Sports & Sleep - the two essentials for a good life!

Picking up a sport and making it part of routine, helps one destress and be in a better position to handle life’s challenges. Playing a sport ensures we stay physically and mentally fit and build sportsman spirit of fairness, courage and persistence that could help in our relations as well. Most of all, the golden time allocated to playing a sport, helps release endorphins and lifts spirits, as one sweats and enjoys the game. Most sports involve a team, which in turn provides an opportunity to bond with others.

The two are intrinsically linked. While sports helps sleep well, sleep helps perform well.

Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter and gold medalist, popularly said, "Sleep is extremely important to me - I need to rest and recover in order for the training I do to be absorbed by my body".

Sleep helps the body heal and rebuild muscles. Tennis great, Serena Williams, told a UK publication that she likes to sleep well and enjoys going to bed early around 7 p.m.

Apart from all the mental conditioning and conscious eating, sleep plays a major role in athletic performance and competitive results. REM sleep in particular provides energy to both the brain and body. If sleep is cut short, the body doesn’t have time to repair memory, consolidate memory, and release hormones. Good quality sleep is most important for strength and endurance. So it's important to look for the best bed and mattress for the comfort of athletes. Many top rated mattress brands supply good quality mattress for athletes so they can choose the best one for their muscle recovery.

How to keep performance level up-

• Get high quality sleep 
• Crosstrain with a completely different activity such as yoga, stretching, or going for a walk on the day not playing a sport 
• Have a Massage on your rest day to help reduce muscle aches, pains and soreness.
• Get Adequate Sleep. Ideally sleep early and wake up early. 
• Eat before and after a sport, just ensure to have a gap of time in between. Proteins and fluids are a must.