For some athletes, it is not always possible to get enough sleep the night before a game. Athletes can use strategies such as sleep banking to counteract the effects of inadequate rest.
“Let’s say you could get 11 or 12 hours [of sleep] over the weekend, and then on Monday and Tuesday night, if you’re only able to get five or six hours, that little bit of extra sleep [from the weekend], you can take it out of the bank,” said Aspen Ankney, clinical professor of performance sport and exercise psychology at the University of Illinois Chicago. “You can check it out and use [the extra sleep] to offset some of the cognitive and physical declines you will get.”
Sophomore Katelyn Klein has experienced the effects of poor sleep while competing.
“During flag football [season], there was one night where I just did not get enough sleep and I was just up doing homework, and the next day we had a really big game, and I think my energy was just down, and I kind of made some stupid mistakes,” Klein said.
According to Ankney, another way athletes can improve their sleep prior to performance is by developing a sleep routine.
“Whether that’s putting screens away in the last half hour you’re awake, you take a warm shower, you read a book, you pet your dog, you talk to your sibling about your day, whatever it is, something that’s routine and gets your body and mind used to the fact that, ‘Oh, it’s time for sleep,’” Ankney said.
Without enough sleep, the brain does not prioritize recovery or fixing injuries, Ankney said.
Nutrition can also help with recovery.
“[A balanced meal is] going to help you recover much faster,” said Kirsten Straughan, director of the University of Illinois Chicago’s nutrition science program. “It helps your lean muscle tissues to repair more quickly, and prevents injury.”
What an athlete eats for apost-competitionmeal should restorecarbohydratesto prepare for the next competition or practice, contain protein to repairany muscle tissue breakdown and reduce inflammation through antioxidants obtained from fruit and vegetables, Straughan said.
Athletes should also have a larger, balanced meal three to four hours before a game, Straughan said.
“We want to make sure that you’re including protein, fruits and vegetables, and then about half of the plate should be some type of carbohydrate,” Straughan said.
Closertothecompetition, athletes should prioritize carbohydrates for quick energy and minimize fiber, which could slow digestion, Straughan said.
According to Jayson Patel, head strength and conditioning coach at Glenbrook North, it can actually be beneficial to weight-lift prior to a game.
“A very low volume [lift], just a quick stimulus to kind of prepare the body and prime the body to compete later in that day,” Patel said.
Active recovery daysfollowing a competition focus on mobility, foam rolling, attacking weak points and light cardio, Patel said.
“As far as active recovery goes, the goal is to promote blood flow and restore range of motion in all of our main joints, because some of that can kind of get lost when we’re stuck in the same patterns, repetitive over and over and over again through playing sports,” Patel said.