Sleeping The Night Before a Race

Audio Transcript

Coach Hayley: Hey Runners Connect fans. Today we have a great question from Luka.

Luka: What can I do if I can’t sleep the night before my marathon? Before my first few marathons, I could not, for the life of me, get sleep and only got about four hours for each. Any tips will be much appreciated. Thanks.

That’s a great question Luka and wow I can really relate to this one. Ever since I was young, I’ve tossed and turned night before a race.

I don’t think I’ve ever managed to get a good night before a race. Although it’s slightly improved now after following some simple strategies which I can share with you.

The thing that I find most comforting to know, and helpful in getting to sleep, is that there really isn’t any evidence to suggest that one bad night’s sleep pre-race, will affect your performance.

In fact, many people say that it’s the night before the night before, when sleep is most important to get.

Scientists have done studies on this. One that is often quoted found that mental performance is lessened after a few nights of poor sleep.

Physiological markers of endurance performance were unchanged. Another study found that performance in a 20-minute cycling time trial was there and changed after a night of bad sleep.

It might feel harder or your perceived effort might be higher because it’s your brain and nerves that are most affected by the lack of sleep.

Take comfort in knowing there isn’t any known physiological reason you won’t perform so well.

You might not feel like you can, but you can do so. When you start to doubt yourself, just think of the amazing performances that have happened in a night of no sleep.

Trust me – that’s quite a lot. So many athletes don’t sleep the night before a race. They’ve been well rested the week before and that’s so much more important.

I’ve had all my nights of no sleep before a race. I don’t let it bother me now. If I can’t chop off, I remind myself that one night won’t affect me and rather than tossing and turning, I get up and do something enjoyable and relaxing.

I also make sure I have my morning cup of pre-race coffee before the race. That can get rid of some of those mental effects and make sure you feel like you’re firing on all cylinders.

I’m a lot better at sleeping for a race now than I used to be. I think a lot of that might be to do with the fact that I no longer worry about it.

I can offer some tips that I think helped me. I’ve also had some sleep issues outside of the night for a race so I’m well read on the subject.

Firstly, you should try to control your sleeping environment as much as you can. If you’re staying away in a hotel, I know this can be difficult.

There’s nothing worse than noisy hotel room neighbors when you’re trying to sleep.

I always pack some air plugs and an eye mask if I’m staying away. I also travel with a blanket or pillow from home. I know it’s comfortable and the familiarity helps to relax me.

When I’m in bed, I try to stay relaxed about the lack of sleep. It’s easy for negative thoughts to spiral at that time of night. I don’t go to sleep until I start to feel tired.

In my opinion, forcing myself to go to bed even earlier than normal really isn’t the best thing to do in a situation. If I can’t sleep, I just get out of bed and read, or have a bath rather than tossing and turning.

Feeling anxious about the lack of sleep, might be any actual lack of sleep. A couple of other things I do earlier on, to set myself up for a good night is making sure that I have everything sorted ready for the next day.

Race Kit, fueling, alarm setting, plenty of time for the start, and not worrying about that while I’m in bed too. I make sure that I get my pre-race meal nice and early as feeding your stomach can keep you awake.

I know it’s tempting to carb load and eat a load before the race that night. You should have slightly increased your carbohydrate intake the day to or three days beforehand, if it’s a marathon.

Try not to cram it all in at the last minute.

Finally, I try to stick to my bedtime routine that I have when I’m at home. If I’m away in a hotel, I’ll do my usual. Have my dinner, a nice hot drink, and watch something relaxing on television.

I’ll try to minimize exposure to blue light. Blue light is the light that emitted from laptops, tablets, phones, and it can mess with a circadian rhythm.

To summarize, that’s just what I was not going to give you a sleep. If I’m watching on my iPad, I’ll put on my blue light filter which you can download from the App Store, if you’re inclined that way.

If you really want to get into that side of things, you can buy strange looking blue light blocking glasses.

I have a pair but not for just the purpose of pre-race but to help with my longer-term sleep issues. They don’t look particularly cool.

I hope that has given you some helpful tips to try. If none of them work, just remember that it isn’t any evidence for the lack of sleep ruining your race performance.

You should be still capable of running a P.R. That thought alone might be enough to help you drop off.

I’ve read so much about the subject over the years and it was great to be able to share it and I hope that helps.

For those of you listening and want to have your questions answered by one of the Runners Connect coaches, head over to runnersconnect.net/daily and click the record button to send your question over.

Finally, I want to thank our sponsor.

As the temperatures get warmer and the training ramps up, it’s so important that you replace the essential vitamins and minerals you lose through your sweat.

But how can you stay hydrated and replenish your electrolytes without all those unnecessary calories and additives in sports drinks?

EnduroPacks is a fast-acting liquid made by runners for runners, that provides natural vegetable-based nutrients to help you get the most out of your training.

Just squirt a little into your water bottle and you’re ready to go. Everything you need and nothing you don’t, for improved blood flow, muscle contraction, and overall health.

I love the subtle lemon flavor because it goes with everything and it isn’t too sweet or overpowering.

I really love the way it makes me feel. See for yourself at runnersconnect.net/enduropacks.

I hope you enjoyed today’s I’d say if you haven’t already considered heading over to iTunes or your favorite Podcast directory and subscribing or leaving your view.

It helps to reach more runners like you. Have a great day and be sure to tune in next time.