As a Mountain Bike Coach, why am I writing about sleep? 40% of my time is devoted to personal training, health, and wellness. The other 60% is spent on trails coaching kids and adults. The fitness component to Brave Endeavors is tightly linked to the mountain bike component. I don’t only want you to be a more skilled mountain biker. I want you to perform at your best from the trails to the office to home, and sleep is a crucial component. I want you to start bragging about your sleep!

Gone are the days when it was cool to say, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead” and to pull all nighters fueling yourself on Redbull and cookie dough. The more we learn about sleep, the more we learn it is crucial to everything from our daily functioning, ability to recover from workouts, to long term brain health. As mountain bikers, we want to optimize performance on the trail, but also in life. Getting a good night's sleep is imperative in order to work all day, play with the kids or the dogs, and squeeze out a few laps before dinner. A few things I've learned recently that have caused me to pay closer attention to my own sleep habits:

We can't make up for lost sleep
We produce most of our human growth hormone when we sleep
Lack of sleep can contribute to weight gain, certain types of cancers, and dementia.

5 Tips to help you improve your sleep and perform better on the trail, at work, and at home:

Establish a consistent sleep schedule. Go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time. I used to allow my work schedule to dictate my sleep schedule. On days when I needed to wake up early (5am) I would try to be in bed by 9, but it was a struggle because my norm was to be in bed at 10 or 10:30. I finally made the decision that if I had to wake up at 5am one day a week, I would wake up at 5am five days a week. This allowed me to get my butt in bed by 9 (or 9:30) most nights and use the extra morning time for journaling, mobility, and reading. The more consistent you are, the more prepared your body and mind will be for a similar bedtime each night. Pick one time to go to bed, one time to wake up, and stick to it for 5 or 6 nights out of the week.
Get off your freaking phone! We all do it. We know we shouldn't, but we are in bed perusing Instagram, reading the news, or looking up one more thing you didn't get to during the day. Put that blue light blaring device down (even if you have it on a greyscale) the stimulus is still far greater than...a book. Try to eliminate screen time 1 hour before bed. If you’re too tired to read, you’re too tired to stare at a screen. A few specific strategies:
- Set your bedtime reminder to go off 1 hr before your ideal bedtime.
- Keep your phone out of the bedroom.
- Use the time before bed to read, reflect on the day, or talk with your family rather than stare at a screen.
Make your house sexy. Is it dark outside? It should be dark inside. Dim the lights, use candles, salt lamps, or red lights to reduce or eliminate blue light exposure at night. If you can, add blackout shades to your bedroom. Use blue light blocker glasses if you must be on a screen late at night. There was actually an interesting study done by the University of Basal, Switzerland on athletes that showed a significant increase in late night performance when exposed to blue light before competition. Do everything you can to reduce stimulus the closer you get to bedtime and artificial light is one of the greatest stimuli we have.
Replace the alcohol with Fizzy Water or Kombucha. If you’re looking to improve your sleep quality, alcohol has no place in your evening routine. “But I fall asleep great after drinking!” You may say. It’s true. Research has shown alcohol can improve falling asleep, but it lowers the overall quality of sleep, especially REM sleep. Alcohol puts the nervous system into fight or flight which will cause you to wake up during the night even if you fall asleep quickly. I’m not suggesting you need to always skip your evening glass of wine or post ride beer. But pay attention to what makes you feel the best. Go for a week without alcohol and take notes on your sleep. Add alcohol back in and compare. If you’re consistently reaching for a 2nd and third cup of coffee, try to reduce or eliminate alcohol and notice the effects.
Skip the caffeine 10 hrs before bedtime. Speaking of caffeine, as Michale Pollan said “Caffeine solves the problem it creates.” Caffeine has a half life that on average lasts between 5-6 hours. That means if you drink a cup of coffee with 180mg of caffeine at 4pm right after that conference call or meeting, you could have 90mg of caffeine rolling around your system at 9 or 10pm. Not ideal for sleep preparation! Work backwards from when you want to be asleep, and limit your caffeine intake 10 hrs prior to your ideal bedtime:)

Should I use a sleep tracker? According to research, about one in five Americans currently wears some form of fitness watch or sleep tracking device. This means many of you have sleep data! Data is great, but only if you use it to help improve your quality of life. If you’re considering a sleep tracker, work backwards from your goals. Do you want to improve your sleep quality, lose weight, or get more steps in each day? Find a device that will help you meet your goals. There are tons of gadgets that will track your sleep: the two I think are the best are the Whoop Strap and Oura Ring. I personally use an Oura ring, but have no relationship with the brand other than I like it as I don’t want to wear a strap around my wrist. Sleep trackers are not necessary, but when you are looking to improve an area of your life, tracking is a very effective strategy.

Like anything, don't expect great results without great effort. Think of the other routines you've established in your life that have produced positive results and apply those same habits to your sleep schedule.

Let me know if you find these tips helpful, start bragging about your sleep, and notice how you feel on your next ride after a great night of sleep!