Rest to be at your best

HOW CAN ATHLETES CALM NERVES AND GET A RESTFUL NIGHT BEFORE A COMPETITION? DR NERINA RAMLAKHAN TALKS THROUGH HER TOP TIPS.

- DR NERINA RAMLAKHAN

GETTING good deep sleep is incredibly important. There is a reason why nature has designed us to spend over a third of our lives sleeping – there’s an intelligence in this design. When we sleep our body repairs and rebalances on many levels, this can be physical, mental, emotional and even spiritual. This ensures we wake up with energy and enthusiasm, feeling inspired and looking forward to the day ahead. This is very important for athletes who are training hard and who especially need to be on top of their game – for them, getting nourishing sleep can literally give them a competitive advantage.

How does sleeping well do this?

During deep sleep the body produces a cocktail of neurotransmitters and hormones, including growth hormones, which aid recovery and optimise the growth and strengthening of muscles. The dream process enables the re-organisation and sorting of information in the brain so the athlete awakens feeling sharp, clear and laser focused. And we all know that getting velvety, deep sleep (my favourite type of sleep) makes us happy. Life just feels so much better and pressures are so much more manageable after a really good night’s sleep.

Race night nerves

But it’s not always that easy. I used to run marathons and I’d often find that the night before my race I just couldn’t get to sleep. I was too wired and I’d lie there fretting about not performing at my best the next day and all that training going to waste because I couldn’t sleep. I found it difficult to switch my mind off and I definitely couldn’t relax my body. By the way, this was before I started learning more about sleep, working on my own sleep habits and patterns and then helping others.