The Woman Who Helps Athletes Sleep: Stop Having Showers Just Before Bed! New Science! ‘Nappucino’ Phenomenon You Need To Know!

Aug 5, 2024 1h 36m 21 insights
Dr. Cheri Mah, a sleep doctor and performance expert, reveals how optimizing sleep significantly boosts performance, decision-making, and emotional regulation for athletes and professionals. She shares practical strategies for sleep environment, pre-sleep routines, nutrition, napping, and travel to enhance overall well-being.
Actionable Insights

1. Prioritize Sleep as a Foundation

Treat sufficient sleep as a fundamental investment, as it’s free, healthy, and safe, leading to clearer thinking, better decisions, improved mood, and higher productivity.

2. Gradually Extend Sleep Duration

If you’re underslept, incrementally increase your sleep by 15-30 minutes each night over several weeks; these small additions accumulate to significant improvements in performance and cognitive function.

3. Optimize Your Sleep Environment

Transform your bedroom into a ‘cave’ by making it dark (blackout curtains, eye mask), quiet (earplugs, white noise machine), cool (60-67°F or 16-20°C), and comfortable to promote deeper, more consistent sleep.

4. Implement a Pre-Sleep Wind-Down Routine

Develop a two-part system outside of bed in dim light, such as stretching and deep breathing to activate your parasympathetic system, followed by relaxing activities like reading, journaling, or creating a to-do list, to prepare your brain and body for sleep.

5. Time Hot Showers/Baths Strategically

Take hot showers or baths 1-2 hours before bed, rather than immediately beforehand, to allow your core body temperature to drop, which aids in falling asleep and enhances deep sleep for muscle recovery.

6. Choose Smart Pre-Sleep Snacks

If hunger strikes before bed, opt for a light snack combining a complex carbohydrate and lean protein (e.g., whole-grain cereal with milk, cottage cheese with fruit, or whole-wheat crackers with peanut butter) to prevent hunger-induced awakenings without disrupting sleep.

7. Avoid Sleep-Disrupting Foods & Drinks

Steer clear of heavy, fried, fatty, tomato-based, or sugary meals, as well as alcohol and caffeine, right before bed, as these can cause fragmented sleep, acid reflux, and metabolic strain.

8. Utilize Nappuccinos for Alertness

For a temporary boost in alertness and performance, drink a caffeinated beverage (like espresso) and immediately take a 20-30 minute power nap; the caffeine kicks in as you wake, providing combined benefits.

9. Keep Naps Short and Timed

Limit naps to 20-30 minutes to stay in lighter sleep stages, which provides an alertness boost without the grogginess of deeper sleep, and time them strategically for when you need an energy lift.

10. Eliminate the Snooze Button

Set your alarm for your actual wake-up time and resist hitting snooze multiple times; this maximizes consolidated REM sleep in the morning, which is crucial for learning and memory, instead of fragmented light sleep.

11. Reserve Your Bed for Sleep and Sex Only

Strengthen the brain’s association of your bed with rest by moving all other activities, such as working, using phones, or watching TV, outside the bedroom.

12. Address Snoring as a Health Concern

If you snore, consult your primary care doctor about a sleep study, as it could be a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea, a common disorder that severely fragments sleep and impairs daytime function.

13. Consistently Pay Back Sleep Debt

Understand that fully recovering from sleep debt takes more than just one night or a weekend; consistently extending your sleep for multiple weeks is needed to see significant improvements in cognitive function and fatigue levels.

14. Proactively ‘Pre-Load’ Sleep

If you anticipate a period of unavoidable sleep loss (e.g., for a big project), aim to get more than your usual sufficient sleep in the days leading up to it to build a buffer and mitigate negative impacts.

15. Align Your Schedule with Your Chronotype

If you identify as a ’night owl’ who naturally goes to bed and wakes up later, structure your daily commitments to accommodate this chronotype, allowing for natural wake-ups without an alarm whenever possible.

16. Prepare for Travel Sleep in Advance

Avoid ‘panic packing’ by preparing early, and ensure you get at least 7-8 hours of quality sleep for 1-2 days before traveling to minimize jet lag and travel fatigue.

17. Pre-Adjust Your Body Clock for Travel

For multi-time zone travel, gradually shift your bedtime and wake-up time by 30 minutes daily in the direction of your destination for a few days before departure, using morning sunlight to reinforce the shift.

18. Pack a Comprehensive Travel Sleep Kit

Equip yourself with an eye mask, earplugs, noise-canceling headphones, and a travel pillow to create an optimal sleep environment in non-ideal situations like airplanes or hotel rooms.

19. Hydrate and Avoid Stimulants During Flights

Drink plenty of water and minimize or eliminate alcohol and caffeine while flying, as dehydration and these substances can worsen jet lag and make it harder to acclimate to a new time zone.

20. Strategically Manage Light Exposure While Traveling

Seek or avoid sunlight at specific times based on your destination’s time zone and use sunglasses when avoiding light, as light is the most powerful signal for shifting your body clock.

21. Allow Acclimation Time Upon Arrival

Avoid scheduling critical meetings or maximal exercise immediately upon arriving in a new time zone; allow your body at least a day to readjust to minimize jet lag symptoms and reduce injury risk.