#30 - Nick Littlehales | Improving your Relationship with Sleep and Recovery
Jun 9, 2020
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Nick Littlehales, world leader in sleep and recovery for athletes, talks about his work with teams like Manchester United and Arsenal, the R90 technique for better sleep, understanding chronotypes and sleep cycles, and incorporating rest and recovery in sports. The podcast also discusses the impact of sleep on player performance, the importance of recovery and flexible working, optimizing sleep habits, and improving sleep for optimal performance.
By understanding natural chronotype wake times and occupational wake times, individuals can design a sleep routine based on 90-minute cycles.
Controlled recovery periods (CRPs) play a vital role in achieving optimal recovery.
By shifting the focus from traditional sleep patterns to recovery, individuals can view sleep as a natural and straightforward process.
Coaches can use the five-cycle routine and sleep recovery principles to plan optimal recovery for athletes.
Deep dives
Adopting a five-cycle routine for better sleep and recovery
By understanding natural chronotype wake times and occupational wake times, individuals can design a sleep routine based on 90-minute cycles. For example, waking up at 8 am and dividing the day into 90-minute cycles, one can plan their day accordingly. By including controlled recovery periods (CRPs), individuals can optimize their recovery without focusing on traditional sleep patterns. This approach helps individuals adapt to different work schedules, overcome sleep-related worries, and achieve better quality sleep and recovery.
Utilizing CRPs and balancing cycles for optimal recovery
Controlled recovery periods (CRPs) play a vital role in achieving optimal recovery. These periods can be taken throughout the day, typically lasting 30 minutes, to provide mental and physical recovery. By including short breaks every 90 minutes, individuals can refresh their minds and protect their evening recovery. This approach allows for greater adaptability and resilience when facing changes in daily schedules or unexpected situations. Additionally, planning for a balanced number of cycles in a week, such as aiming for 35 cycles, ensures consistent recovery benefits.
Shifting mindset and focusing on recovery instead of sleep
By shifting the focus from traditional sleep patterns to recovery, individuals can view sleep as a natural and straightforward process. A five-cycle routine (or slightly adjusted cycles) allows for flexible approaches to recovery while adapting to various work schedules or external factors. This approach reduces stress and worry associated with rigid sleep requirements, as individuals can prioritize mental and physical recovery through scheduled CRPs and balancing cycles.
Considerations for coaches and athletes in planning recovery
Coaches can use the five-cycle routine and sleep recovery principles to plan optimal recovery for athletes. By understanding each athlete's natural wake time and aligning training or competition schedules accordingly, coaches can ensure athletes receive adequate recovery. Coordinated CRPs, whether midday or early evening, support performance optimization. The focus shifts to mental and physical recovery, as well as consistent, quality sleep to enhance overall well-being and performance.
The Importance of Sleep and Recovery
Getting adequate sleep and allowing time for recovery is crucial for optimum performance and well-being. Challenging the recommended eight hours of sleep and not prioritizing recovery can have negative consequences. Having a random approach to sleep without considering circadian rhythms, quarantine, or a structured routine can lead to various issues such as injuries, anxiety, stress, organ failure, and mental health problems. Therefore, it is important to understand the significance of sleep and develop a consistent and mindful approach to optimize recovery.
Creating an Optimal Sleep Environment
The environment in which one sleeps can significantly impact the quality of sleep and recovery. Taking lessons from working with professional athletes, optimizing the sleep environment can lead to better deep sleep and REM sleep. Factors such as exposure to light, blackout curtains, hygiene, postural alignment, and familiar sounds or scents can promote better sleep. Attention to details like cleanliness, air quality, and personal comfort can enhance the sleep environment, leading to improved recovery and overall well-being.
Practical Strategies for Better Sleep and Recovery
To improve sleep and recovery, it is crucial to establish a balanced and consistent approach. This can include understanding one's chronotype, embracing polyphasic sleep cycles, incorporating pre- and post-sleep routines, and balancing activity with recovery. Healthy habits like exposure to light, staying hydrated, taking distracted breaks, and creating a relaxing sleep environment can enhance sleep quality. While advanced sleep products and tools can be beneficial, they should be viewed as complementary to a well-rounded sleep and recovery strategy. Education, self-awareness, and consistent implementation of these strategies are key to optimizing sleep and recovery.
Nick Littlehales is one of the the worlds leaders in in sleep and recovery for athletes.
Having worked with teams such as Manchester United, Arsenal, Team Sky cycling team and even athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo.
In this episode we talk about the work that Nick did with these teams, how he got them to view sleep and recovery differently and the creation of the game changing R90 technique that stems from the idea of the aggregation of marginal gains, the 1%ers that make you that little bit better. We go into understanding your chronotype, sleep cycles and using moments throughout the day to rest and recover. All of this to help you have a different relationship with sleep and recovery.
It will be a place for those in sport, where you can access simple to follow and understand sessions to improve flexibility, strength balance and more. As well as tools to manage your mind with issues such as stress, anxiety, nerves, frustration.
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