The Importance of Rest in Sports: Key to Improving Performance

Sometimes, even a reset can be optimal for the system to continue fulfilling all its functions. And our natural way to restore the system is through rest. Sleeping well and getting enough hours at night, and being able to take a short nap – at least half an hour – or relax for a while during the day, are key to not feeling overwhelmed by exhaustion.

After all, all mammals relax after eating… But if a short break during the day is not possible, resting at night should definitely be mandatory.

Restorative Sleep

Nighttime sleep hours are essential if we want to face a new day full of energy, with our “batteries” fully charged. While we sleep, our metabolism slows down to allow total muscle relaxation, with sleep being the best restorative method for their tissues, as during the different phases of sleep, they regenerate. That’s where the importance of rest lies! Accelerating this is one of the benefits of pressotherapy.

And there are many more health benefits when we sleep at least 8 hours daily. Although there are no conclusive results on the minimum required hours of sleep, we will focus on 8 hours as a reference, even though some people feel recovered after sleeping well for 5-6 hours.

Sleeping provides us with a general state of well-being with positive effects on our memory and concentration capacity, as well as strengthening the immune system and reducing blood pressure or inflammation, not to mention that we will also feel more energetic and in a better mood.

Poor rest also affects weight gain, causing our body to secrete a hormone that increases your appetite, because the part of your brain that controls sleep is the same one that regulates metabolism.

Why should you worry if you can’t rest?

Our sleep patterns, often broken by the hectic pace of our lives or due to many worries on our minds, can lead to a state of stress that becomes chronic with terrible consequences for both body and mind.

None of these fully interconnected systems will work well if we don’t give rest the importance it deserves. If we have been sleeping poorly for a long time at night, without fully disconnecting.
Feeling that we haven’t really reached deep sleep but have spent the whole night restless and in a state of dozing – half awake, half asleep – it is very likely that we will wake up feeling like we’ve been run over by a truck. How important it is to rest!

It wouldn’t be unusual to suffer painful back muscle spasms or feel like your legs weigh as much as sacks of flour. This is a serious matter and we should not underestimate these warnings. They are likely symptoms of a sleep disorder that should be consulted and treated by our doctor before becoming severe.
A mind and body that don’t rest will sooner or later become a sick mind and body. Don’t wait any longer to give rest the importance it deserves!

Many ailments can result as consequences of poor rest:

1. Heart diseases
2. Diabetes
3. Some types of cancer
4. High blood pressure
5. Stroke
6. Decreased testosterone in men
7. Lack of sexual appetite in both sexes
8. Increased cortisol – the stress hormone – which can lead to overweight
9. Imbalance in endorphin production, which can lead to anxiety-depressive disorders
10. Irritability and lack of mental concentration
11. Low physical and mental performance

Basic tips to improve rest

Sometimes, we come home after an intense workday so tired that we would go straight to bed, but this is almost never possible, as we usually stay active for a while before embracing the pillow. Therefore, it would be advisable to adopt a series of patterns that help us enter “relax mode” and prepare us to fall peacefully into the arms of Morfeo:

• Maintain regular schedules
• Try to follow the solar cycle (go to bed a few hours after sunset and get up when the sun rises again)
• Try to recover our usual schedule as soon as possible when it has been broken during the weekend, for example, due to leisure activities
• Do not use devices like mobile phones or tablets shortly before sleeping and avoid working – whenever possible – before going to bed. All this keeps our brain alert and prevents us from disconnecting
• Maintain a stable temperature – between 18 and 22 degrees Celsius – in the bedroom
• Take a brief lukewarm shower an hour and a half before going to sleep
• Or take a foot bath, which also works like the shower
• Sleep without socks (a decrease in internal body temperature induces sleep)
• Do physical exercise – between 30 and 60 minutes – before having our dinner for athletes, keeping in mind that resting between exercise and eating is advisable to recover well and allow the body to finish its calorie-burning process, which remains active for an hour and a half after performing sports activity.
• Have a light dinner such as vegetables or salad or even a good nutritious smoothie to avoid heavy digestion and try to have dinner no later than one hour before sleeping
• Avoid sugar or caffeine before sleeping as they are stimulants that alter our nervous system
• Have sex whenever you feel like it, whether alone or with a partner. Orgasms are a powerful sedative and relaxant both mentally and muscularly, completely natural and highly recommended by doctors and psychologists

In conclusion, trying to find a balance that maintains a state of physical and mental well-being is essential for good rest.

Sizen as a relaxation facilitator

Yes, your SIZEN equipment can also be a perfect ally when it comes to resting. Any of the accessories have been designed to provide you with a complete and deep massage, capable not only of redirecting fluids by stimulating the lymphatic system, but also having a relaxing effect that loosens your muscles.

Whether during the day, in a short rest break, or at night before going to sleep, putting yourself “in the hands” of SIZEN can also help you fall asleep, as it’s time to give rest the importance it deserves. Closing your eyes while focusing on the massage or enjoying a good series during the pressotherapy (definition of pressotherapy) session will also help you enter a state of relaxation prior to sleep in which you should already feel much more rested.