEPING TIPS

For the most part I am a really awesome sleeper. if it was a sport I might win for best ability to fall asleep and then not move for 8 hours promptly waking without an alarm. Gawd I freaking love it.

However, lately I started waking up very consistently at 2AM and could not for the life of me go back to sleep. Which lead me of course to the Google…is there anything the Google can’t tell you? Since I have already done the research and in fact tested it out, I’ll save you the time!

Did you know you need to add 1 minute of sleep for every mile you run each week? Click To Tweet

Waking Up And Can’t Go Back to Sleep?
One key thing is not to just rely on drugs, without getting to the root cause you are just masking the issue and it will likely persist or overcome your drugs at some point.

I found a few different things which could be the cause:

1. Blood Sugar Drop – Are you eating dinner early and then nothing prior to sleep or maybe a carb heavy snack? Roughly 2-3 AM your blood sugar will drop which spikes cortisol and BOOM awake! Great article on Dr Deborah MD with details.

2. Overactive Mind – If you get in to things like Holistic health they point out that waking between 1-3Am consistently is a sign of frustration and anger that aren’t being dealt with during the day because this is when your body should be detoxing your live. Is there something or someone toxic in your life that you need to get rid of? Have you been eating things that might be burdening your body?

The second issue is usually easy to pinpoint if you are also having issues with mood, fatigue, digestive trouble, and even eye strain.

Can’t Fall Asleep?

Let’s look at how to sleep better with these tips:

8 natural sleep aid remedies>>
No time for extra sleep try hypnosis (it’s like a power nap on steroids)!!
9 foods to help you sleep >>
Restorative poses for sleep from The Philosophie >>
Great poses to help you fall asleep

The focus here was sleep during training, try not to get too stressed about any sleeplessness the night before a race. You’ll have enough adrenaline to keep you going if you’ve been getting good sleep in the previous months of training!

How much focus do you put on sleep?

Are you a sound sleeper?

Other ways to connect with Amanda

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Posted by amanda Categories: Healthy lifestyle, recovery

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. TriGirl says

    August 10, 2015 at 6:58 am

    It’s 4am and I’m awake so yes, sleep is definitely an issue ? I love my mattress and it is definitely something to invest in. If you have found a good one you will miss it whenever you sleep away from home!

  2. @ThriveFit says

    August 10, 2015 at 8:15 am

    Sound sleeper…most of the time. When my husband is gone (which is too often not so much. A bigger helper to me has been my sleep mask. I don't know how I managed to sleep before with all the light that comes into our bedroom!

  3. Vita says

    December 27, 2015 at 4:46 pm

    I started to run in the morning, but I had to wake up earlier for that which was really hard in the beginning, but then I developed a habbit and this morning run makes me feel energetic right in the morning. No need for coffee and no sleeping in buses or at work :)

  4. Olivier says

    January 21, 2016 at 1:08 pm

    Looking back through my training log my best workouts almost ALWAYS come after a big night of sleep. It's too bad that as a culture we still celebrate the low-sleep, high-performing individuals. Sleep has been shown over and over and over again to be a major predictor of success in training.
    My recent post 15 Sleep Strategies for High Performance Athletes

  5. Fancy Nancy says

    January 10, 2018 at 10:19 am

    I am a super sound sleeper however I haven’t slept through the night since I had our son!!! Yup 7 months of not enough sleep!! Anyone want to come watch him while I sleep??

    • amanda says

      January 11, 2018 at 7:43 am

      HOly moly, I honestly can’t even imagine. You mamas are amazing!!!

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Amanda Brooks is a Certified Running Coach, Certified Personal Trainer and long time distance runner with a passion for every facet of running, which leads her to do more reading, research and running than necessary. Find all the tips, tricks and tools you need from this running coach for your best injury free running. Read More…

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GIVEAWAY- 3 WINNERS🥳🥳 Can we talk about runn GIVEAWAY- 3 WINNERS🥳🥳
Can we talk about runners and gut health for a second? And then you'll understand why I love @previnex so much.
//
DID YOU KNOW: There are 500 species and three pounds of bacteria in our gut! 😱😱It’s a living and breathing factory that:

🔵impacts your energy levels and can be reason for joint pain
🟣impacts your mood and focus
🟡can cause runners trots and nausea when micro biome is off
🔴can cause more food sensitivities and intolerances when not balanced with good bacteria
//
So yesssss your gut can make you a better runner when it’s working right and probiotics are a big helper.
//
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Your chance to try a SUPER HIGH QUALITY option and see the impacts. It’s beyond superior to what’s in most stores.
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#runningtips #runhappy #trailrunning #guthealthmatters #probiotic #runmehappy #runforlife
☀️MORNING OR ⭐️EVENING RUNNER? Which are y ☀️MORNING OR ⭐️EVENING RUNNER? Which are you?

🐦 early birds let’s hear, what time do you get up??? These times are often 🤯🤯
//
Most of the year I’m up by 5, which often leads to “when do you go to bed?!?!” 
Early 😂.
I’ve been prepping for AARP time since we moved to Miami and it was so dang hot. 

The habit stuck, so now I’m up early and lifting it not heading out immediately in the snow.
//
In my early 20s, I ran after work and then a lot over lunch...even in to marathon training.
👇
Now I have to psych myself up for evenings which is when most groups are!
WHAT ARE YOU AN EXPERT IN? Clearly I talk, read, w WHAT ARE YOU AN EXPERT IN? Clearly I talk, read, write and learn running non-stop. But I still have so many areas I’m working to improve, like trail running!
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But today I wanna know about you??

🤓What could you easily give a 30 minute presentation on??

😱I’m prepared to be fascinated and learn once again I might need more hobbies.
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An expert doesn’t mean you know it. ALL, but does mean you have significant experience and knowledge in a topic.
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I could also talk about blogging 😂dealing with brands and pizza with confidence, but maybe not feel like an expert even with running this business for over a decade.
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UPHILL RUNNING TIPS: One of the best ways to get s UPHILL RUNNING TIPS: One of the best ways to get stronger and faster with less injury risk is hill repeats.
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BUT even picking routes with hills pays off. So a few tips to SAVE AND USE to get the most from them.
//
👁 Eyes: look ahead not down this will keep your chest up and you standing tall

💪Arm swing: swipe to see the upper cut motion that will propel you ⬆️

🦶Feet: take shorter faster steps and don’t run on the balls of your feet overtaxing the calves

🥵Effort: focus on maintaining the same effort not pace.

Mentally remind yourself of the great downhill coming for recovery! For every up there must be a down (lies I tell myself 😂while running).

👉👉How often do you incorporate hill repeats??
🛑STOP ROLLING YOUR IT BAND. You can’t lengthe 🛑STOP ROLLING YOUR IT BAND. You can’t lengthen it or loosen it that way.  So while it’s inflamed that’s like pushing in a bruise and asking it to heal.🙈
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What to do instead:
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3️⃣Use heat to relax the muscles, don’t use ice on your already right ITB. It will get tighter.

4️⃣Rest doesn’t fix ITB. Stop running through pain, but you have to do the above to actually fix it.

Have you ever dealt with ITB? Did you know not to roll it??

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