Nutrition, sleep and recovery

Ensuring athletes achieve an appropriate quality and/or quantity of sleep may have significant implications for performance and recovery and reduce the risk of developing overreaching or overtraining. Indeed, sleep is often anecdotally suggested to be the single best recovery strategy available to elite athletes. A number of nutritional factors have been suggested to improve sleep, including valerian, melatonin, tryptophan, a high glycaemic index diet before bedtime, and maintenance of a balanced and healthy diet. Conversely, consumption of alcohol and caffeine and hyper-hydration may disturb sleep. Strategies such as warming the skin, hydrotherapy, and adoption of appropriate sleep hygiene (maintenance of good sleep habits and routines) are other tools to aid in sleep promotion. Ensuring athletes gain an appropriate quality and quantity of sleep may be important for optimal athletic performance.