Run / Sleep / Run

So .... on Monday evening the timelapserunner - knowing that he would be rising at 5:30AM on Tuesday morning for his workout - headed off to bed at about 9:30PM. After his early morning run, Mrs. timelapserunner asked if he had gotten enough rest during the night. "Sure," I said, "but I only got my needed eight hours." At which point, I was reminded that I had fallen asleep in the lounge chair far, far earlier than 9:30PM and only barely awoke to stumble down the hall and fall into bed at that time. Embarrassed, the timelapserunner lamely retorted with "Well, you've got to get the sleep you need."

Americans need sleep help
(Courtesy stephh922 @ Flickr)

Despite the accompanying long face, maybe that retort has some truth to it. At least it raises a couple of good questions: a) how does running affect one's sleep, and b) how does sleep affect one's running? Ever the researcher - especially when it might save face - the timelapserunner dug up an article that addresses those very questions. At the Running Research News, there's a great article covering both these topics. I'll give your the gist of this article with a few personal annotations.

A little set up is worthwhile here. Americans, as a nation, are a sleep-deprived people. Let's throw a few stats around:

• 20 to 25% of the population have serious, incapacitating sleep problems,
• 62% of Americans have problems sleeping a few nights a week,
• Nearly half of older adults say they do not get a solid night's sleep, and
• 40% of insomniacs self-medicate with OTC meds or alcohol.

Asleep at the wheel
(Courtesy Sarah G... @ Flickr)

That's an ugly picture, I'd say. Not sure exactly where I fall in that set of statistics, but I have done my share of tossing and turning from time to time. If sleeping is such a big issue in general, clearly it makes sense to bring up the topic of sleeping when discussing running and running performance. Interestingly enough, the author of the article scoured several dozen books on running only to discover that most of these do not deal very much with the topic of sleep, other than encouraging runners to get a good night's rest before their important race - and none of these books referenced any research findings.

Let's entertain our first question: how does running affect one's sleep?

REMing away
(Courtesy me and the sysop @ Flickr)

Anecdotal evidence suggests that those that exercise sleep better, but science has more to say: those who regularly exercise with intensity spend more time in the restorative Stages 3 and 4 - the deep sleep, REM-stage portions. Many other studies point at improvements in time to fall asleep, daytime alertness, and reduction of sleep disorders. Clearly, regular vigorous exercise helps us sleep better, though doing so just before bed may be problematic. It's suggested that we need the body cool down before heading off to bed, and we also want to avoid over-stimulating the nervous system just before sleep as well.

I'll add my personal anecdote here: I fall asleep fast these days. Any where from 30 seconds to 3 minutes and I'm asleep. I'm guessing that the exercising is part of the reason.

How does sleep affect one's running, then?

If we could just sleep like a baby ...
(Courtesy Qole Pejorian @ Flickr)

Sleep repairs the body: the release of growth hormone reaches its peak during Stage 4 sleep.This is good. Conversely, the loss of sleep sets off a host of lousy side effects, including impaired immune systems, memory, concentration and cognitive performance. But it's even worse than that: running on lack of sleep makes running feel harder, and recovery from that running take longer. Running performance itself may not be severely affected for moderate amounts of sleep deprivation, unless - that is - you're one of those that simply must get his beauty rest or has a history of doing poorly when the 'sleep tank' is near empty.

Personal anecdote: If the alarm clock goes off and I feel tired still, I reset it and go back to sleep for another 40 minutes. After the extra 40 winks, I might feel like getting dressed and hitting the streets.

What's your story on this one? Drop a comment line if you'd like to add anything or share your own experience with sleep and exercise.

TODAY'S WORKOUT: A little three mile walk (averaging 15:53 per mile) after a good night's sleep, followed by active-isolated stretching.