![]() ![]() I have seen unskilled sleepers with pages of printed-out tips on the subject, and even the 100-point to-do lists sometimes fail (shocking, I know). Go to a specialized doctor if you think the issue may be insomnia or another medical condition. See a sleep therapist if you have persistent issues. Talk to a therapist and treat any mental-health issues. If all the good habits in the world don’t work, talk to a doctor or therapist and consider trying natural sleep aids (I have seen Nature’s Made brand melatonin work surprisingly well for some athletes). Consider mindfulness techniques and meditation. Practice sleep hygiene, disconnecting from screens and light and noise. So make sure you’re doing everything you can to improve your sleep skills. I have seen plenty of athletes excel as unskilled sleepers, but have almost never seen someone be a fully content person if they beat themselves up about it. When each night becomes a battle to turn off a light without an obvious switch, the stress can be crushing. Physically, more sleep is probably a good thing for just about everyone.īut what can be even worse than sleeping a bit less than may possibly be optimal in a controlled scientific study is what happens if you excessively worry about your lack of optimization. While there are some people who have reduced sleep needs, that “sleepless elite” genetic variation is relatively rare. Across the population, sleep clearly matters for everything from hormonal state to nervous system function to recovery and adaptation. It’s not meant to dismiss the studies or evidence. My wife/co-coach Megan will often joke that she “is not a skilled sleeper.” I have seen athletes win national championships averaging a few hours of fitful sleep, an athlete finish high up in the world championships after two days of total sleeplessness, another excel as a top grandmaster athlete after years of sleep struggles. The reason I am writing this article is to let you know that if this describes you, things will be OK. In my coaching experience, it’s slightly more common in high achievers, female athletes and athletes over 40, but the research indicates that it’s not confined to any background, gender or age. This type of sleeplessness can happen to anyone. It can be predictable or random, connected to life events or parenting duties or the news or something that you wished you’d done differently 10 years ago or nothing at all. It can mean waking up and being unable to get back to sleep, where getting up to pee at 2 a.m. That can mean having trouble getting to sleep, finding that no amount of sleep hygiene or caffeine abstinence can stop neurons from doing what neurons do. Because if you read enough on the subject, it can feel like not being a great sleeper might as well mean you are strapping a 500-pound weight around your neck. This article has the simple goal of removing pressure from the dialogue about sleep. Pressuring yourself about something involuntary is a surefire way to take some of the fun out of life. But they are still mostly involuntary biological processes. Sometimes, being told to “sleep more” is not that much different than hearing you need to “digest faster.” Yeah, there are certain decisions and scenarios that can make sleep and digestion better. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!
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