Sleep, Do Runners Get Enough?

Good sleep and lots of it provides time to renourish the mind and body. It also gives you more energy and can make you less moody and irritable. Heck, it can even help you live longer! So, why do so many of us get so little of it?

Did you know that good training and a good bed are probably the two most important things to a runner preparing for a race, especially an endurance race? Research shows that most people need more sleep, but runners in particular need lots of sleep. Actually as you increase your mileage during training, you should also be increasing the amount of sleep you're getting. Your muscles use sleep to repair themselves. If you shortchange yourself on sleep then you'll be running on tired legs. Running on tired legs means running slower and less efficiently. What do most of us do when we're running slower? Be honest. We often push ourselves harder. Do you see a train wreck about to happen? One way to prevent this tragedy is to make sure you take those rest days that are scheduled in your training plan. No cross-training on your rest days. Use those official "rest days" for exactly that—REST. And, get 8-10 hours of sleep.

Many runners have reported that actually when they cut their mileage a tad and increased the number of hours they slept, they improved their race time. Richard Stark, a coach with the Running Arizona training program in Tempe said that one runner he knows cut his 2:30 marathon time down to 2:18 just by doing exactly that—a little less running and a little more sleep.

Trying to sleep the night before a race is an entirely different story. Nerves can take over keeping the novice and even the elite runner from getting a good night's sleep prior to race day. In the clip below, running coach, Pat Connelly from LA Roadrunners and Valencia High gives several good pointers on how to ensure a good night's sleep before a race.


Marathon Race Day: How much sleep is needed the night before the race?
It's interesting how much sleep runners actually get prior to a big race such as a triathlon. Many will only get 2-6 hours of sleep even though they'll be racing 9-14 hours. In the clip below, see what many triathletes said about their projected hours of sleep just before the Ironman in Kailua Kona, Hawaii.

Hugo Rivera at About.com gives the following four guidelines to ensure a good night's sleep:

1. Avoid activities that involve deep concentration or high physical exertion just before bedtime.
2. Avoid watching disturbing shows at night on TV.
3. Avoid eating a large meal at night.
4. Attempt to totally relax at the same time each night.

For more information on sleep in general, check out this clip from CBS's 60 Minutes.

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