#65 - Sleep & Athletes with Dr. Michael Grandner pt.2

Sleep Routine

Creating a consistent sleep routine is crucial for athletes to ensure restful sleep, even when traveling. Matthew Walker advises athletes to replicate their home sleep environment in hotel rooms by bringing familiar items like pillows and playlists. Dr. Michael Grandner emphasizes the importance of starting the day with light and movement to signal the body that it's morning, regardless of the time zone 1 2.

The more that you can start your day with that bright light pulse, get the muscles moving, you don't have to be like running in the morning, you just have to get moving.

--- Dr. Michael Grandner

Additionally, they recommend using strategies like daylight exposure and strategic eating to mitigate the effects of bad sleep during travel 1.

   

Sleep Banking

Banking sleep before events and travel can help athletes maintain performance despite sleep disruptions. Michael Grandner explains that getting good sleep for a week or two before a challenging period can make athletes more resilient to occasional rough nights. He compares this to maintaining a healthy diet, where occasional indulgences don't have severe consequences if the overall diet is balanced 3.

If you know you're about to go into debt, you can add some credit. And then the hit that you take in terms of the depth of your debt is much less.

--- Matthew Walker

Walker adds that early naps can create resilience against sleep deprivation, reinforcing the concept of sleep banking 4.

   

Sleep Environment

Creating a conducive sleep environment is essential, especially during travel. Walker and Grandner discuss the importance of making hotel rooms feel as familiar as possible by bringing personal sleep aids like pillows and playlists. They also highlight the need to block out light and noise in hotel rooms to improve sleep quality 2 1.

It's so funny that I'm sure you get this now too, being out in the public that now I get a wonderful bounty of emails every week exclusively dedicated to what people, the contortions that people do with their hotel rooms.

--- Matthew Walker

Additionally, they recommend using light and movement to signal the body when it's time to wake up, helping to adjust to new time zones 2.