Last year, I was trying out for a high level academy side team, and I started having problems with my sleep a week or so before the trials, and during the trial days. I could get to sleep fine but staying asleep was my problem - I could only stay asleep for 6 hours. If I went to bed at 10:00pm, I would wake up at 4:00am - 5:00am, and not be able to sleep again. It sucked. It affected my performance in the trials and didn't make the cut due to injury anyway, though playing in a sleep deprived state, I wouldn't of played well. I dimmed the lights before bed, drank herbal tea, had a warm bath, read a book, no Tv etc.. and still couldn't stay in slumber for any more then 6 hours. Now, I have a trial this year for the same team (not for ages), but I would like to actually sleep properly building up to it - especially the night before the try outs, so if anybody has advice for future reference, let me know. My current problem is not staying asleep, but now GETTING to sleep. I just can't do it on the night before match day. Recently on that night I've been sleeping 5ish hours, and see it in my performance, especially fitness. Last time I only slept 2 hours. I'm going to try and get some good sleep hygiene happening again as I have just been watching TV before hitting the hay, as I have no trouble sleeping every other night, it's just the decisive one before game day. What do I do!? In addition, I don't feel like I ever wake up refreshed. I always wake up with some degree of tiredness, so matter how much I sleep. Does ANYBODY ever actually wake up feeling awesome and rejuvenated? Do you think that sleep deficits build? Does this tiredness mean that I'm in sleep dept? P.S - I'm going to buy a melatonin supplement to see if this helps, particularly for the night before my match. PP.S! - A sub-question about sleep here. What's better, quality of sleep, or how long I sleep for? or both!? My team trains at night, so I'm not in my room and settling for bed until about 9:30pm, and then I sleep at about 10:30pm. The problem is that I have to be awake at 6:30pm for an 8am school start, so I'm only getting 8 hours of sleep. That may be a lot for you adults, but I'm 15 going on 16 years of age, so I need more sleep, particularly as an athlete. If I make that 8 hours really good quality, do you think it'll equal say, 10 hours of average quality sleep. Is there even such thing as sleep quality anyway? or is sleep just sleep? Sorry for all the questions, but hopefully I can at least get the majority of them answered, or at least an opinion on them. Thanks heaps!
As a teen I have similar problems. Sometimes I am just laying there on my bed for hours until I fall asleep about an hour before my alarm rings. I also feel like I am not really asleep cause I feel almost everything that happens around me, like when someones gets up and goes to the bathroom. And no I don't awesome when I wake up. The only time I felt fully rejuvenated was once when I went to sleep at 12 pm and didn't wake up until 4pmOne of my teacher tells me that because of our age our internal sleep mechanism wants to be awake at nigh and asleep in the morning. I also heard doing exercise before bed takes away your sleep. And I think sleep quality = sleep length since it takes time for you to go into the sleep cycles and stuff. Here are some links you might find useful http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/health/nutrition/how-to-sleep-yourself-sharp http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/pro-tips/kop-a-load-of-sleep http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/health/nutrition/foods-that-help-you-get-to-sleep
Regarding "P.S - I'm going to buy a melatonin supplement to see if this helps, particularly for the night before my match" Be careful...melatonin supplements effect people in different ways. My experience with taking this was actually becoming more fatigued in the morning. I was told plain Benadryl was the best way to go for someone who occasionally had a hard time falling asleep.
That's a really strong allergy pill, took it before and it knocked me out... I'd look into it before he uses it for sleep though.
I have this problem and I'm 17. I was halfway through writing a post and then my computer cut out. Right, first of all. I always find my quality of sleep is better when I read a book before I go to bed. Whenever I watch TV or play on my PS3 before bed, I never sleep well. Once I started cutting out TV, loud noises, turned my phone off etc. Then I slept better. Things that say, upset you (such as girlfriend in my case) are never good before bed so ALWAYS turn your phone off. Forget what people might say.. Your sleep is important. Secondly, I always used to think this thing my Mum used to say to me when I was younger; "You'll get to sleep when your body wants to." Tossing and turning and fretting about not sleeping will not help. Your body and brain will start sleeping when you're relaxed. Worrying about the performance the next day will cause adrenalin to be pumped into the bloodstream, which basically is designed to keep you alert. Just remember to relax, don't fret. I wouldn't recommend taking sleeping pills at all. It's just a little dodgy in my eyes. If you have pains which prevent you from sleeping, or insomnia and it affects you every night, yeah no problem. But just once a week.. Don't quote me on this, but the body may become dependent on the pill and you'll have to continue taking it to sleep. Not worth it in my eyes. One little thing I've started doing is putting a cold glass of water next to my bed. It's never good to have a hot bed as you're trying to sleep, and this definitely helps. I think FourFourTwo told me about that though. It may also be the food you're eating. Rich, protein filled foods a couple of hours before bed shouldn't be consumed. Instead, aim to have your main meal at least four hours before, and a little carbohydrate snack if you're hungry. I remember writing an article about this on the web, and I'll try and find it. Just remember to relax. You want to establish a sleeping routine, and once your body acclimates to that then you'll be able to sleep easily. Good luck
Off the bat, a part of the problem is that your team is training too late! Basically, you're competing at a high level, endorphins running, heart rate is up an hour before bed time. That's too much. You really need to find a way to wind down before bed time. Granted you're probably not training before a match. If you find yourself unable to sleep, don't lie in bed fixating about not being able to fall asleep. Get up, do something for 15 minutes then lay back down. Don't do something like watch tv or go on the computer because the light messes with your ability to fall asleep—plus TV shows and ads are designed to stimulate. What are the sleeping conditions where you sleep? Is it too cold or too hot? Temperature plays a big role. Is it dark and pretty quiet?
Thankyou for all the replies everyone! Ok, so firstly, I purchased the melatonin (just before I was suggested benodryl haha). I gave it a test run last night, and I slept fine, but I always sleep fine on school nights, so I can't really say if it did anything. But tp be fair to it I got in bed at 9:30pm, about an hour before I usually do, and was asleep before 10,I think, so maybe it did contribute a bit. It did make me feel a little more tired than usual this morning but. I'm currently outside, 7:30am, trying to get some light to reset my body clock. My sleep conditions are pretty good. I read before bed, no TV or other electronic screens, and I sleep to white noise from one of my iPods apps. It's pretty dark when I sleep, I block out as much light as possible.
If those factors are fine, then what's on your mind the nights before the game? Is there anything you're anxious about?
I'm mostly excited to be honest, the adrenalines building already the night before. Footballs everything to me, so its hard to ignore it. My sleeping patterns been great this week but, so I guess we'll see how I go.
UPDATE: So, my sleeping pattern was fine all week. Brilliant, even. I was asleep at 9:30pm every night, and waking up at 6:45am every morning, slowly making up for my lost sleep from game night. By Thursday, I didn't feel as tired waking up in the morning. Come Saturday night - game night - I started following my usual routine - Read for 20 - 60 mins before bed, dim lights, and when I hop in bed, make the room as dark as possible. Despite all this, despite being in my bed at 9:30pm, I slept HORRIBLY. I didn't fall asleep until 4am, and had to awake for my game at 7am, for a 9am kick-off. That means I laid there for 7-and-a-half hours! I had spent almost triple the time laying in bed awake, than actually sleeping. Shocking, I even took melatonin before hitting the hay. The game has been called off anyway, as it rained all night, so I kind of thankful. Last game I slept 2 hours and really saw it in my performance. I don't know if this is a psychological or physical effect of the sleep debt, but I had some horrible touches, my fitness definitely took a blow, and I just felt like shit. I'm so pissed off, I don't know what to do! I think I'll look into sleeping techniques (counting sheep, that sort of thing), but after that, that's about it. There's nothing else I can do. I guess I can see a doctor, but he'll just say "just try to relax" or some unhelpful shit like that. Maybe he could prescribe me to a sleep therapist though. Advice? PLEASE HELP ME. I"M WILLING TO DO ANYTHING TO SLEEP FOR MY GAME.
I'm 16 years old on June 20th. I was wondering today - Did Messi sleep well on the night before the champs league final? How the hell could you sleep properly before that? What about the Spain and Netherlands players before the World Cup final, that's just not possible! I've been reading on the internet, and a lot of sources say that a bad nights sleep before a game won;t really hurt your performance. Don't know if thats true or not, but it seems to hurt mine. It might just be in my head. I'm a preparation nut, great time management skills, so it doesn't surprise me that I feel the poor nights sleep is going to affect me. I'm thinking of taking some kind of stimulant for my next game after my shit sleep (likely to occur). Suggestions? Coffee doesn't seem to do it for me. I want something to mask the tiredness, and make me feel energized.
Messi is a renowned meditator, and so doesn't ever have any problems sleeping really. It seems like you just get too worked up for the matches. I know it's hard, but you just need to relax. Forget about the game. Don't think about how you're going to play the day after, just focus on something else. Look, if worst comes to the worst then take sleeping pills. I mean my word, if what you've told us is true then it's strange. Everybody gets excited before a game but not to the level where you can't sleep. My mate always claims that whiskey helps him sleep too...
