Lecture 9: Sleep, Recovery and Rest Flashcards
How many hours of sleep do we tend to have
Newborn; 2/3 of the day (polyphasic = several sleep episodes occur in 24h period)
End of infancy; 12-13h
Early childhood; 10-11
Young adulthood; 7-8h
Old age; 7-8h, polyphasic
explain the quality and duration of sleep of athletes compared to people who are physically inactive
athletes sleep longer and better than people who are physically inactive
how many hours of sleep are recommended and how many hours were average for athletes
7-9h, 6-7h
explain how training times, morning and evening types, training forms, overtraining, naps and nutrition influence sleep
- training times; early training sessions lead to shorter than recommended sleeping time
- morning and evening types; people who prefer early mornings tend to do sports that require training in the morning and same for evenings
- training forms; intensive intermittent exercise results in a higher recovery requirement than strength training, and therefore increased sleep time
- overtraining; sleep efficiency is significantly reduced in the transition from symptoms of overuse to overtraining, often interpreted to mean that sleep disorders occur in parallel with overtraining
- naps; naps seem to be a suitable method for athletes to reduce sleep debt, can be beneficial in learning skills, strategies or tactics
- nutrition; nutritional behavior can also have an influence on sleep. For example, carbohydrates that can be quickly absorbed by the body seem to be more supportive of sleep if they are taken about an hour before going to bed. On the other hand, high amounts of fat seem to reduce the total sleeping time.
explain four points about the relation between sleep and competitions
- sleep was reported to be worse before competitions, but there are no differences comparing sleep quality scores
- there was a correlation between anxiety before a competition and how recovered athletes felt after sleep
- multiple-day competitions with varying starting times can have a negative effect on quality and duration of sleep
- stressful situations, such as competitions, might alter the dream content of athletes and consequently evoke disturbed dreaming
what are 6 recommendations for sleep promoting activities
-
Establish a bedtime routine:
- rituals and/or repetitive behaviors associated with sleep to prepare body and mind for the night
- relaxation or stress management strategies to reduce cognitive and emotional arousal -
Develop a positive mindset towards sleep:
- challenge irrational attitudes and beliefs about sleep
- accept occasional occurrences of sleeplessness and unrestful sleep -
Limit use of electronic devices before bedtime:
- avoid emission of blue light which suppresses melatonin release (inhibiting sleepiness)
- reduce activities that may cause cognitive and/or emotional arousal -
Sleep extension:
- extended sleep periods may enhance performance and mood
- must be aligned with the schedule
- beneficial as long as sufficient drive to sleep at night is generated -
Daytime naps:
- to reduce acute sleepiness
- must be aligned with appropriate time of the day and schedule
- establish individual optimal duration (ideally avoiding deep sleep and REM sleep for short-term recovery) -
Sleep hygiene recommendations:
- arrange the bedroom dark, quiet, and cool
- avoid alcohol, caffeine and stimulating beverages before bedtime
- reduce cognitive and physical strain before bedtime
explain 4 different kinds of recovery (time-wise)
- regeneration = on the micro level, recovery is achieved through physiological processes that take place to restore the hormonal, cellular and fluid balance, among others, to undo the fatigue or damage which is induced by training and competition
- immediate recovery = takes place between rapid, time-proximal finite efforts
- short-term recovery = recovery between training sets, with different work-to-rest ratios that are suggested
- training/competition recovery = the time between separate sessions or bouts
what are 4 recovery strategies
- Physical recovery strategies; e.g. cool-down activities, stretching
- Psychological strategies; e.g. relaxation techniques, systematic breathing
- Social recovery; e.g. visiting family/friends, phone, messaging
- Pro-active recovery; e.g. mindfulness practices, purposeful breaks, changing task/environment
explain the difference between functional overreaching and non-functional overreaching
Training is a process of overload that is deliberately used to disturb homoeostasis, which causes acute fatigue and eventually leads to an improvement in performance
after recovery. Thus, short-term decrements in performance are intentionally anticipated in terms of functional overreaching to achieve the effect of supercompensation. An imbalance between training load and recovery will lead to non-functional overreaching, where the first signs of psychological and hormonal disturbances will occur.
explain overtraining syndrome
Overtraining as a verb indicates a process of intensified training with possible outcomes of short-term (functional) overreaching, non-functional overreaching or overtraining syndrome. “By using the expression ‘syndrome’, we emphasize the multifactorial aetiology and acknowledge that exercise (training) is not necessarily the sole causative factor of the syndrome”
explain underrecovery
precondition of overtraining syndrome, which is characterized by an imbalance between life demands and recovery
what are 4 interventions that can be taught to someone showing signs of overreaching/overtraining syndrome
- recovery-stress monitoring; engage consciously in a mood-repair mode in which he would deliberately choose activities, music and readings with a mood-enhancing impact
- activities outside the sport
- increase awareness of training intensity and recovery aspects
- autogenic training to support the re-establishment of his emotional balance and enhance his recovery capacity
T/F: it is important to monitor training and recovery process and use self-report measures
true
explain recovery management in sport
- recovery can be realized through either terminating or reducing stress or through change of activities
- recovery strategies should always be implemented purposefully and in accordance with the individual’s preferences
- self-monitoring is important, as insufficient knowledge on recovery and/or individually inadequate recovery activities as well as insufficient self-regulation are major contributors to underrecovery
- self-control is needed to initiate appropriate recovery strategies, which even may be effortful and require additional resources
explain recovery paradox
When there is an increased necessity to recover in the face of high stressors, but the likelihood to actually recover under these circumstances is reduced
explain chronic recovery and acute recovery
Withholding recovery at certain times (most commonly in preparation phase) serves to maximize adaptation to training in the long-term (chronic recovery). In terms of acute recovery, increased recovery should be used to decrease acute fatigue during the competition phase or to prepare for certain training sessions.
