Sleeping well: the invisible training that pays off most

You spend hours planning workouts, looking after your diet and hunting for the perfect trainers… so how many do you spend looking after your sleep? It turns out that the most productive session of your week is the one you do lying down, with your eyes shut and snoring a little. Sleeping well is not laziness: it is the invisible training that puts everything else in order.

What happens while you sleep

While you rest, your body works flat out. During deep sleep, the muscle tissue damaged in training is repaired, the hormones linked to growth and recovery are regulated, and the brain consolidates what it has learned, including sporting technique. That is why the move you rehearsed a thousand times comes out cleaner after a good night's sleep: you have carried on training it while asleep.

Too little sleep sends you the bill

The flip side is less friendly. When you sleep too little or badly, recovery is left half done, your defences drop their guard and the risk of injury rises. Add to that a worse mood, less focus and a feeling of heavy legs that not even coffee can shift. Training hard and sleeping little is like filling a leaky bucket: however much effort you pour in, it slips out the bottom.

You can skip plenty of things in your preparation, but not sleep. It is the only session that improves all the others without you lifting a finger.

The Victoris team

Quantity and quality, both count

It is not just about racking up hours, but about those hours being restorative. Most adults work well on seven or eight hours, although someone training hard might need a little more. If you wake up rested and get through the day without collapsing mid-afternoon, you are on the right track. And if you string together weeks of poor sleep, do not ignore it: sometimes the best decision in your plan is to go to bed earlier.

Your next improvement is on the pillow

Before you go looking for the trendy supplement or the most demanding training plan, try something free and within everyone's reach: sleeping better. A good chunk of the performance you have been chasing for ages is probably hidden right there. Your body will pay you back with fresh legs and a clear head.