Did you know that getting good sleep every night is connected to a longer lifespan? Without sleep, you're unable to recover from daily stress, exercise, and the wear and tear of your daily routine. This is especially true if you're an athlete.

Whether you're a weekend warrior or a top performer (or both), getting good sleep is the key to recovery, good performance, and injury-free fun on the field or the court! Getting a full night's sleep can be a difficult prospect these days. It's hard to find the right mattress and build the right habits to help you both fall asleep and stay asleep. 

To help you get your sleep so you can unlock your full potential, we put together this guide on how to use Nest to get your best sleep ever.

Read on to learn our top sleeping tips! 

The Importance of an Athlete’s Sleep

While the average person needs 8 hours of sleep, an athlete performs best with 10 hours every night, especially during heavy training periods. Several studies have found that athletes who sleep 10 hours every night pick up new skills more quickly, have a faster reaction time, and improved accuracy! 

Sleep is the key ingredient of high-performing athletes, allowing you to make the most of every training session. If you don't fully recover every night, your performance will suffer incrementally over time and you will plateau. This can have some big repercussions on game day. 

On the other hand, poor sleep decreases your alertness and makes you more irritable. Athletes who consistently get poor sleep are at higher risk of injury, are quicker to fatigue, and perform with less speed and accuracy.  

Physical Benefits

There's nothing worse than training hard and waking up on competition day with a sore throat. Catching a cold before the big day is very common for athletes. Training wears down your immune system, making you more susceptible to illness.

During sleep, your body produces cytokines. Cytokines are a special kind of hormone that enables your immune system to fight off foreign bodies like infections and viruses. Good sleep habits give your immune system a boost, preventing you from getting sick.

Training stresses all your muscles, especially your heart. If you wear a heart rate monitor, you know that a heavy training session can speed up your heart rate for days afterward. It's important to let your heart slow down and rest.

A good night's sleep allows your heart to recover, promoting cardiovascular health and cellular healing. Also, your muscles will completely relax in a way they can't while you're awake, allowing them to heal and recover for the next day of training. 

Mental Benefits

Sleeping and dreaming allow your body to retain memories. While you sleep, and especially while you dream, your brain will form new pathways for skills that you've learned.

Have you ever struggled with a task, slept on it, and come back the next day to perform much better? Sleeping on a task allows your brain to process what it needs to do and reinforce the proper pathways for execution! Getting enough sleep will allow you to pick up techniques more quickly.  

Get the Right Bed

You spend almost half your lifetime in bed. Why would you want anything but the best? Everything matters when it comes to setting up the perfect bed. 

Your bed should be soft enough to relieve your aching muscles after the gym and firm enough to maintain proper spinal alignment. Allowing your muscles to fully relax is one of the best ways to promote recovery. 

Finding the right bedding is a difficult proposition, given the sheer quantity of bedding on the market today. You can start here, with our guide to setting up the perfect bed. 

Nothing feels better than fresh sheets and soft bedding, so make your bed something you look forward to meeting at the end of every day!

Dedicate Your Space

Now that you've set up the perfect bedding, it's time to dedicate that space only to sleep.

If you're like most people, even if you're in bed at the right time, you end up scrolling and swiping on your phone for hours. Having your phone next to your bed is a huge distraction, and the blue light from your phone can throw off your circadian rhythm.

A bit of scrolling before bed can therefore trick your body into thinking it's daytime. Melatonin levels will drop, and sleep will elude you even after you put your phone away. 

Your bedroom, and especially your bed, should be dedicated to sleep. Don't bring your phone into the bedroom, and especially don't keep it next to your bed!

If you rely on your phone for your alarm, keep it across the room from your bed. This has the added advantage of forcing you to get out of bed to turn it off so you don't hit the snooze button! 

Create a Wind-Down Routine

In the same way that you have a warm-up routine to get your body ready to train, you should have a wind-down routine to get your body ready for sleep. 

Your routine should not involve your phone. Opt instead for reading, light stretching, or gentle yoga. Set aside 20 to 30 minutes every day before bed to go through your ritual. This allows both your mind and body to relax, even if you're anxious before a big game, so you can get the best sleep possible. 

Start Getting Good Sleep With Nest

No matter how serious you are about your sport, the benefits of sleeping well are undeniable. Faster reaction time, better stamina, lower risk of injury, and more are all attainable with the right bed. 

At Nest, it's our mission to make good sleep an attainable goal. Give our methods a try and you're sure to notice a difference immediately. Take a look at our selection, and reach out if you have any questions!