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!

Pike Syndrome

What is the Pike Syndrome all about and what are the implications that we can learn from it?

Firstly, lets learn about the Pike Syndrome.

The pike is a fierce carnivorous fish that eats smaller fishes. In an interesting experiment, scientists took a pike and placed it into a large tank with many smaller fishes. The pike however, was separated from these smaller preys by a layer of glass, forming a barrier preventing the pike from reaching its prey. The pike continuously smashed itself against the glass barrier while trying to reach its prey, but was unsuccessful in its attempts in penetrating this invisible barrier. Gradually, it became discouraged and discontinued this behavior. The pike eventually sank to the bottom of the tank and just laid there. When the pike finally stopped hitting the glass barrier, the scientists removed the barrier, allowing the pike to feast. To their surprise, the pike continued ignoring the smaller fishes, even when they were swimming right next to the pike. Eventually, the pike starved to death, even when its food was swimming right in front of it. This behavior was eventually known as the “Pike Syndrome”

So, what are the lessons we can take from this “Pike Syndrome?”

Well, the Pike Syndrome tells us that our minds are indeed very much in control of our behavior. In the experiment, when the barrier is removed, the fish were swimming right in front of the pike, yet the pike still perceive the barrier to be in place and starved to death. The pike still believed that the barrier was there.

In real life, people are limited by a whole host of barriers such as age, abilities or even self confidence. It does not matter if the barrier is physically there or not, but if our minds perceive a limitation, then a barrier is very much in place. If you perceive yourself to be inferior for instance, this could eventually become a self fulfilling prophecy In addition, this experiment tells us that it is often difficult to identify the change, even when the barrier is removed. The pike was unable to change its mindset when the barrier was removed and starved to death.

Similarly, people suffer from the same problem as well. We often assume that the barrier is still in place when in fact, it has already disappeared. So, do try to identify cases of Pike Syndrome in your life in your coaching. Remove the constraints that limit your life by critically examining the situation and remove any false assumptions that have been previously holding you back. You can change and be a better person! Achieve better interpersonal communication!

On Getting Started When You Don’t Feel Ready

by Sonya Derian

“Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Take the action and your feelings will change.” ~Barbara Baron

A few months ago, I challenged myself with Adventure Boot Camp. I thought, “What would be more challenging than waking up at five in the morning and working out with a group of ladies for an hour, four days a week?”

And I have to say, it was tough! I couldn’t walk for 3 days.

But as the days progressed and my muscles acclimated, it occurred to me: I’m someone who can roll out of bed at 5 AM and within a half hour, lift 8-pound weights over my head while jogging a track. I didn’t know that I could do that!

That’s the thing about taking an action. You don’t know that you can do it until you do it. And then you become someone who does it.

That’s how we grow into new lives.

How often do you stop yourself from doing something, waiting for something else to change before you move forward? You think you need to wait until you’re more prepared, knowledgeable, financially savvy, confident, secure—or insert excuse—to take the action. But then you never get to that place and never take the action. Then 5 years pass and you’re still talking about it, feeling “not ready yet.”

Sound right?

Maybe you feel a sense of urgency to step out, own your power and live our out loud, but aren’t sure what your purpose or path is. So you stop yourself because of the feelings you might confront. It’s easier if you know what you’re doing first. That lets you feel more confident moving forward. Like you won’t make a fool or yourself. Like what you’re doing is “right.”

But what if there’s never that guarantee? What if the only way to find out is by doing it? What if the only way to gain confidence is to do the thing we you’re not yet confident enough to do? What if the only way to gain knowledge is to jump in and find out what you need to learn? What if the only way to get more prepared is to prepare as much as possible, and then learn the rest as you go?

There is always something in us that knows and knows that it knows. We have an inner compass that knows the way. The only way to get feedback from this knowing is through being engaged. Not in our head. Not in our mind. Not in theory but in action. In real time.

It’s like that game we played as kids. Someone hides something, and you go looking for it, waiting to hear “hotter” or “colder” or maybe even “boiling hot!” as you move. Those little pieces of guidance help you figure out whether you’re getting close or not.

The only way to find that item is to start looking not. You can sit around and plan, waiting for the stars to align just right. But you won’t get any feedback until you actually start moving and looking.

Your inner compass does the same. It will always give you feedback on what you need to know, what you need to do differently, what you need to do next—as long as you get out of your head and get moving.

Whatever it is you want to do, it starts with getting out of your comfort zone. You’re not one small person waiting to create big change. You’re a powerful person wanting to create small change. You have tremendous power to create in this world; but just like the energy vortex that exists behind an outlet, that power is useless until you plug it in.

Plug it in.

Sign up for that class. Make the call. Face your taxes. Put up that website, even if it’s not perfect. Pay for the membership—just get on board. Have the difficult conversation. Place the ad. Send off the resume. Go to that networking event. Make the introduction. Get your book-keeping in order. Dust off the manuscript. Distribute the flyer. Get rid of the clutter. Go on that date. Take the trip. Call the publisher. Make the collection call. Ask for the raise. Publish the article. Make the speech. Take the test. Schedule the visit. Call the creditors. Fill in the blank—it’s yours to determine.

Do that thing you’ve been putting off. Don’t wait for your feelings to change to take the action. Just take the action and see how your feelings change.

And remember: you are not doing this for the outcome, although there will be an outcome. You are doing this because you are the creator in your life and you have decided that now is as good a time as any to jump in.

Sonya Derian is the owner and founder of Om Freely, a company dedicated to helping people live out loud, tap into their power, and transform their lives. To pick up your free ebook: Om Freely: 30 Ways to Live Out Loud, please visit http://omfreely.com . Or check out her online store at: http://cafepress.com/omfreely. Photo found here.

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/on-getting-started-when-you-do-not-feel-ready/