91 - Sleep Expert Dr. Amy Bender

What this episode covers

Endurance Innovation is now on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/enduranceinnovation]! Have a peek at our page and show us some love. * 1:30 meet Dr Amy Bender * 3:00 an overview of the importance of sleep * One of the pillars of health * Impacts nutrition * Ability to execute training * Chronic poor sleep associated with a number of negative health outcomes * Impacts injury risk * Immune health * 7:30 sleep quantity guidelines * 7 - 9 hours, depending on training load * More training requires more sleep * 9:15 can you get too much sleep? * There's a correlation with sleep outside of the 6.5 - 9 hours and increased prevalence of depression. The effect appears bi-directional. * 15:30 consistency in sleep is important * 16:30 the value and 'how tos' of naps * Only 20% of Canadian National athletes were napping, and they are missing out * 20' naps have value * Schedule naps into your training * Naps contribute to weekly sleep duration * Avoid naps too close to bedtime: 1200 - 1600 ideal * Short naps should be short enough to avoid deep sleep: 90' * 23:00 the phases of sleep * Non-rem: divided into phases 1 through 3, with stage 3 being the deepest stage where a lot of the physical recovery takes place. The majority of phase 3 occurs in the first half of the night.  * Rem sleep * One full cycle is ~90' * Sleep phases are impacted by our actions during the day, but difficult to control * 28:30 how does waking up at night affect sleep quality and sleep stages? * 30:30 the effects of stress on sleep * 31:30 techniques for falling asleep after waking in the middle of the night * Good, consistent, pre-sleep routine * Put away electronics * Take a warm bath / shower * Stretch  * Read a paper book * Write a to-do list * Breathing technique: 4-7-8 or snake breathing * Cognitive shuffle * Avoid staying in bed for longer than 20' trying to fall asleep. Instead, do a relaxing - non-screen based activity in a different environment. And only return back to bed when you feel sleepy. * 36:30 sleep quality. With high quality sleep classified by: * Following asleep in less than 30', waking up only once per night, being awake less than 20' during that wake-up, and spending more than 85% of total time in bed sleeping. * 38:15 seek professional sleep help if above conditions are chronically not met * 38:45 improving sleep quality * Exercise * Reduce caffeine intake * Avoid alcohol * 42:45 quality or quantity? * 43:15 an audio device to improve sleep quality * 44:15 sleep disruption from sleep partners 🤬 * 45:45 the seriousness of snoring Please send any questions you have about sleep to [email protected]. Check out Dr. Benders excellent questionnaire and guidance on sleep [https://centreforsleep.com/education-and-awareness/athlete-sleep-screening-questionnaire/] and follow her on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/sleep4sport/]and Twitter [https://twitter.com/Sleep4Sport].