Will extra zzz's put you into a higher gear?

As a female cyclist how is getting a better night's sleep going to help your cycling performance? Will getting extra zzz's put you into a higher gear?

What is sleep?

Sleep is a vital body function. During sleep your body continues to operate with many repair and regenerative roles being carried out that cannot be done while you are awake. Some of the major organs and regulatory systems continue to work actively and some parts of the body go into near shut down to undergo repair and recovery work. Hormones are replenished, various cells are renewed, body temperature is lowered by one or two degrees so the metabolic rate drops by up to 20 per cent, and generally your body undergoes a mini overhaul, ready to face the next day.

Not only does your body undertake physical maintenance, creative and regenerative work while you sleep, but it also reprograms, renews and restores your mental and emotional well-being. Sleep is an integral part of who we are and of what we need to survive and thrive. We need sleep to heal our physical and emotional wounds.

What happens if I don't sleep?

In a study performed by Harvard University it was established that only 100 years ago, people slept an average of 9.5 hours per day. Today, the average is 7.5 hours per day. This means that an Australian person with an average lifespan of 80 years will be deprived of 2.5 years of sleep less than our pioneers.

Lack of sleep has serious effects on our brain's ability to function. If you've ever pulled an all-nighter, you'll be familiar with the following after-effects: grumpiness, grogginess, irritability and forgetfulness. After just one night without sleep, concentration becomes more difficult and attention span shortens considerably.

With continued lack of sufficient sleep, the part of the brain that controls language, memory, planning and sense of time is severely affected, practically shutting down. In fact, 17 hours of sustained wakefulness leads to a decrease in performance equivalent to a blood alcohol level of 0.05% (two glasses of wine).

Research also shows that sleep-deprived individuals often have difficulty in responding to rapidly changing situations and making rational judgements. In real life situations, the consequences are grave and lack of sleep is said to have been be a contributory factor to a number of international disasters such as Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and the Challenger shuttle explosion.

Sleep deprivation not only has a major impact on cognitive functioning but also on emotional and physical health. Disorders such as sleep apnoea, which result in excessive daytime sleepiness, have been linked to stress and high blood pressure. Research has also suggested that sleep loss may increase the risk of obesity because chemicals and hormones that play a key role in controlling appetite and weight gain are released during sleep.

In a 2004 report titled 'Wake Up Australia - The Value of Healthy Sleep' it was noted that those who had an average sleep of only six hours a night also suffered double the morbidity rate as those who have eight hours or more.

How much sleep do I need?

Every person is an individual and finding that perfect solution to your sleep requirements involves taking into account other factors such as stress, work commitments, parenting and home duties, social life, and health and fitness goals.

Jim Horne from Loughborough University's Sleep Research Centre has a simple answer though: "The amount of sleep we require is what we need not to be sleepy in the daytime."

The ideal sleep pattern is one from which you wake naturally, without the use of an alarm clock. Your body has its own internal clock that tells it when it has had enough sleep.

According to Dr Judith Reichmann from America's Today Show, 'It's not just the quantity of sleep that's counts, but also the quality. To feel fully rested, your brain must go through five phases of sleep. In addition, you need to spend enough time in each phase. Anything that interrupts these phases contributes to your fatigue.'

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults receive between seven and nine hours sleep at night. Dame Margaret Thatcher, in her term as British Prime Minister, may have gotten away with four hours of sleep a night but the majority of us just can't function on that amount of sleep time.

As an athlete is my performance comprised by lack of sleep?

According to Dr Peter Walters, Assistant Professor of Kinesiology at US Wheaton College, three key areas of athletic performance can be affected by a lack of sleep.

Cardiovascular performance. Cumulative sleep deprivation has been shown to reduce cardiovascular performance by 11%. So how much sleep do you have to miss before this begins to happen? Studies have shown that 30-36 hours of sleep deprivation can result in a loss of performance. If an athlete needs eight hours' sleep yet only gets six, he/she will accumulate enough sleep debt in 15 days to significantly reduce their cardiovascular performance. Think about an athlete cramming for exams late into the night and getting up for an early morning training session. In just over two weeks his/her athletic performance could be impaired.

Information processing. During sleep our brain has a chance to sort, prioritise and file all the information we have taken in during the day. Mental functioning decreases nearly twice as rapidly as physical performance, so an athlete may feel physically fit but chances are they can't recall the tactical information you gave them yesterday during practice, and they will struggle to make effective decisions during a match or event.

Emotional stability. Even minimal levels of sleep loss result in an increased perception of effort. You will feel more fatigued, your mood will have dropped and clearly you will not be in the type of mental state needed for a top performance.

How do I create the best environment for a good night's sleep?

Here are some tips to improve your sleep environment:

  • Invest in a mattress that will allow sleep in an anatomically neutral position - correct posture has huge benefits for your health both during sleep and in life;
  • Make sure the room is at the right temperature - you will have more chance of staying asleep if you are comfortable and not too hot or cold during the night;
  • Ensure the room is very dark - light can trick your body into waking up;
  • If noise cannot be controlled, invest in a pair of earplugs - noise can disturb you both when you are awake and when you are asleep;
  • Make your bedroom primarily a place for sleeping and not for working, paying bills or watching TV. By using your bed only for sleeping, you will train your brain and body to switch off and go into its natural, daily and healthy sleep pattern;
  • Avoid using appliances producing electro magnetic waves i.e. TV, radio, mobile phones, heating, water beds etc. - research has shown that these electro-magnetic waves can interrupt your natural sleep cycles.

Lack of sleep affects all areas of life quality so it is a certain that the more zzz's you can get the better your cycling performance will be.

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