Spring Into Solid Sleep Habits

With spring around the corner, we are close to setting our clocks an hour ahead on March 8. This is the perfect time to dial in good sleep habits to improve focus and performance.

Poor sleep is the culprit behind many issues for youth athletes such as:

• Incomplete recovery between activity

• Decreased growth hormone release

• Increased risk of injury

• Poor decision-making/brain function in games and school

• Mood swings and poor emotional regulation

• Decreased immune system function

• Reduced strength and power output

Needless to say the best legal performance enhancer is sleep and yet many athletes are falling well short of what is needed to be at their best.

Youth athletes should be targeting 8-10 hours of sleep per night (sometimes even more).

Here’s what else matters for good sleep:

• Aiming for consistent wake up/go to bed times - out body likes predictability and will respond well to a routine

• Screens off an hour before bed

• A cool (approximately 68 degrees), dark room

• Establish a wind down routine (stretch, read, journal, etc.)

• Avoiding caffeine after 3pm

• Morning sunlight exposure upon waking

Given that this is a lot steps, I encourage youth athletes to adopt 1-2 of these habits, discover what works best for them and stick to that. Very few athletes are doing any of these so small steps in the right direction will give you a leg up on the competition.

Don’t be overwhelmed by this information. Start basic and build out! If you are already sleeping 8-10 hours, you are on the right track.