Reduce your injury risk with these 5 sleeping tips

We spend more than half our life asleep, but so many of us struggle to get good quality sleep, leading to fatigue, reduced exercise performance and low mood. All things that can affect your ability to recover from injuries and also increase your risk of picking up an injury

Here's 5 tips to make the most of your 8 hours.

1 - Warm shower 1-2 hours before bed

We all enjoy a nice warm shower, but taking one just before bed is even better. A warm shower 1-2 hours before you go to sleep will help the body relax and begin the recovery process. The warm water allows the body to regulate temperature by cooling it down once you get into bed. The body then relaxes and signals it's time to sleep. The warm shower can be the time to wind down after a long day instead of trying to wind down in bed, with all the stress of the day still plaguing your mind.

2 - Darkness

Unless you're scared of the dark and need a night light, sleeping in the pitch black will give you the best sleep of your life. The body releases melatonin, a hormone that helps us sleep. The darkness allows the body to regulate its circadian rhythm, responsible for our sleep/wake cycle. We associate light with being awake and darkness with sleep, so keeping your room as dark has you can will massively improve your sleep. Use black out blinds or even an eye mask.

3 - No screens

This is quite an obvious one, but no screens at least an hour before bed, 2 if you can help it. Use your warm shower as the cut off for using electronic devices with a screen. If you're someone that uses their phone in b ed, at least turn brightness down and switch to dark mode to help your eyes relax. In an ideal world though, place the phone away from the bed on charge, and in do not disturb or a sleep specific focus mode, if you have an iphone. This also allows the brain to switch off.

4 - Hydration

This one is very important but hardest to get right. Hydration is key to performance and function of the body. How many times have you woke up at 2am extremely thirsty Have your last drink 1-2 hours before bed. Be sure to take sips as opposed to large gulps, don't want to be disturbing that sleep for a wee! The hydration will allow your body to maintain it's temperature during the night, and wake up feeling fresh.

5 - Meal timing

Again like most things on this list , 1-2 hours seems to be the most optimal but for food 2-3, even 4 hours is best. Aim to give your last meal a bit of time to digest. Don't go to bed hungry as this could be just as disruptive so think about foods that will keep you fuller for longer like high protein sources and slow releasing carbohydrates.

If you follow these simple 5 tips you'll see a massive improvement in your daily sleep and increased performance in your training. Use a sleep monitoring app or smart watch to keep a log of how well you slept.