Top Sleep Tips For Runners For Better Training And Better Races

Sleep is a crucial ingredient in the recipe to running success. It doesn't matter how fine tuned the rest of our running regime is including weekly distance, the type of workouts we do, our nutrition, or what gear we have. If our sleep isn't right, we'll never be able to reach our full potential.
Being someone who has suffered from mild insomnia for many years, with occasional bouts of severe insomnia, I know what it's like to not have great sleep and the consequences this can have in day to day life. When I experience severe bouts of insomnia in particular, I always notice that - in addition to lots of other problems - my running training performance goes downhill pretty fast.
Whilst I'm certainly no medical professional, sleep scientist or sleep psychologist, the topic of sleep interests me a lot and I've racked up quite a bit of knowledge in the topic of sleep through sheer personal interest.
In this video, I'll share some top tips for getting better sleep so that you can improve your running and have better training and better races.
Thanks for watching and happy running! Or, should I say happy sleeping?
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Timestamps:
00:00 - Introduction
01:18 - Sleep for better training tip 1: Substances
03:00 - Sleep for better training tip 2: Regularity
04:05 - Sleep for better training tip 3: Duration
04:48 - Sleep for better training tip 4: Temperature
05:26 - Sleep for better training tip 5: Darkness
06:40 - Sleep for better training: Honourable mentions
07:05 - Sleep for better races tip 1: Follow the general principles
07:23 - Sleep for better races tip 2: Boss your admin
08:46 - Sleep for better races tip 3: Manage jet lag
09:44 - Sleep for better races tip 4: Visualisation
10:44 - Sleep for better races tip 5: Research accommodation thoroughly
11:47 - Summary & Conclusion
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[@Kelly_Ben]

Great, realistic video! I've researched it for years, but I really like your running related and science backed approach. As a lifelong insomniac with a broken circadian rhythm, this is a subject near and dear to my heart. My issue means my body doesn't have those regular chemical cycles like normal people. I'm hit by that tired, lethargic, "go to bed" feeling very rarely, and usually during daylight hours, so I've switched to night shifts so that I can take advantage of that. It makes early morning races tough, but thankfully there are plenty of ultras that start later. (Makes running through the night easier, too! 😂)

[@runningcafe1]

Thanks for that Kelly, much appreciated. I'm sorry to hear that you've experienced those problems. By the sounds of it, your issues are much more severe than mine but I know what it's like to not be able to sleep properly for long periods of time. It bloody sucks, to say the least! That's what I decided to research sleep in a bit of detail and find out what works and what doesn't. Glad you've been able to make a change that works for you. I love night time running too!

[@catherinebowles5495]

Superb video, really informative and interesting 👍

[@runningcafe1]

Thanks Catey!

[@markg99]

Alcohol has a noticable effect on my sleep, and REM. I might have 2 or 3 drinks on a Saturday evening, and my Garmin tells the story of lower quality sleep the next morning.

[@runningcafe1]

It definitely does make a difference. Even if it helps you getting to sleep in the first place, it usually always interrupts the quality of your sleep and REM as you say