Sleep is a cornerstone in training. Sleep accelerates the recovery process of our body, readying us physically and mentally for the challenges of a new day of working, training or competing.

Sleep can be divided in two types:
- NREM (non-rapid eye movement) which is subdivided in 4 stages according to the degree of consciousness degree
- REM which is when the dream process happens. Usually the REM type occurs as the four-stage NREM cycle begins.

All of us need to sleep. But there is a huge variation in the duration and deepness of each stage each person requires for the activation and recovery process to occur. The deeper the sleep the bigger the restoration and healing process of the mind and body is.

Some people need only 5 hours of sleep to be fully recovered, while others need at least 9 hours every night. For most of us, the average time of 8 hours is enough. It is beneficial to know how much sleep is necessary to satisfy your personal needs.

While it is well-known that sleep duration is important in achieving a good night rest, it isn’t the prime factor. As mentioned above, the deepness of the sleep fulfills an essential role in allowing the body’s renewal process to occur.

When we sleep many metabolic processes regulate our body’s functions, through a series of hormone changes that result in an increase of blood flow to the muscles, diminishing the metabolic process and improving the immune response, which allows a mental and physical recovery.

Many studies show that people who sleep less have a tendency to age quicker and are more inclined to infections, obesity and diabetes as a direct consequence of hormonal irregularity due to sleep deprivation or superficial sleep.

For example, the early aging of international airline crews can be attributed for a large part to their irregular work hours, flying across time zones and at night which confuses their biological clocks (circadian rhythms) and sleep cycles.

In a world that grows more competitive and frantic every day, people are giving up their precious sleeping hours for work requirements or social activities. Many believe that sleeping less will make the body adapt to this new pattern, earning “extra hours” without hindering their physical and mental performance.

Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way. Sleep deprivation harms the body and interferes with its natural functions. There is no such thing as a savings account where sleeping more hours one night will compensate for the hours lost another.

During the time I worked as a pilot, I had to learn what factors could improve my quality of sleep and reduce the effects of jetlag. Doing that also taught me how to adjust my training schedule along with my trips so that I would have consistency during the training season.

For the majority of the age group athletes a partial loss of sleep is common. Work and social activities usually cause an irregular sleeping pattern. This pattern can inhibit or diminish our capacity to recover because this is related to sleep’s deepest phases when hormones are released.

One of these hormones is the human growth hormone (HGH) which - when associated with other hormones - increases the recovery of body functions.

The three main effects of the release of HGH are: increased protein synthesis in all the body cells, increased use of free fatty acids (FFA) used as energy source and decrease of the glucose for energy. The balance between HGH and insulin promotes glucogen storage during sleep.

Sleep deprivation may increase cortisol levels causing a catabolic effect, especially over muscular proteins, making it difficult to restore the muscle-skeleton system. It’s good to remember that cortisol has an important anti-inflammatory effect, extremely important to preserve life. Hence, sleep is the cornerstone in preserving our health.

Below are some tips on how to improve your sleep:

- Take a warm shower, use relaxation techniques or have a massage. An example is the TP therapy recommended in the Method.

- Sleep in a quiet, well-ventilated dark room keeping a pleasant temperature of around 21˚ C or 69˚F

- Try to go to bed every night at the same time. If you’re more tired than usual, go to bed earlier to avoid waking up later than usual.

- At night, try to eat light meals. Avoid caffeine due to its stimulant properties.

- Avoid watching TV, reading books or magazines right before going to bed or any other activities that end up being a mental stimulant.

Sleep is one of the most important pillars for recovery and its privation or changes in its patterns can cause symptoms like: fatigue, drowsiness during the day, loss of short- and long-term memory, mood changes, reduced cognitive capacities, slower rational thinking, lack of concentration, early aging, immune system weakness, reduced muscular tone, lack of stamina, tendency towards obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular and gastrointestinal diseases.

So, enjoy your sleeping hours the best you can. It will give you a better disposition for your daily challenges. It will help you in your training, allowing your body to receive new and higher training loads, reducing injuries, infections and overtraining.

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Juliano Ciruelos, Certified ironguides Method Coach – Curitiba, Brazil
http://www.ironguides.net
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