RMI Expeditions Blog
Posted by: Christina Dale, JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,200'
On The Map
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Categories: Mountaineering Fitness & Training
In a busy world of managing work schedules, family, and training, sleep is often the first thing to suffer. As we pack more and more into our day, we try to get away with less and less sleep. While it’s difficult to manage schedules and sometimes a last minute crunch demands heading to bed late for a few nights, athletic gains from your training are a sum of your training load and your recovery from that load. This means that simply putting in the training hours and effort are not enough; you need to give your body the time and ability to recover from those efforts as well. Additionally, studies of sleep and performance have shown a significant cognitive effect from continual sleep “debt” or sleep restriction. This all leads to the conclusion that you need to hold your sleep time just as sacrosanct in your schedule as you do your training time. If you can stick to this, you will find yourself much more productive with your waking hours as well! To make sure that you are giving your body the recovery it needs from your training load, studies suggest you follow several principles:
Set a consistent sleep schedule: To get quality sleep and maximize your recovery, it’s important to stick to a consistent schedule. Try to head to bed at each night and wake up at the same time. Your body develops a rhythm to sleep, and when your schedule is altered it can make it more difficult to fall asleep, or the sleep you get to be more fitful. Similarly, try to match your sleep schedule to your circadian rhythm. If you are a night owl, embrace it. Heading to bed at 1 am, and trying to wake at 5 am for a pre-work workout is a recipe for sleep deprivation. Recognize your circadian tendencies and try to design your schedule around them to accommodate.
Create a constructive sleep environment: Light pollution and excess noise can prevent you from entering the deepest stages of sleep, in which the majority of recovery from your training load occurs. Consider using fans or white noise machines to drown out excess noise, and consider blackout curtains to create an environment for truly restorative sleep.
Disengage from your screens half an hour before bed: Try to put your screens down at least a half hour before you head to bed. That includes your phone, Ipads, kindles, and televisions. All of the electronics in our lives create stimulation that can make it difficult to fall asleep, keeping us up longer and upsetting our rhythm.
Get 8 hours of sleep: Studies show that while many of us may think that we can operate on less, 8 hours of sleep is the magic number to maximize recovery in athletes. This number creeps up a few hours for teenagers and younger children. While a single night of less sleep will probably not affect your training appreciably, consistently shorting yourself on sleep will reduce your recovery, and reduce the efficacy of your training.
Try a nap! In studies of elite athletes’ recovery, a half hour nap between 2 and 4 pm was shown to dramatically improve recovery. Furthermore, a cup of coffee consumed before that nap helped athletes to wake from it alert and ready to go. While it may not be practical for everyone’s schedule, see if you can sneak in a quick catnap; it may be the performance boost you’ve been looking for!
The Canadian Sport for Life organization has published a detailed explanation of sleep studies as they pertain to long-term athlete development. Find it here: http://canadiansportforlife.ca/sites/default/files/resources/Sleep_Recovery_Jan2013_EN_web.pdf
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Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!
On The Map
That’s awesome, congratulations to the team!
Posted by: John Arnold on 12/15/2015 at 7:30 am
Well Done!*
Posted by: Ron Birch on 12/15/2015 at 12:30 am
Posted by: JJ Justman, Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,400'
RMI Guide JJ Justman calls from Camp 1 Aconcagua.
On The Map
Yeah! Wishing you all continued success. This is a wonderful way to end 2015 and be ready for new challenges in 2016. A special good wish and high-five to our nephew Chris. We are sooo proud of you! Prayers for you and the team…and a bit of the Christmas Cheer to warm you up. Say “Hi” to Santa! Love, Aunt Cindi and Uncle Roy
Posted by: Cindi Burrell on 12/15/2015 at 5:30 am
Great job on the move, in those conditions. The views only get better from here on. This is JJ’s mountain, and sounds as if you have a very strong team. Special shout out to Chris and John, and wishing only the best for all of you!
Posted by: Peter rogers on 12/15/2015 at 2:37 am
Posted by: JJ Justman, Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 16,400'
Your good timing on that carry is something to be thankful for! Here in the Cascade Mountains, at 4500 feet we have 2 full feet of fresh snow. So beautiful. Dogs diving and surfacing like dolphins to get through the powder. Back to you, intrepid team that you are, we wish you a smooth “moving house” day up to Camp 1. Onward!!
Blythe and Larry
Posted by: Blythe Lasley on 12/14/2015 at 2:37 pm
Sending you Love from Colorado! GO TEAM!!!
Posted by: Megan O'Meara on 12/13/2015 at 9:48 pm
RMI Guide Casey Grom checks in from Cayambe.
On The Map
Sending all my best to Danny, and fearless leader Casey Grom and team. I took a quick peak at the weather and looks like there may be some heavy snow in your area, especially Monday night. Hope all is well and you will be able to stay on schedule. Everyone looks they have been enjoying themselves in the pictures. Stay strong for yourselves and each other! -Virginia
Posted by: Virginia N. on 12/13/2015 at 3:12 pm
Posted by: Christina Dale, JJ Justman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Wishing you all a safe climb. Love hearing how it is going.
Chris, looking forward to seeing your great photos!
Posted by: Sally Schuler on 12/14/2015 at 12:23 pm
Glad to hear you’re all doing well! Sounds really cold up there, but I know you guys all dig that! Sending a shout out of “hello” to my pal Chris Villar. And hoping that you guys are all having a blast!
Posted by: Aaron Shumaker on 12/13/2015 at 12:15 pm
The landscape looks incredible & the team looks happy & enjoying the adventure!
Posted by: John Arnold on 12/12/2015 at 6:48 am
Looking good everyone* Have Fun!
Posted by: Ron Birch on 12/12/2015 at 1:29 am
Posted by: JJ Justman, Christina Dale
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Aconcagua
Elevation: 13,800'
Here in Oregon snow is falling and we are thinking of you! Climb well and high.
Blythe n Larry
Posted by: Blythe Lasley on 12/12/2015 at 11:49 am
So glad everyone is feeling and doing well. Good luck to Camp 1…..
Posted by: Dudley Macfarlane on 12/11/2015 at 8:08 pm
Christina wish I would be there with you on your climbing squad! Have a great time!
Posted by: Meredith on 12/15/2015 at 9:27 pm
Good job and good luck to the whole team! Way to go, John McFarlane! Keeping the drinks in your cup?
Posted by: Chris Colleran on 12/15/2015 at 7:20 pm
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