Rest is a vital part of performance and a real key to achieving your goals.
Over the last few years it has become increasingly obvious that the quality of an athlete’s performances depends on several factors. Physical fitness, mental preparation, nutrition, hydration and, not least, the quality and quantity of sleep.
In this article I would like to focus on this final factor that is so often underestimated, particularly by athletes themselves. Rest is, indeed, a key ingredient in training and vital for achieving your goals.
So why is sleep so important?
1. It improves your reaction times.
In a sport requiring the utmost reactivity and in which one hundredth of a second can be the difference between victory and defeat, resting becomes vitally important. Recent studies have shown that it takes several days to recover from a lack of sleep and this can reduce reaction times by over 200%.
2. More speed
A study carried out at Stanford University[1] has shown that a regular sleep pattern over a period of several weeks can help you swim faster and generally improve your performance.
3. Injury prevention
A study carried out at California University[2] has shown how injuries are related to the length of time you sleep, proving that there is a direct…
