Since the start of the new year, I have been doing a mini series about a very important topic (in my eyes) – simply stated, Focus on You. Have you missed the last couple? Catch up now!
After reading through some great comments from my Wednesday post, a comment from Brigid caught my attention….
The most important take away from this for me was a very simple word – Sleep. I can say that sleep is something that I am not getting nearly enough of right now, or for the past 8 weeks come to think of it. A certain furball comes to mind in that hindrance….
I feel sluggish when running, and feel like I can hit the hay around 9pm each night. Of course, that definitely doesn’t happen, but I can dream. 
After reading through a few articles, I want to share with you a few huge takeaways that I find quite useful and interesting!
An awesome article in Running Times stated the following, “In an article published in the British medical journal The Lancet, researchers found that a period of decreased sleep lasting only a few days interfered with glucose metabolism and raised levels of cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress that may interfere with athletic recovery at high serum concentrations. The study suggests that glycogen synthesis is impaired during periods of reduced sleep, meaning an athlete in these conditions is operating with less than a “full tank” and may “bonk” earlier than a well-rested individual.”
That last sentence is so cut and dry! It’s no wonder when days you are not able to get enough sleep, your runs feel just plain sluggish. The motivation may not be there either – I find it quite difficult to be motivated when I am tired, what about you?!
The next article, from the New York Times, quotes Mark Remy from Runner’s World on the benefits of sleep, and breaks it down in a great way for all of us runners to understand:
“We runners obsess over speed work, long runs, tempo runs, hill runs, lactate threshold, resting heart rate, carbs, protein, recovery drinks, stretching, massage, ice baths, shoes, technical fabrics, gels, and about a hundred other variables. But most of us, I bet, don’t give sleep a second thought. It’s crazy, if you think about it. How can we expect to run well if we can’t stop yawning?”
Your amount of sleep also has a huge effect on the amount of weight you are able to lose, but that will need to be saved for another post! After seeing all of that (and a few other articles), I realized that instead of focusing on getting in every run 100% (and worrying if that doesn’t happen), it looks like a better balance is the best idea. Of course, marathon training can be tiring – that is to be expected. Only you know when you are truly overdoing it. Listen to yourself, and know when to cut back a bit. Sleeping in more often when it gets closer to race day seems like a good approach. I think I might be able to catch on to that “sleep-loading” idea.
Do you think you get enough sleep? Would you be willing to cut but a little bit on training, so you are able to get some good shut-eye? I would love to hear from you!
Ahhh yes, I remember the days I used to get sleep. Now that I have a baby, it’s totally hit or miss. But you better believe I’m willing to miss a run if I need the sleep!
And you do such an awesome job getting up for your morning runs!!
Great post! I love the series. I am a total sleep snob. If I don’t get to bed in time or get enough hours of sleep, I’m a total grump the next day. This is probably why I fail miserably at morning workouts. Sleep generally wins over getting out of bed early to workout.
It always helps me to get up in the morning if I have something planned in the afternoon! I will never just skip a workout, so not having an excuse to workout later is awesome!
I can’t go a full day without a good night’s rest. I’m fine with 7-8 hours but 9 (lol I know) is perfect. A day with 6.5 hours of sleep, and I’m useless the next day.
I’m a 9 hours kinda girl too! I feel so much better! I can handle 7-8, but 9 makes me feel unstoppable!
i thrive on 4 hours of sleep!
more than 5 1/2 and it’s too much
less than 4 and I slow down a bit
been doing this for years & years
body automatically gets up
have never used an alarm!
You are definitely one of the lucky ones! I have a friend like that, and I am so jealous that she can function (and do it well), with only a few hours of sleep! I am unfortunately not one of those people!
this is great and so true! sleep is SO important and most people, including myself, do not get enough of it!!
This is good stuff. It’s so easy to get caught up in the things you “have” to do, like work, grocery shopping, running errands, running… Why don’t we include sleep on that list??
Training for my last marathon with some serious mileage and intensity while finishing grad school and trying to have a social life taught me a lot about sacrificing for things that are important. 18 miles on a treadmill isn’t fun, but if I couldn’t get enough sleep beforehand to wake up early and beat the AL heat, the treadmill it was! There are ways to fit almost everything you want in your life, but sleep needs to be one of the non-negotiables
I could not agree more. Not sure why we always push it to the side, yet it is the thing we need the most, and that affects nearly everything else in our lives!
So true! And perfect timing on this post. I was exhausted last night and knew I needed some good sleep. I decided to skip my 5am alarm and sleep until 6:30 today. No workout today but sleep was more important, especially since this is a recovery week for my marathon training. By the way, I’m totally loving this series!!
Thanks Whitney!! And I bet you feel so much better now sitting at work, and not being exhausted!!
I try to get in at least 8 hours of sleep a night. Great post and photos
Thanks! I just can’t seem to resist putting up puppy pics
I try hard to get a solid 7-8 a night, it really makes a huge difference. Sometimes I’ll have a week where my body will only sleep 5-6 and I’m fine, but then the next week I can’t get enough sleep, so it balances out. It’s much easier now that I’m not in night school because I can keep a scheduled sleep pattern.
It also took me many years to realize a pattern that works best for me, and to accept that I’m a morning person who just doesn’t function late at night. In college I always had the hardest time keeping up with all the night owls and now I understand why. So now I’m up around 5:30 am and in bed between 9:30 and 10 each night- often on the weekends too!
Wow Emily, you sounds just like me!! I am a wimp if I have to stay up late, which is why I rarely go out. Its no wonder most of my friends are runners that wake up early with me to run
[...] on Pinterest – and yet, we tend to let one thing just pass us by? Yep, I’m obviously talking about sleep! Sleep is such an important part of staying healthy, keeping off weight loss, staying uninjured, [...]