Sleep & Training

December 2, 2010
by Stephen R. Santangelo

http://www.primalfitness-systems.com/articles/archives/2010/therapeutic/sleep-and-training.html

Sleep should be at the top of everyone’s list, especially athletes, for optimum recovery and performance. We have all had a great night of sleep and we have all experienced restless nights where we couldn’t get a moment of shut eye.

Recovery from hard training demands solid sleep.

There are many factors which influence your ability to maintain a constant level of deep sleep; eating, exercise, hormone imbalances, stress, emotions and everyday life occurrences.

Most people have at one time or another taken a sleep aid, whether it’s an aspirin or prescription aids.

Be aware if you’re thinking of taking sleeping pills there are many side effects. Sleeping pills are very powerful anti-cholinergics, which suppress REM sleep and dreaming, which are 2 very important aspects for the body needs to regenerate and recover next day’s training session.

In 2008, doctors had prescribed more than 56 million prescriptions for sleeping pills for Americans. On top of this Americans spent more than $600 million on over-the-counter sleep aids. Can you imagine what these numbers must be worldwide?

Before any decision is made to take pharmaceuticals, take a look at your training regimen, food intake and how you can change your mental and emotional state to improve overall life. If you want the maximum benefits for all your hard earn training then you must take responsibility for these changes in order to move forward with your health and athletics.


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