More tips to get a good nights sleep
Here are more tips to get a good nights sleep:
- Read a book or a magazine – I appreicate this is very old school. The reason is studies have shown that brain activity during sleep is better regulated after reading a physical book compared with reading a screen.
- Have a hot shower or bath at night. When you get in all your blood comes to the surface of your body, so when you step out, your core temperature starts to drop. This stimulates sleep.
- Go to bed at the same time every nights – it’s possible to “programme” the body to get used to falling asleep at a certain time every night.
- Yoga or light exercise can help relax muscles and release any tension.
- Complementary therapies – these promote relaxing, reduce stress and anxiety and are therefore ideal for a good night’s sleep.
- Breathing exercises or medication – taking deep breaths helps the body switch off from the flight or fight more to rest-and-digest mode.
References
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Does abstinence improve sporting performance?
I know lots of my readers take part in sporting competitions and they always want to perform at their peak and win. So is it best to abstain the night before a competition? Certainly here is a myth that abstinence before sporting activities improves performance? But does it? Researchers at the University of Florence reviewed hundreds of studies to determine if there was any truth in the myth that abstinence helps performance. They found no evidence to support the myth that abstinence before a sporting competition improves performance. In addition they found no evidence that having sex the night before impairs performance the next day. They came across one study that found marathon runners did better the next day after having sex the night before. All sporting competitions are as much about the mind as the physical activity. So the impact of sex the night before on marathon runners may be psychological. Maybe that is why the organisers of the Rio Olympics distributed more than 450,000 condoms in the athletes' village during the 2016 Olympics. Reference Stefani Laura, Galanti Giorgio, Padulo Johnny, Bragazzi Nicola L., Maffulli Nicola, 2016, Sexual Activity before Sports Competition: A Systematic Review, Frontiers in Physiology, Vol 7, pg 246 http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fphys.2016.00246
What is the difference between sports and deep tissue massage?
Deep tissue is a very descriptive name and is self-explanatory. The confusion comes when it is compared to sports massage. The big difference is the focus. Sports massage is dedicated to
- improving sports performance
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- You work out religiously, but aren't as relgious about stretching
- You cycle or run to work and don't think to stretch
- You play sports but don't cross train so have specific trouble spots
- Your performance (in a particular sport) has dropped
- You have a history of injuries and want to reduce the likely hood of further injuries
- You work at a computer all day and your neck, shoulders & back are chronically sore
- You are so tense your back feels like concrete
- You have tired achy legs
- You are in pain
- You are stiff (or are unable to move your neck/arm/leg freely)
- You are stressed or anxious
- You have a knot or a muscle spasm
