The best running performance enhancer is...sleep.
Improving your running performance is optimizing something you do every night.
First off, I couldn't resist putting in a picture of a sleeping koala.
Have you ever seen a koala at a zoo? Let me spare you the details, they will very likely be sleeping. It's a cozy sight.
Koalas got the sleep routine down. Do you?
Did you know that improving your sleep quality and routine can enhance your running performance?
- Naturally increases anabolic hormones (muscle building)
- Improves alertness, vigor, and mood
- Decreases fatigue
The opposite is true too. Poor sleep negatively affects your running performance as well.
Sleep is really important to get right. Here are my favorite tips to get better sleep.
Improve your sleep hygiene
Sleep hygiene is essentially a routine to follow nightly to get your body and mind ready for sleep.
Here the top 10 recommendations from this 2019 review:
| 1. Don’t go to bed until you are sleepy. If you aren’t sleepy, get out of bed and do something else until you become sleepy. |
| 2. Regular bedtime routines/rituals help you relax and prepare your body for bed (reading, warm bath, etc.). |
| 3. Try to get up at the same time every morning (including weekends and holidays). |
| 4. Try to get a full night’s sleep every night, and avoid naps during day if possible (if you must nap, limit to 1 h and avoid nap after 3 p.m.). |
| 5. Use the bed for sleep and intimacy only; not for any other activities such as TV, computer or phone use, etc. |
| 6. Avoid caffeine if possible (if must use caffeine, avoid after lunch). |
| 7. Avoid alcohol if possible (if must use alcohol, avoid right before bed). |
| 8. Do not smoke cigarettes or use nicotine, ever. |
| 9. Consider avoiding high-intensity exercise right before bed (extremely intense exercise may raise cortisol, which impairs sleep). |
| 10. Make sure bedroom is quiet, as dark as possible, and a little on the cool side rather than warm (similar to a cave). |
Train your sleep, not just the night before race day
I added this to my training routine that resulted in a huge PR for me, and I've been doing it ever since.
What you have to do is get your sleep routine established leading up to race day.
For example, if I have a half-marathon race that has me at the starting line at 7:30am on a Sunday, I'll work to sleep early Friday and Saturday throughout my training for months. I'll also make my Sunday training run early as possible too to prepare.
This way, the early start for the race is not a big shock to my body and mind.
Stopped drinking alcohol. Got smarter with coffee.
I understand that drinking alcohol is embedded deep in our American culture for socializing, but I won't apologize for this tip.
Since I've stopped drinking to improve my running performance (which also led to my big half-marathon PR in the past), I've never looked back.
Alcohol is known to disrupt the quality of sleep. Even the lowest amounts of alcohol can decrease sleep quality by 9.3%.
Long-term drinking could even lead to insomnia or other sleep disorders too.
For me, I value the pursuit of my next PR higher than the weekend buzz.
With coffee, I am much more smarter with my consumption. I drink coffee about 60-90 minutes after I wake up. I don't consume any coffee after 2pm to prevent a carry over into my nighttime.
Measure to improve
Qualitatively, you'll know when you had a good night's sleep. You feel better in the morning!
Quantitatively, I recommend you use a sleep tracker to measure your progress in sleep quality and routine.
There are many options to choose from. Just pick one that works best for you.
I use my Whoop to measure my sleep. It measures all the phases of sleep as well as calculates my sleep need based on previous nights.
Conclusion
An honorable mention to blue light glasses. When I remember, I wear my pair during the evening before sleeping. I haven't noticed a significant effect though.
Remember that the important other half of the training equation is recovery. You are really missing out on improving your running performance when you don't address your recovery as seriously as your training runs.
Happy running out there, and good night's sleep!
