It is generally not recommended to go straight to bed after an evening of exercise. However, many athletes remain active late into the evening this summer. How difficult is it for the quality of sleep and recovery of their bodies?
For an athlete, good preparation includes not only plenty of training and good nutrition, but also adequate sleep and above all good quality. With a summer full of sports before the athlete, a busy schedule awaits. For commercial reasons, the European Football Championship matches are held regularly later in the evening. This is not necessarily healthy.
In any case, it’s not a good idea to be active late in the evening, says sports doctor Casper Janssen. Then the athletes go to bed later, do not sleep well, so that the quality of their sleep is lower and they do not fully recover the next day. This can manifest as muscle pain that lasts longer.
Sleep quality is important
Sleep expert Els van der Helm also agrees that deep sleep is important for muscle recovery. “We’ve done a lot of research among athletes and we see that they report that they sleep worse after a game than on the other nights.”
According to Van der Helm, this is due to the fact that athletes produce more stress hormones than in the evening when they are not active late. The stress hormone, also known as cortisol, causes the body to wake up. “Your body then prepares to run or fight to protect itself. It’s very hard to fall asleep when your body thinks it’s in danger.”
“Bright stadium light does not help. It can ensure that the sleep hormone melatonin is suppressed.”
Els van der Helm, sleep expert
In addition, according to Van der Helm, there are a number of other factors that affect the quality of sleep after a long evening of sports. “For example, bright stadium light does not help, but rather can ensure that the sleep hormone melatonin is blocked, so that athletes can fall asleep less quickly once they return to the hotel room,” says the sleep expert.
“The body temperature also rises during exercise. If the athlete wants to sleep after that, it is necessary for the body temperature to drop, but this takes a few hours.”
You can make up for sleep deprivation
For athletes who know they are going to have an intense summer of sports, it is possible to prepare for this not only by training a lot, but also by sleeping well. this will be bank sleep called, Jansen says. “The bottom line is that the athletes then sleep at least a week in advance, in order to make up for the lack of sleep later.”
“With a ‘full cycle nap’ you go through a full sleep cycle in an hour and a half.”
Kasper Janssen, Sports Physician
The Sports Physician also believes that sleeping less after a competition should not be a problem in principle if the athletes are getting enough sleep. For example, using the so-called full cycle nap Takes. Within an hour and a half you go through a full sleep cycle, so you also fall into a deep sleep. This is especially important for physical recovery. You have to train this beforehand and not try it on match day.”
Improvement with sleep recovery
For about ten years now, Janssen says, the team’s doctors have taken the importance of good sleep seriously. “Top athletes receive training on how to recover better. Nutrition is being examined, but also how they can improve their recovery through sleep.” It also applies to athletes who benefit from regularity. “So don’t sleep on a competition-free day, but get up early and find the daylight quickly.”
Do players have to play a match after a bad night and there is no time for one match full cycle napSo, according to Van der Helm, afternoon naps help you perform better during competition. That’s what Jansen says. “The study of netball players found that players who took naps had better jump power than players who did not close their eyes for a while.” According to the Sports Physician, a snooze beforehand works best if it occurs at least three hours in advance and takes no longer than twenty minutes. “Otherwise, you will feel this light-hearted feeling.”
