affected.
By Elizabeth Millard
Sep 25, 2020

sleep deprivation tanks performance
blackCATGetty Images
* According to a recent study in the journal Physiology &
Behavior, even one night of partial sleep deprivation may have an
effect on your running performance the next day.
* It’s helpful is to think about how much you’re getting per week,
because that gives you greater flexibility in preventing sleep
deprivation and boosting the quality of your miles.
__________________________________________________________________

When you make a plan to run in the morning, you set your alarm to
wake you up and you pick out the clothes and shoes you’re going to
wear. The only catch? It’s getting increasingly late, and you can’t
seem to fall asleep.

As it turns out, even one night of partial sleep deprivation may have
an effect on your performance the next day, a recent study in the
journal Physiology & Behavior suggests.

Researchers recruited 20 runners—their average age was 21—and asked
them to perform two self-paced, 12-minute running exercises. One was
done after a normal sleep night of about six and a half hours, and the
other was done after one night of partial sleep that ranged from half
an hour to four and a half hours.

In addition to core temperature and motivation levels, researchers
recorded speed, covered distance, heart rate, perceived
exertion, and how much oxygen they took in.

They found that after the night of less sleep, runners had a higher
rate of perceived exertion, lower physical performance—including slower
running speed—and even a change in heart rate and overall mood. One
factor that didn’t change, however, was motivation.

A caveat to the research is that this is a small sample and limited
timeframe, and researchers didn’t follow up to see if these results
still held after numerous episodes of sleep deprivation, or if the body
adjusts for the condition. However, it does shed some light on why some
people might have the same level of motivation to run after a night of
bad sleep, but feel like they’re going slower and struggling through
the effort.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the
same content in another format, or you may be able to find more
information, at their web site.

With the understanding that skimping on sleep could leave you
struggling with your running performance, the most obvious advice would
be to get the recommended seven to nine hours per night. But here’s the
catch: That standard advice isn’t as set in stone as it appears,
according to W. Christopher Winter, M.D., president of
Charlottesville Neurology and Sleep Medicine and author of The
Sleep Solution.

“We hear this ‘seven to nine hours per night’ recommendation all the
time, but that’s actually up for debate,” he told Runner’s World.
“What’s more helpful is to think about how much you’re getting per
week, because that gives you greater flexibility in preventing sleep
deprivation.”
Related Story
The Link Between Sleep Quality and Heart Health

Ideally, you would have the same bedtime and wake-up time every day for
consistency. But in the real world, you might stay up late a few nights
a week. Winter said you could “make up” that time by sleeping longer
other nights or putting a nap into your rotation once or twice a week.

“As you focus on a weekly sleep number, you can play around with when
you’re getting that sleep in, and it will likely help with overall
energy and running performance,” he said. “But if you find that you’re
consistently trying to catch up and you’re napping several times a week
or sleeping in more often, then you may have some type of sleep
deprivation, and it’s helpful to get on track with a better, more
consistent schedule.”

Join Runner’s World+ for more performance-boosting health tips!
Elizabeth Millard Elizabeth Millard is a freelance writer focusing
on health, wellness, fitness, and food.
This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported
onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be
able to find more information about this and similar content at
piano.io
--- up 4 weeks, 4 days, 6 hours, 50 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (24:150/1)