Side Sleeping Position
Place your head on a firm pillow with your face straight ahead. Bend your knees with a pillow in between your legs to keep your spine aligned with your knees pointing away from your chest.
Sleep plays a vital role in our overall health, and it is especially critical for athletes and people who are highly active and strength train regularly. During sleep, our body goes into recovery mode, releasing hormones and other chemicals that repair and restore muscle. A good night’s sleep gives you both the rest and recuperation your body needs to perform well, whether you are an elite athlete or exercise enthusiast. So, exactly how does this process work? Read on and we’ll explain.
The short answer is yes. But none of us just wake up with killer muscles–the process is a bit more complicated. To fully grasp it we first need to understand how sleep works.
There are two different types of sleep:
Each night, you cycle through these stages several times with increasingly more extended periods of REM.
During REM sleep, we dream. Our muscles relax and are relieved of tension and are temporarily paralyzed to prevent us from acting out our dreams.
REM sleep occurs after three stages of non-REM sleep, also known as slow-wave or deep sleep. It’s during this time that the body works to restore itself. Our blood pressure drops, our breathing slows and deepens, and our brains relax. Blood supply to the muscles also increases feeding muscles with oxygen and nutrients.
During non-REM sleep, the pituitary gland in our brains secretes a hearty dose of human growth hormone (HGH), which goes to work stimulating tissue growth and muscle repair.
Sleep sharpens the coordination and function of our muscles and muscle movement patterns, and thus improves athletic performance. Stanford University researchers recently put this theory to the test, recruiting elite NCAA men’s and women’s swimming teams.
For the first two weeks of the study, students maintained their usual sleep-wake schedules. In the next phase of the study, swimmers extended their sleep to 10 hours a night. After each swim practice, their athletic performance was assessed. At the end of the study, researchers found that with the extra sleep swimmers, on average, swam faster, reacted quicker off the blocks, improved turn times, and added five additional kicks.
When the researchers tried the same study on varsity basketball players, they saw similar results—players who slept at least 10 hours at night ran faster and made more shots.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the more a person experiences deep sleep, the more Human Growth Hormone is released. However, if you don’t get sufficient sleep, you don’t receive as much growth hormone secretion. According to a study published in the Journal Medical Hypotheses, a deficiency of this critical hormone is linked to loss of muscle mass and reduced exercise capacity.
Side Sleeping Position
Place your head on a firm pillow with your face straight ahead. Bend your knees with a pillow in between your legs to keep your spine aligned with your knees pointing away from your chest.
Back Sleeping Position
Place your head straight onto your pillow, keeping the neck long. Use a pillow under your knees to keep your back in a neutral position.
Strenuous exercise causes damage to the muscles; this triggers an immune response that can cause muscle inflammation resulting in sore muscles. Here are some ways you can ease muscle soreness and get a good night’s sleep:
Nutrition is an important part of an athlete’s training plan. But it also plays a vital role in our quality of sleep. When you exercise, your muscles use up stored glucose, called glycogen.
Getting a healthy dose of proteins, carbohydrates, and healthy fats after your workout can replenish glycogen supply and help speed repair of muscles.
Adequate protein and resistance training is so important for maintaining and building healthy muscle mass. Be sure to spread your intake of protein throughout the day. Make sure breakfast, lunch, and dinner all contain a good source of protein.” – Katie Dodd, Board Certified Specialist in Gerontological Nutrition
For optimal sleep, consider these nutrition tips before bedtime:
Research has shown that regular and adequate sleep helps repair and restore muscles, increases muscle strength and mass, and improves athletes’ performance. With so many benefits, sleep should be a part of every athlete’s and exercise enthusiast’s workout regimen.
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