Sleep Training.
Goal: Ensure your players have enough sleep to play well.
Action: At least 6 hours of sleep a day.
Purpose: To give your teams and players a rest.
Lack of sleep is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes, because your hormone levels and circadian rhythms get thrown out of sync.
Chronic sleep deprivation is just another stressor on the body and causes an increase in cortisol with a corresponding increase in blood sugars.
In addition, it can also increase your appetite and reduce your satiety, causing you to crave carbs and sugary foods, producing a double whammy attack on your metabolism.
So, it’s important to tackle this particular aspect of the game to ensure your team plays well.
Here is a brief recap of tactics for good quality sleep.
Avoid stimulants like caffeine:
1) Drinks containing cola.
2) Alcohol.
3) Coffee.
4) Tea.
In some individuals, who are highly sensitive to caffeine, the stimulating effects can still be felt from just one cup of coffee taken before midday.
Before you go to bed try taking a luke warm bath, this not only helps you to relax, but, the drop in body temperature is one of the key signals in your body for sleep.
Still on the subject of temperature, make sure you have a warm snug bed to get in to and a cooler temperature in the room itself. Again, this helps to replicate the conditions our evolutionary ancestors would have experienced in their cave-dwelling days.
Take some exercise during the day (avoid late night exercise though) as this will make you sleepier later on at night.
Eat a little snack containing an essential amino acid called tryptophan – which your body needs to produce both serotonin and melatonin – sleep-inducing hormones.
Foods rich in tryptophan include: Chocolate (preferably dark – more antioxidants), milk, yogurt (plain) cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, poultry (preferably not the KFC variety), sesame, chickpeas, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and peanuts (unsalted).
Ensure you sort out any worries before you go to bed or at least send a written note to your Chairman to deal with it while you are away on sleep duties.
The circadian rhythms of the body require natural light in the morning and darkness at night, to trigger the hormones for sleep. As far as possible avoid artificial lighting at night (switch mobile devices to block out blue light).
Remember: Insomnia is not a diagnosis it’s a symptom. Don’t just treat the symptom, to solve the problem identify the root cause e.g. Stress, Anxiety, Depression, Fear.
Video: Sleep and Diabetes.
Video: The Sleep Solution with Dr Chris Winter
Video: Guided Meditation to help with Sleep
Scouting Reports: Sleep and Diabetes