Funny, that the same advice I just received from a friend of mine as well! He had similar effects when he spend more than 20min in the tub.
Thanks … I’ll try 20 and see how it goes.
salt baths/saunas have that effect.i don’t know whether its due to the loss of water through sweat but i always had the exact same effects until i began introducing the cold shower after the bath…i found it woke me up totally.
try this or spend less time.even try to cycle
number 2
whats the protocol for sauna’s?
guys also try stimulating your PNS after your workout since you just jacked up your SNS with hard training, you can do that with some good breathing excersises and or tai chi.
Heat is relaxing but the increase in bodyheat is too much if durations are past 20. THERMAL stress that will cause general fatigue and not CNS fatigue so dont’ get confused. Increases in metabolic activity will require more calories, hence why the cool capes are used in the south for football and soccer players.
Yes, we only go for 10 minutes at a time in the sauna on easy days. In the case of contrast work, we will go 4-5 minutes in the sauna with 1 minute in cold (shower or pool) for 3 cycles.
The best recovery for CNS is good night sleep
I also think sleep is good. However, after a very intense and CNS-draining day, there might be difficulties in getting a god night sleep. So perhaps schedule the day after a hard CNS day so that you have the possibility to sleep longer once the twisting and turning in the bed at 3 A.M. ends. Don’t schedule anything important for the next day, at least not in the morning.
The problem here is what is good night sleep? My psychology proffesor said that quality, dreams and duration of sleep doesnt mean good night sleep… What he wanted to say I dont know exactly, but he gave us an example:
Befor major meets (or something important) you cant sleep, you do a lot of twist and turns, many dreams etc but experiments showed that this doesnt mean you will be bad at competition, or without your full power! So I want to say that however does you sleep you will be recovering… spunds strange, but I think it is true… I will ask my proffesor more on this issue!
Relax ipercontracted muscles is a way for lower the CNS stress…massage, self massage, stretching, myofascial stretch are simple solution (See Flash’s article).
Then ZMA, B complex (B12 from methylcobalamine), ALCAR, Lecitine, SAM-e for neurotransmitter (very cheap supplement…in Italy).
Craniosacral Therapy is a good way for balance CNS, this technique is used with children have ADD/ADHD, more effective.
Hydrotherapy.
And last but non least…sleep.
Actually, the most important sleep is not the night before the competition, but the night before that! Make sure you get good rest two night previously and then when you have the expected excitment and restlessness the night before, you will be ok.
You can try every supplement under the sun in isolation, but I still believe a properly structured restoration program is the best appraoch, with rest (particlaurly sleep) a key element.
After sleep - or maybe on a par in some cases - I have to put real-world pressures/stresses (i.e. mortages, girlfriend trouble, rent etc.) all these contribute in a greater manner to CNS stress than is appreciated.
CP uses supplements and a cycle approach to CNS supplementation to restore the CNS, but I personally do not believe this is possible, or if so only for the very short-term.
Nice tip, agree… and what about sex, night (or 2-3 night before) meet? How is it affecting performance (in wich sport)? Before your answering, we should classify sex activities into
- pasive or active
- With orgasm or without
- Male or female athlete
No one answered for 3 days???!!! Tricky subjeck, a? hehe 
Since women get extra energy from sex(they’re up and cleaning the house right after you’re done ) I would say that they should have sex right before a comp.
Guys, a few days before.
As I live in Finland I go to sauna quite often after a workout. I wouldn’t spend there more than 10-15 min. Sauna is relaxing but if you spend there too much time it’s quite stressful and makes you tired. I usually spend there a couple of minutes, take a cool shower and go back for a couple of minutes again. I don’t use sauna for recovery, just for relaxing after a hard day or workout. Not sure if it has any effect on CNS recovery.
If the sauna isn’t too hot, say 70-80 degrees celsius, you can spend there a bit longer and do some stretching also. And I mean in a private sauna! 