The Science of Swimming and Sleeping

Getting a Good Night's Rest Makes a Big Difference

by: Garrett Weber-Gale

11/13/10

As a young swimmer I never really paid attention to how much I slept.

I’d go to bed when I finished everything for the day and generally I would always wake up tired. On occasion, during my taper periods of the year, I would wake up naturally and feel like a million bucks.

This year the thought came into my mind of, “what if I could feel good most mornings when I wake up?” It’s a bit odd that this never seriously crossed my mind earlier in life. I think maybe, like many of you, I came to the conclusion that feeling tired and still worn out from the day before was just a fact of life. This year I set a goal for myself: I want to feel good when I wake up.

In the early days and weeks of working on this goal I was still doubtful it was possible, at least consistently. My first order of business was to keep track of when I went to sleep. In general I would go to sleep between 10:30 and 11pm. The three weekday mornings when I workout I woke up at 5:50am. The other two mornings I generally rose at around 9am.

Some of you who may know me are well aware that I’m an extremely excitable person. The smallest things can send me off into a crazy spurt of excitement, which often includes running around and/or screaming something! While I love being excitable, this is sometimes difficult to manage when it is time to go to sleep. When we travel on the USA Swimming National team, we have a great sports psychologist with us named Jim Bauman. Jim says going to sleep is not something that just happens, you need to prepare for it. Just like pre-race preparation we need to do a pre-sleep preparation in order to get ourselves relaxed and ready for bed.

Plain and simple, I decided my bedtime needed to be earlier. I decided I would make it my goal to be in my room by 9pm. Dr. Bauman also explained how the blue light in monitors actually stimulates us, which makes it harder to fall asleep. After 9 there is no TV or computer for me.

From 9pm on I stretch, read a book, write in a notebook, meditate, or roll my muscles out on a foam roller. What I quickly found was that I was ready to go to sleep within 45 minutes of the ‘quiet time’. Not only was I ready to go to bed earlier but once I got in bed it felt so natural to drift off into sleep. Before I could lie in bed for almost an hour before falling asleep.

I realize it is difficult for most of you to start the ‘quiet time’ at 9pm. When I was in school there was no way I could have done this on a regular basis either. So here’s my advice: At whatever time you can go to bed, begin to prepare yourself for sleep at least 20 minutes beforehand. My point is don’t just go straight from studying to lying in bed. Help your mind wind down and get ready to drift off. In addition, your muscles will appreciate the light stretching.

I’d love to say this technique works all the time but I’d be lying if I said it did. Certainly there are still times when I have things on my mind. Times when I’m excited, sad, mad, worried, sick, etc. I’m confident that by practicing this technique on a regular basis I’ll become more efficient at falling asleep. My goal is to get to the point where even when these feelings do arise I will still be able to find sleep more easily. What I can tell you is that on a much more regular basis than ever before, I wake up feeling good! Not only does this make my body happy but my mind is thrilled as well.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you!