Raise your hand if sleep is something you’d like more of in your life 💤💤💤💤
There are so many benefits of sleep connected to athletic performance including preventing illness, allowing for you body to recover and allowing your heart to rest.
But…what about the mental benefits of sleep for an athlete?
According to the Mayo Clinic, sleep helps athletes maintain cognitive functioning (key for performance)! Sleep also assists in improving the mood states, decreasing irritability. Finally, sleep helps athletes retain memories, which are important for assistance in processes such as visualization! Pretty cool stuff!!
So, today your challenge is to tune into your sleep patterns. Some of you might have a wearable that helps track this, but spend time evaluating what is recorded.
If you don’t have a wearable, consider how you would start this process. Evaluate what you know about yourself regarding getting a sounds night sleep versus a night where you don’t receive a solid night.
Set a goal of tracking your sleep over the next few days! Record the time you went to sleep, wake up time and how many times during the night you woke up or were stirring.