Athletes are finding more and more ways to achieve new results, become faster and stronger than their opponents. Seems like casual workouts are the best way, but athletes and their coaches think that’s not enough. Moreover, by increasing training load and a grueling mode, your performance decreases. Therefore, athletes more and more stick to supportive techniques that help restore strength and rest.
This experience will be interesting to everyone who works hard and has no time to take rest and, as a result, significantly loses productivity and quality of life in general.
«A dirty secret everyone is aware of»
Chronic fatigue associated with the fact that NBA players simply do not get enough sleep is called “a dirty secret everyone is aware of”. “In a couple of years,” says Philadelphia 76ers forward Tobias Harris, “this issue will be talked about just like the concussions in hockey players.” During the season, which lasts an average of six months, the team plays games every two to three days, and the rest of the time takes air traveling, except time for training.
Averagely, you have to travel 400 kilometers a day. Because of constant time zone changes and busy schedules athletes have no more than five to six hours a day to sleep. Many of them say they sleep even less, only three to four hours.
But, to be honest, not all of them. 42-year-old Vincent Carter, one of the oldest players in the association, does not have these issues, and he believes this a key point in his athletic longevity. But Carter is rather an exception than a rule. Sleep deprivation leads to a decrease in reaction speed and a general loss of strength.
It’s proven that players experience a decrease in the number of successful throws and get more injuries (1.7 times) already after two months of working in this schedule. Besides that, the hormone responsible for the growth and reproduction of cells is produced by the pituitary gland only during sleep. If there is not enough sleep, it leads to a low recovery speed after exercising and premature aging.
Moreover, chronic sleep deprivation in basketball players can lead to serious health problems after they retire. According to a professor of neuropsychology at the University of California at Berkeley, “based on data obtained as a result of repeated studies, there are only a few people who can sleep no more than six hours a night without any disturbances.” Lack of normal sleep affects not only the brain but also the entire body, which significantly increases the risk of all kinds of diseases.
Let’s talk more about sleep
“The most powerful recovery tool is sleep,” said the former American skier. “It’s no surprise that athletes consider sleep as the most important key for athletic success, but many of them do suffer from sleep disorders,” experts at Australia’s Deakin University agree. Scientific work proves it. Out of eighteen studies of the sleep quality of female netball players, only three found no abnormalities. The athletes experienced the worst rest period when they had to play two games within three days.
The cyclists experience a lack of sleep hours before competitions, while intense exercises often have a bad impact on swimmers and rugby players. Although athletes try to fall asleep early on the day before a competition, they have bad luck with it, as proven by another study. Football players were also found to have reduced time to sleep. It’s because of frequent air traveling and jet lag, similar to what happens in the NBA.
Despite the fact that traditional recuperation methods such as massage and hydrotherapy after competition and exercising are used all the time, the quality of sleep is also taken into account. According to the research, the best way to relieve fatigue and stress in athletes is through sleep. In addition, it is reported that hypnosis can also help improve the well-being and performance of athletes. Of course, sleep and hypnosis are not panacea if you do not do them with other methods. Audio relaxation, for example, does not increase the performance of basketball players’ throws, but it can help them get relaxed.
Get plenty of rest and meditate
While the NBA leadership gives promises to change the schedule of competitions and reduce the workload for basketball players, players are finding ways to recover. For example, Tobias Harris practices breathing exercises to try to slow down his heart rate after training and matches.
Some people prefer meditation practices. According to George Mumford, who taught meditation to Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neill, and Chris Paul (practicing at least 15-20 minutes a day), it has proven to be beneficial for athletes. First, meditation lowers the levels of cortisol released during stress and increases blood pressure. Secondly, it calms you down before you go to bed. Thirdly, it improves endurance and, finally, allows you to train attention and concentration. “Meditation is not about pulling back and leaving, but rather a way of staying on the pitch and seeing it,” says George Mumford, who has worked with NBA players since the 90s.
LeBron James turns on airplane mode on his smartphone 45 minutes before bed and meditates to the sound of the rain. “At first I felt a little weird,” he explains. “But now I know it helps.” Clay Thompson of the Golden State Warriors tries to meditate to Mozart and Beethoven for an hour a day. It is more difficult than training, he said.
What we can get out of it
Of course, the average IT specialist in Russia does not have a busy schedule like the NBA basketball players or his colleagues in Asian countries, where they work ten hours a day, six days a week. But anyway he/she has a decent load, so it’s time to try a variety of recovery techniques: learn how sounds affect our sleep and productivity, overcome noise with music, start meditating or dive into the world of ASMR.
