When you’re done with a long run or intense workout, it can be tempting to climb into bed and take a nice long nap. Here’s why you should avoid bed… at least for a while.
“Running at your best is about running, but it’s also about the little extras you do to support your run and avoid injury,” says Chris McClung, trainer, co-owner of Rogue Running and co-host of his podcast. Running Rogue. “I recommend all runners stick to a post-workout or post-long-run routine to help the body recover. It’s 15-20 minutes of work after the race to stay healthy.
But how does this affect endurance performance?
A 2018 study in Applied Exercise Science attempted to answer this question. Eleven trained runners completed a 30-minute easy run in the morning, followed by exhaustion runs in the afternoon, with a control test and a lunch break. Runners who improved after napping got significantly less sleep the night before than runners who didn’t (6.4 hours vs. 7.5 hours). These authors concluded that “a short nap improves endurance performance in runners who sleep less than 7.5 hours a night.”
I expected a nap to be awesome and clearly good, but only to justify my desire to be a sleepy donkey. But it seems that a nap may or may not improve performance, with most of the benefits coming from how it contributes to the overall amount of sleep.
Even a short nap is better than none
Even a short nap can be beneficial if you are chronically sleep deprived. The runners in this study slept every 10 to 30 minutes during their nap, approximately 90 minutes before their evening workout.
If you’re constantly tired but take rest days or train for free…
If you’re not training for a race or have days off but are exhausted, that’s beyond your pay level. Go to the doctor to rule out any type of disease.
Running without sleep Riddle
Many of my athletes and friends are in similar situations. You have children who wake up frequently to breastfeed. You have young children in daycare who are constantly getting sick. They sleep an average of 5 or 6 hours a night. It is not enough to be a functional person and much less an athlete.
You face performance plateaus or injuries and wonder why. Here’s why: You’re not getting enough sleep.
