how important is sleep?

Expert Discussion Recovery and Regeneration
1

once school starts, i’ll be taking the hardest possible schedule of classes, going to practice, lifting before school and working on weekends and applying to college… once track season starts i usually find a way to let something go so that I can sleep, but i am not expecting to get more than 4-6 hours of sleep until january.

so my question is this- how much sleep is really necessary? and will lack of sleep now set me up for injury or decreased performance in a few months, or can your body adapt…

2

Adequate amount of sleep is essential (8-10hrs) for maximum growth and recovery. During REM sleep the body releases GH, which is essential for recovery. Try to find a way to get yourself at least 8hrs of sleep. Trust me, if someone tells you that 4-6hrs of sleep is ok, don’t believe them…

3

Let me put it this way. If your sleep isn’t dialed in, you won’t make gains. In the gym or on the track. Quite simply.

The Real Deal put it best.

If you truly want sleep badly enough, you’ll find ways to get your shit done (i.e. homework and whatnot) so you’re able to sleep.

You’d be amazed to see how inadequate amounts of sleep can lead to overtraining so quickly.

I usually train first thing in the morning (7 or 8 am) and whenever I don’t get enough sleep for a couple nights in a row, by the third or fourth morning, no matter how many alarm clocks I have set, I won’t wake up when I’m supposed to.

4

Sleep is probably one of the MOST important pieces in the jigsaw and especially if you’re balancing studies and training.
I’m like Chris, train in the morning etc. and if I miss a full nights snooze over the weekend or during the week - by Thursday morning I am screwed.
I don’t know how many Thursdays I couldn’t make training because of poor sleep.
Set a time to always stop studying in the evening - that way you’ll not work very late and mess up the nights sleep.
Sorry to tell you - but as the guys say, 4-6 hours sleep while training AND studying etc - won’t work.
4-6 can work, and has worked for me BUT - Only for very short periods of serious study, and only because I stopped physical training also.

5

4-6 hours sleep will soon tax your system big-time.you’ll be fine for the first few days but then you’ll begin to get and feel slugish.with improper rest you will begin to get an overtraining effect and this usually leads to injuries plus shut-down.

you must rest and play!

6

Does any one else find that they get rather nasty tight spots around the hips after a poor nights sleep?

7

As much as I agree with everyone view points here about sleep and its necessity, you also have to be realistic.

When you’re a student its not realistic to think that you can get 8hrs + sleep, especially when you’re a student in a professional program. “Burning the midnight oil” is something many of you have to understand is part of “normal” daily life in academia.

You CANNOT say that you have to make the effort to get 8hrs + sleep/night, its never going happen. Unless your goal is to strictly graduate with a degree, it just will NOT happen. If your goal is to graduate with a an honours (high standing GPA) degree and have plans to apply to a professional program (ie Law, Medicine, Chiropractic, etc), getting 8hrs sleep every night for your entire academic career is just not feasible.

So what’s the answer you say? I dont have it!! I been in unversity for 7 years now and I still have to find the answer. I just know that its not realistic to think that you can do 110% in both school and sport. (exceptions due exist, but rare)

You can sit here all you want and rant & rave about BALANCE, TIME MANAGEMENT, PRIORITY ETC ETC ETC, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty and get your hands dirty, it is next to impossbile to give your sport and academics the full attention they both deserve.

Now, some of you I bet are thinking, sure you can!! Yes you can!! I know “so & so” and they were NCAA track guru for 4 years straight and is now in law school and med etc etc etc…well I never said that it was impossible, just that its the hardest thing in the world when you have one major force working most of the time against you, what’s this force? LIFE Life involves things like, $$$$$$ paying tuition, paying for food, etc etc etc
See people are built lazy, society dictates how we should be, thats why we have people in this world who call themselves Motivational speakers, ergonomists, ocupational Therapists, etc etc etc

Now final point, lets assume that we take Joe Blow, who is very fortunate and has absolutely nothing to worry about, like money, he is very intelligent, etc etc and so he can more fully focus on his/her studies and their sport. If Mr. Blow is very ambitious and somewhat Obsessive Compulsive about his work (school/sport) and wants to know everything and do everything perfectly (get incredible grades or at least attempt to), they still will find it next to impossible to get 8hrs sleep while training and studying.

Now i know that the purpose of this thread was a simple one, you can go on & on about this and slice a million ways and come up with differing opinions, but the correct answer to this thread is YES sleep is vital to sport/training.

8

It’s all True,

I’m at college even longer than Vito - and I hate to admit it - I’m still here - and the 8 hours is hard to get.
However if you want to be a success at one thing or another - you will have to get around 8 hours a night.

I can’t agree with Vito more - I’ve seen tham all and heard all the stories -
You cannot be 110% successful at sport AND academia

For academic work you can work on fewer hours short-term -
For academic AND sport - you can not do without sleep short term at all -

The long term effects of sleep depravation are not good …

Starting with and progressing to …:
changes to skin,
complexion,
tiredness and lack of concentration,
inability to relax and sleep at night when you actually do go to bed
poor appetite
Irritability,
shakes,
Run down,
Flu,
Sicknesses,
Sore throat,
Swollen glands,
and finally - BANG -
Glangular fever!!!
… then you will have to slow down!

Like I say I’ve seen it all - there may be one or two exceptional geniusses out there, but in general it’s just not possible.

You can try …
Lets add it up for a minute …

24 hours in the day

2 hours training a day
8 Hours sleep
6 Hours College a day
2 Hours combined for meals - breakfast, dinner, lunch or food preparation?
3-4 Hours study a day?
1 Hour Rest?
That’s about 23 hours gone alredy!

And that’s 2 hours Training MINimum and that’s not taking into account walking to the gym and changing

  • also what if you train twice a day?
    6 Hours College a day - Proabably should be 8 hours on Campus
    What if you need to get a wash on?
    How long will it take to run to the shops for food or milk etc?

And all of that with out taking into account a life, a girlfriend (and we all know how much time they can take up!)etc.

My best advice is

  • Always get sleep
  • Eat well
  • Plan the periods where study comes first and sport second and vice versa
  • Try and make them cycle with Rest periods from High CNS weeks.
  • Use periods where academic work comes first as rest and freshness breaks from sport

As Vito said - slice and dice it a million ways - and you can think your better than everyone else - it’s not possible, so plan it right and sensibly.

9

thanks for the advice…
being a senior and a girl in HS makes it even more complicated! i have to leave the house before 7 just to be able to park, and sometimes i do a training session ar 6am…
when do i find the time to blow-dry my hair?? :stuck_out_tongue: haha

10

No snoze…expect to loose.

11

i was careful to get my 8 hours during outdoor, but the cost was that i completely stopped working… sleep dep. is unavoidable first half snr. year! if i can last until dec, hopefully i can start sleeping more again around then- it’s only 3 mos. :rolleyes:

12

Trust me, 5-6 hours sleep is not enough. I get that much sleep with 2 classes, a tutor block and weight training class, plus I train and have other things to do and it sucks. You need sleep. I fall asleep in class all the time but still manage to get good grades, but it can be difficult at times.

Point is that you need sleep and I’m starting to realize that as sleep-deprivation is taking its toll on me quickly. What’s bad is that when I do sleep 8+ hours, I’m even more tired when I get up. Why?

BTW - Clemson, is that you in the avatar?

13

400, if you only get 5-6 hours… i am doomed :frowning:
i’m taking 7 classes, a 6am gym class, and an indept. study… plus sports captain and m.v.p. and applying to college…
what i find weird is that in indoor i was getting less sleep and drinking more coffee, but i still had a lot more gains and strong perfomances than in outdoor. oddly enough i think it was because i was happier in the winter…

14

I cry bullshit…I am coaching swimmers right now and I know that they will get their sleep and they are not only state champions in sport but one plays the trumpet and is the finest in the state. It can be done and my mothersuckers that are lab rats get the sleep or they are bounced out of the training group.

All of them have the girlfriends, grades, and extracurricular stuff as well. No senior shit…I was a senior that every year makes the 100 best schools in Newsweek. Last year we were 30…if we didn’t have a certain innercity program we would be number one. I got the grades, girls and captain my team to three state championships and got two golds and a 4th place.

Shut it down and sleep.

400stud…that IS me…pure playa.

15

I’m not involved in that Sr. crap either. But here’s something not thrown in, what about work? Too many athletes get babied and don’t have to work because mommy and daddy pay for everything allowing them to concentrate on what they want to/need to.

I’m busting my butt trying to get a job and when I get one there is more time gone. I get as much sleep as I can, but trying to do sports, school, work, it’s hard. I did it during track last year and it sucked. But, you get what you can and enjoy it.

Girlfriends - who needs 'em :smiley: I just “play” the field for right now :wink:

Clemson - Something told me it was you. Pimp! How old are you … 21? (nothing personal).

16

21? only when talking to college freshman girls(Tufts on Sunday…3 phone numbers in 20 minutes…)

I have been out of college for a few years.

17

forgot to mention that one- i have to work some nights and weekends to pay for my own food and gas.

but i should stop the whining, all i wanted to know was if sleep dep. NOW will come back to haunt me during the season when i AM getting proper sleep (hopefully.)

speaking of sleep i need a nap to sleep off this day… :cool:

18

haha poor frosh don’t know what they are getting into…

19

Pimp!!!

What’s the secret? I think it has something to do with the fact HS girls are way too dang fickle and go strictly off looks even if a guy is nice.

I am not bad looking, but there are too many pretty-boy white guys cock-blockin’ because they are “so sweet”, yet they wouldn’t know how to handle a woman if a manual “crawled up their butt and gave them orgasm through prostate sensation” (Stewie - VMA’s 2003).

But, I handle mine…just not as much as I’d like.

Now that we are way off topic…I think I want to take a nap :smiley: There’s a good question…if you don’t get 8hrs at night, but only get 5-6 and maybe a 2hr nap if you have time, how would that affect you? Same or different bodily response?

20

Too bad! :wink: Mama should have taught them better :smiley:

As long as Clemson doesn’t turn into R. Kelly it’s all good.