A crash course on sleep for recovery from endurance training

Sleep is underrated in triathlon training & rehab, but it’s the ultimate recovery tool.

Many athletes focus on supplements but overlook the power of rest.

Embrace sleep as your secret weapon - it’s the foundation for injury prevention, performance and rehab.

Here is your crash course:

Why sleep is your secret weapon for your rest and recovery

Sleep is the single-best recovery tool - it’s free and it heals every area of the body while you sleep.

There aren’t any supplements that compare.

As triathletes there are 5 main reasons why you should focus on getting enough high-quality sleep:

1. Muscle growth and repair - True recovery from training happens while sleeping. The body will repair muscle, tendon and bone while you are sleeping.
2. Reduced injury risk - It’s been shown that athletes who get high-quality sleep have fewer injuries when compared to those who get less sleep.
3. Immune system function - Getting good sleep can help prevent infections and viruses from taking hold; which usually means more training.
4. Mental well-being - There are also psychological benefits from sleep. It can make you feel better overall and improve your mood.
5. Cognition, learning and memory - Sleep is essential for proper brain functions. Your brain needs enough sleep to get through your day.

Don’t get in the habit of short-changing sleep: your brain and body health depend on it.

One or 2 missed nights of sleep are not going to be the end of the world. Especially if you need to be up to train. I try not to make it a habit.

The only 2 numbers worth tracking when it comes to sleep

To understand how to improve sleep it’s key to get a baseline.

One bad night's sleep can seem like the end of the world, even though the rest of the week was excellent.

There are 2 important factors when it comes to high-quality sleep:

• Getting enough (quantity)
• Sleeping well (quality)

To reap the benefits of sleep for your performance and recovery you need to improve both.

My approach to get a baseline is tracking 2 numbers for 2 weeks. This is long enough to see a trend but not long enough to obsess over your sleep.

Obsessing over your sleep typically results in worse sleep as you try to optimize.

I will track:

• Time in bed (with lights out)
• Sleep quality from 0-10

I calculate actual sleep time by subtracting 30 minutes from time in bed (roughly how long it takes to fall asleep).

This should reveal a pattern in your sleep.

A pattern you can improve.

Getting enough sleep - How much sleep do you need as an athlete

The quickest thing to improve is your quantity of sleep.

Research from Walsh and colleagues found that adults need a minimum of 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Less than that and you risk not getting all the benefits we listed above.

As an athlete, you likely need more sleep to fully recover from both the physical and psychological demands of sport.

To improve the amount of sleep you get optimize your routines around a set sleeping window.

Do everything in your power to get in bed 30 minutes before the start of that window (you may need to be sooner if it takes you longer to fall asleep).

Let’s look at what it takes to improve sleep quality.

Getting good sleep - improving your sleep quality

Some people will go to wild lengths to improve the quality of their sleep. As part of their 1% better campaign in the lead-up to the Tour de France, Team Sky built and carted around sleep pods for every athlete. These pods included a mattress, sheets and pillow customized for each athlete.

This way no matter what hotel or motel they were staying at each cyclist could sleep relatively the same.

This might be taking things a bit too far for the everyday athlete but there remains a key concept here.

Improving sleep quality comes down to consistency in routines, habits and environment.

The only 9 habits you need to improve your sleep quality

Sleep quality comes down to falling asleep and staying asleep.

The deeper you can sleep (within each sleep cycle) the better overall you will feel.

Here are the key habits you should try (save these for later):

• Use caffeine and stimulants carefully - try to limit to before lunch
• Use sunlight as a guide - get it early and see the sunset
• Exercise regularly - but not too close to bedtime
• Set and keep consistent wake times - maintain a schedule
• Taper technology and light exposure - don’t let these interfere
• Taper food intake - otherwise your body will be fighting to digest it
• Limit light and sound in the room - darken the room, cover lights, and limit noise
• Decrease temp in room - the optimal temp is around 20 deg (C)
• Try to keep non-sleep activities out of the bedroom - keep the bed for sleeping not working

Figure out which of these habits has the greatest impact on your sleep quality score.

Once you know your main drivers make them a habit.

Don’t try to change these all at once. Pick an easy one and start there.

3 action steps for improving your sleep as a triathlete to super-charge your recovery:

1. for 2 weeks track sleep time (hours) and quality score (0-10 each night)
2. pick one easy habit (for you) to work on and improve quality
3. tackle that first before installing other new habits

Once you are getting enough, quality sleep forget about tracking how you feel.

Continue to nail your routines and habits.

That's it for today!

Chandler

Ps. Did you like this master-class email for sleep? Let me know by replying to this email (I'm planning to do more).

Thanks for being here! If you're new here I'm Chandler an endurance coach and physiotherapist. Each week I send a letter about sustainable endurance training or triathlon rehab. Say hi on X or Instagram.

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