As I explained to you earlier, sleep is important, and more than the quantity, it is the quality of your sleep that has the greatest impact on your health. But for you, as a high-performance athlete, sleep should have an even more important place in your life than your splits. Why and how? I'll come to your rescue and explain everything!
Sleep: the key to recovery
For optimal recovery from your training sessions, quality sleep is essential. Indeed, deep sleep allows the circulation of growth hormones which stimulate the manufacture of cellular tissue, itself essential for the reconstruction of muscle tissue damaged during training. Deep sleep also allows complete and general relaxation of all muscles, especially those that have been used during exercise. This is essential for their regeneration. This moment of inactivity also allows the waste products and toxins accumulated during the intensive sessions to be eliminated in a more optimal way.
Better sleep for less injury
Did you know that the risk of injury is directly related to sleep? Numerous studies have shown that athletes who get little sleep (less than 8 hours per night) are injured on average 1.7 times more during the season. The risk can rise to 3 times more for those who sleep on average less than 5 hours per night.
As we have seen, muscle tissue regenerates best during sleep, so a lack of sleep results in less recovery and the risk of injury increases drastically.
Sleep: the best medicine against diseases
As we have seen, sleep helps the immune system, and getting more sleep makes you less sick. This is even truer for athletes, as studies have shown that athletes who sleep less than 5 hours a night are on average 4.5 times sicker than others during the season. Most of the time, these are only minor colds, but they do reduce the immune system, and therefore make you less efficient in training... and therefore in competition too.
We'll say it again: sleep is an essential health ally, and it has a direct influence on your sporting performance. I therefore invite you to follow my advice to improve the quality of your sleep on a daily basis!
If the practice of sport in the workplace has become a key issue for any responsible employer, it is no less beneficial for all your employees. Your needs are varied, but our solution is unique thanks to cutting-edge technology and fun challenges for a unique experience of connected physical activity. This is the solution chosen by many companies such as Nestlé, Brown Forman, Deloitte or STEF by setting up a Squadeasy challenge in their company.
