7 Sleeping Tips for Student-Athletes
November 5, 2019
Henry Ford Health System
Many athletes seem to believe time spent not training is time wasted. But, on the contrary.
The time athletes spend resting and sleeping is actually just as important. Take the world’s best female skier, Mikaela Shiffrin, for example. Shiffrin reportedly not only sleeps nine hours each night, but naps at least an hour every day.
So, what does sleeping have to do with her success? When asleep, the body not only has time to recover, but the information that was taken in during the day goes from short-term memory and becomes long term.
“Being an elite athlete is a 24-hour profession, and sleep and recovery are integral to optimal performance,” says Meeta Singh, M.D., a sleep medicine specialist at Henry Ford Health System.
Here are seven tips to help your student athlete catch some Zzzs during the season:
1. Limit caffeine. Caffeine is a popular ingredient in many pre-workout drinks, and many athletes choose to use it for an energy boost. However, having caffeine late in the day may make falling asleep and staying asleep difficult. But, everyone reacts differently to caffeine, so athletes should try logging their intake to determine what time to stop consuming and how much is okay to consume.
2. Maintain a regular sleep schedule. The body has an internal clock that’s largely affected by environment. Going to bed and waking up at approximately the same time each day can add a natural rhythm to the body’s internal clock, which can cause people to feel more awake during the day and fall asleep easily at night.
3. Workout early. Often times, working out later in the day gives people a burst of energy that can keep them up late into the night. For example, exercising after 9 p.m. can boost body temperature, making sleep difficult. However, research shows morning workouts can help achieve deeper sleep, and working out in the afternoon can help reduce insomnia.
4. Unplug. Nothing can keep one up at night like a buzzing smartphone. Additionally, the blue light a phone emits may slow the production of melatonin, making sleep difficult. Advise your children to leave electronics out of reach while they’re sleeping. And as an added bonus: If their phone is their alarm, it will force them out of bed in the mornings.
5. Use essential oils. Essential oils have seen growing popularity in recent years, and this is in part because scent helps trigger memory. Oils can be diffused, rubbed on temples or drops can be spread on pillows. Popular oils for promoting sleep are lavender, valerian root and roman chamomile.
6. Focus on breathing. Focusing on breath can help steady heart rate and relax the body. A popular breathing technique is the 4-7-8 exercise, in which one inhales through the nose for four seconds, holds their breath for seven, and exhales for eight.
7. Keep it dark, cool and quiet. Having the right environment is an important part of falling asleep … and staying asleep.
Ultimately, when it comes to enhancing athletic performance, getting proper sleep, resting and recovering can be just as important as training or hitting the gym.
“Since sleep can modulate reaction time and accuracy, it’s important to ensure an athlete gets his or her Zzzs,” Dr. Singh says.
See also: Is Your Teen Sleep Deprived?
Want to learn more? Henry Ford Health System sports medicine experts are treating the whole athlete, in a whole new way. From nutrition to neurology, and from injury prevention to treatment of sports-related conditions, they can give your athlete a unique game plan.
Visit henryford.com/sports or call (313) 972-4216 for an appointment within 24 business hours.
Century of School Sports: MHSAA Work Guided by Representative Council
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
December 3, 2024
One of the most common misconceptions about the MHSAA over its 100-year history is that all decisions regarding school sports in Michigan are made by the staff in the East Lansing office.
The MHSAA truly is an organization built upon its membership, with its Representative Council the legislative body that has produced the rules and tournament schedules currently in place to provide structure in athletics for more than 750 high schools and hundreds more middle schools across the state.
The Representative Council is the 19-member legislative body of the MHSAA. All but five members are elected by member schools. Four members are appointed by the Council to facilitate representation of females and minorities, and the 19th position is occupied by the Superintendent of Public Instruction or designee.
The Council considers all proposals brought before it from MHSAA sport and other appointed committees that meet throughout the year, and also makes decisions on a variety of eligibility rules, postseason tournament and operational issues. The Council regularly considers 30 committee proposals during its Spring meeting alone, along with a handful of others during Fall and Winter meetings which otherwise are primarily opportunities for discussion of topics that may come up for action at a later date.
Eight representatives are elected across four regions – two apiece from the Northern Lower Peninsula, Southeastern Michigan, Southwestern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula – and also based on school enrollment, with one representative from each of those regions from the larger Class A and B-sized schools and one representative from each region from the smaller Class C and D-sized schools. There are also two statewide at-large positions, two representing junior high/middle schools, and elected representatives from Detroit Public Schools and private and parochial schools.
All Representative Council members must be representatives of a member school, as faculty or board of education members. Every Council candidate must have superintendent or principal approval in writing and be qualified for the position for which that person is running.
Elections take place every fall after names of candidates are submitted and published to the MHSAA Website by April 15 the preceding spring. Ballots are mailed to schools in September and must be postmarked no later than two weeks after they were sent by the MHSAA office. A Board of Canvassers appointed annually counts the ballots, which must be signed by the principal and superintendent of that member school (except for private and parochial schools, which require signature by the principal only).
Council members are selected by majority vote.
Terms for elected Council representatives are two years long. Appointed members also serve two-year terms and may not serve longer than two successive terms.
The Council meets three times annually. Council officers – president, vice president and secretary-treasurer – are elected during the Fall meeting for the full Council.
Five members of the Council also convene monthly during the school year to form the MHSAA’s Executive Committee, which reviews appeals of Handbook regulations by member schools. Those five include the three elected officers.
Previous "Century of School Sports" Spotlights
Nov. 26: Finals Provide Future Pros Early Ford Field Glory - Read
Nov. 19: Connection at Heart of Coaches Advancement Program - Read
Nov. 12: Good Sports are Winners Then, Now & Always - Read
Nov. 5: MHSAA's Home Sweet Home - Read
Oct. 29: MHSAA Summits Draw Thousands to Promote Sportsmanship - Read
Oct. 23: Cross Country Finals Among MHSAA's Longest Running - Read
Oct. 15: State's Storytellers Share Fall Memories - Read
Oct. 8: Guided by 4 S's of Educational Athletics - Read
Oct. 1: Michigan Sends 10 to National Hall of Fame - Read
Sept. 25: MHSAA Record Books Filled with 1000s of Achievements - Read
Sept. 18: Why Does the MHSAA Have These Rules? - Read
Sept. 10: Special Medals, Patches to Commemorate Special Year - Read
Sept. 4: Fall to Finish with 50th Football Championships - Read
Aug. 28: Let the Celebration Begin - Read
PHOTO The MHSAA Representative Council and Executive Director Mark Uyl (front row, far right) take a group photo during its Spring Meeting in May. (Photo by Jon Ross.)