Runningmonkeys

There has been a lot of debate over how much sleep the average person needs to get by.  We are told that below a specific threshold, the average person, loses the ability to think clearly, operate productively and relate effectively with others.  This threshold is supposedly along the lines of 6 hours per day for an average person.  Of course this average means that some need more and some need less and we are not really talking about optimal levels, actually only the minimum for effective survival.  The generally accepted optimum sleep quantity for adults is between 7 and 8 hours a day. 

This is a totally different story for a runner, or any other training athlete.  Instead of just using sleep to catch up from normal daily activities, runners also place a higher value on sleep.  For a runner, sleep is the best occasion that his or her body has available to adapt to training loads.  When he or she  is asleep, micro repairs are made, muscle and ligament rebuilding takes place, energy supplies are restored and the whole body and mind gets over yesterdays workouts.

How import sleep is, and how overlooked.  We are all too quick to train hard and then stay up late without thinking about the benefits we may be missing.

Kenyan athletes, typically have a very good attitude to sleep and rest.  They train and race very hard, but they also rest and sleep very hard.  In fact, these are the only significant elements of any 24 hours for many Kenyan runners.  They train, then they rest, then they train, then they sleep.

Most of us, don’t have the luxury of devoting all of our time to training and resting, but we can still take our recovery seriously.  How many hours of sleep do you need as a runner?  I would guess that for most of us 8 solid hours would be a good starting point.  On top of this, we should fit in some serious time engaged low physical activity jobs.  This will be easier for you if you are an office worker than if you push a wheel barrow for a living.  But if we want to take our running seriously, we have to start to take our recovery seriously.

So here is my answer to the question

How much sleep does a runner need?  8 hours at night and significant times throughout the day sitting still or lying down to  rest.

What do you think?