Importance Of Proper Sleep For Footballers

Proper sleep is important for footballers as well as for everyone. The body requires proper rest and sleep to perform well. Sleep plays an important role in body metabolism and immune function. Some studies depicted that proper sleep can improve speed, accuracy, and reaction time in athletes.

Another study shows that football players got a 9% improvement in accuracy only by increasing their sleep duration.

As exercise helps players to build their physical fitness. A night of proper sleep helps them to build mental health. Quality sleep is necessary for improving the overall mood of players.

How much sleep does a soccer player need?

As normal people take an average sleep of around 7-9 hours. But if you’re an athlete or football player, you should take more sleep as your body and mind get into lots of physical stress.

Athletes should take seriously to their sleep as they take to their training and exercise.

Cristiano Ronaldo a well-known legend. He is not only famous for his football but also for his incredible work ethic and perfectionism. For better performance and better health, he hired a sleep expert to help him figure out the perfect sleep schedule.

Cristiano avoids using all the electronic devices one hour before going to bed. He sleeps exactly 7.5 hours per night. An interesting thing about his sleep is he sleeps in a particular position to enhance the quality of sleep.

How Does Sleep Affect Football Player’s Performance?

Proper sleep help to improve the player’s performance. Sleep is the time when our body repairs itself. If one doesn’t get enough sleep, one doesn’t perform well.

But lack of sleep can affect a player’s performance and health. It affects your mental health, causes sleep deprivation reduces the ability to react quickly and think clearly. Lack of sleep can cause problems like anxiety and depression. It also decreases the accuracy. Some studies have shown that increasing sleep quality and quantity are really helpful in enhancing their performance.

Tip for proper sleeping habits

• An appropriate sleep environment is really important. You should sleep in a dark and cool room.
• Avoid alcohol and caffeine before bedtime because these beverages may interrupt your sleep.
• Cut off connection with every electronic device. Because devices like cell phone, TVs emits blue light that can affect circadian rhythm.
• Make the habit of reading, taking a bath, or mediating. These habits can help you relax and get ready for better sleep.
• If you’re the kind of person who takes 20 minutes to sleep after laying on the bed then here’s a tip for you, you can get out of bed and do some activity until you feel sleepy.
• Have a regular schedule of sleeping. Sleep and wake up at an exact time daily.

Sleeping habits while traveling

While traveling for the match sleep cycle of the players gets disturbed. They should take care of sleeping habits while traveling to different time zones for matches. While traveling they need to follow additional sleeping habits:

• Get prepared for the travel. You should set your sleep schedule according to the time of destination you’re going to travel. So you can easily adjust to the time upon arrival.
• Get enough sleep before traveling. Because you may or may not get time for proper sleep. So avoid sleep debt and get enough sleep on arrival.
• Create a comfortable environment around yourself. Use a pillow for comfort. Earplugs can help get a peaceful environment. An eye mask will help you to get a dark environment for sleep during a flight.
• Stay hydrated and eat healthy meals during traveling. You should take plenty of fluids and avoid the consumption of caffeine and alcohol. Adjust your meal times according to your destination time zone.

Conclusion

Footballers exhaust a lot of energy during the practice session and on the match. It doesn’t matter if you’re an amateur player or a professional player. You’re still under a lot of physical and mental pressure. That’s why proper sleep is important for football players. Quality sleep will provide you the better concentration and reduces the risk of injuries.

Topic covered in this article:

• How much sleep does a soccer player need?
• How Does Sleep Affect Football Player’s Performance?
• Tip for proper sleeping habits
• Sleeping habits while traveling

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