Did you know that sleep and performance correlate? They do. In fact, although we can perform well with very little sleep, we will perform much better over time with an abundance of sleep.
Get your sleep and performance in check
Here are some quick tips that can get you sleeping and performing better right away
No alarm
I’ve always found that I feel the best when I don’t wake to an alarm. Most of you might be thinking “Joe, I can’t do that, I have a job that I need to wake up for”.
I hear you, but if you need an alarm to wrench yourself out of bed each morning you probably aren’t getting the amount of sleep that you need. Set your alarm so you don’t miss work, but start going to sleep earlier and earlier until you find yourself waking up feeling refreshed before your alarm goes off.
I’ve used this technique to wake up before my alarm at 6am, so I know it can be done even for an early wake up.
If you’re getting enough sleep you’ll find that you have more energy during the day, you will feel like you can think better, you will make improvements in the gym faster, and you will look more attractive compared to your sleep deprived self.
Sleep in the dark
Being the head coach of StoneWay CrossFit I talk with a lot of people about their sleep and recovery. And what I consistently find is that people don’t sleep in a dark room, but they expect to sleep well.
I have found it nearly impossible to get a good nights sleep when my room gets lighter in the morning with the rise of the sun. You may disagree, but I can guarantee that if you black out your room you will sleep better and start changing your tune.
Blacking out your room doesn’t require you to get expensive blackout curtains, you simply need to go to your local fabric store, and buy some cheap fleece or felt that you cut to the size of your windows.
When sizing out your cuts make sure to COMPLETELY cover your windows. You want ZERO light to be coming into your room. Zero!
You can tack the fabric to the walls with a simple thumb pin or use the curtain hangers that are already in place.
Remember, your bedroom should be for sleeping, and sleeping activities only!
Go to sleep the same time each night
Like Casper says in their infographic below, keep a regular sleep schedule. If you go to bed at the same time every night you’ll have a much easier time of falling asleep, and sleeping well.
I realized that some nights you’re going to go out with your friends and the time you go to bed will change, but when you can make it a habit to go to bed at a predetermined time, and you’ll find the results to be addicting.
Avoid alcohol before bed
Although there is a common belief that alcohol can help you sleep, this is false. You may fall asleep faster after having alcohol, but studies have shown that although you are asleep, your quality of sleep will greatly suffer.
So, if you’re looking for restorative sleep make sure to avoid that drink with dinner.
The sleep company Casper.com has done research, not only to the design of their new mattresses, but they also created a great infographic that can teach us many cool facts about how to sleep better, and goals to shoot for as it relates to your sleep.
