What about sleep?

[georginio1977]

Osu brothers. I have one question. I dont work normaly. I work somedays mornings,somedays afternoons and somedays nights. This sleep option cann give me negative effects in the training? It would be better if i would sleep normaly? I dont fell tired whenn i training... butt i ask if i would sleep normaly maybe i would have more energy?(sorry for my bad english) OSU!

[vapor]

rest and recovery are an important part of muscle building/fitness.
I don't know that you would have to do anything diferent or calculated, but you should be getting enough sleep to allow your muscles to recover from the workout that you gave them that day.

Maybe others can comment on their experience or their activities related to this.

vapor

[Azimuth]

I work in a 4 shift schedule for about 20 years now .
And it is difficult . But even if you feel totally worn out
you still have to go and train .
The older you get the less sleep you need .
and even if you can't fall a sleep you should take as many rest as you can get.
I will recover when i retire in another 25 years Lol

[Spirit]

The older you get the more sleep that the body desires and needs, just as you are when you are young child... Remenber the saying once a man twice a baby....

First you'll most likely need a new bed, the quaility of your bed will effect the quality of sleep. A hard bed is best and sleeping on your back is best as well. Try to sleep and eat at the same times each and every day.
Also look into a magnetic bed cover to sleep on.
Lastly change your diet, if you do eat or drink dite or sugar free foods (including "all naturale foods) stop. If you can eat only Organic foods. Do cleansing for the body their are 7 types to do www.naturalcures.com, bet this book natural cure and do all in chapter 6...

It is a little work and a little bit expensive, but can you put a cost on your health. Since you put so much effort into your training of your body, why not put the same effort into training and keeping your internal body just as health?!?

[fixi]

i feel very tierd, if i do not get enough sleep.

my fitness is easiely affected by getting not enough sleep, food, water, whatever my body needs to recover.
my advice is to eat normal, including vegetables, fruits and all the other healthy stuff and sleeping at least 8 h a night. if you are training hard and your work is physically hard you should perhaps try to use some supplements like proteinshakes and vitamins & minerals. so your body gets all the energy and help to recover as fast and good as possible.

so far
fixi

[homer_simpson]

Having a good sleep is important. I personally find that when I don't have enough sleep, my reflexes are much slower, and harder to concentrate.

If you can't set a fixed schedule to sleep, just ensure that you have a healthy amount of sleep every day.

About energy level, first, it could be due to your lack of sleep. Second, it could be due to your diet. Third, it could be due to lack of exercise or over-training.

[Mindster]

Exactly as homer says (lol)
i'm waking now everyday 6am, eating in 3-in-3 hours (saw that it was right, keeps the metabolism working) and i feel SO much better than when i used to wake 1pm or something like that... I think my grandpa was right, it's good to wake preeeettyyy soon ^^

[chen3141]

A few quotes to help you

"Question: "Sensei, when do you train yourself?"
Answer: "I practice 24 hours a day.""

"If someone asked me what a human being ought to devote the maximum of his time to, I would answer, "Training." Train more than you sleep."
Mas. Oyama

"The serious Judo (karate) exponent trains every day."
Takahiko Ishikawa and Donn F. Draeger

"I only train on days ending in a Y."
Neil Ohlenkamp

[andy83]

The night is the better moment of the day to sleep, naturally.
But some works are so different and you sleep the afternoon and stay awake in the night ecc.
Anyway try to sleep about 8 hours a day (in the night or afternoon), and you'll see less negative effects. So the body settle into situation, at the end.

[Paedde]

Don't forget the sleep phases, so sleep 6, 7.5 or 9 hours. (6 is better than 7, try it out by yourself )

I try to sleep always 7.5 hours, and I have a lot more power than before

[chen3141]

if you are wanting to get less sleep, wean yourself off slowly. Like taking off 15 minutes every two weeks until you get the desired time.

[intwominds]

Thinking back to my uni course, we were told that the hours before midnight are the most important ie. if you have the option go to early and get up early, rather than go to bed late and get up late. Apparently you sleep more soundly in the hours before midnight (something to do with natural daily body rhythms) and should wake up more refreshed the following day. Its a little more difficult though when you are working shift work. For shiftwork, I have heard it is better to have a regular roster, ie. 2 weeks night shift, 2 weeks day shift, etc. rather than mixing it all up within the 1 week - maybe some other shiftworkers can give input on this?

[hasbeen]

if sleep is so important to training how come on summer camps you are woken up at during the night and chased for ten miles with instructors bashing you over the back with "shinais"[sticks-excuse spelling] or is that a thing of the past? lol...

[seienchin]

I think it might be a thing of the past.... Just when I would have been able to be the one doing the chasing...but then again, I am now too decrepit to do any chasing of anyone!

Here's some food for thought - literally. Some camps (in my opinion) go so far down this pathway as to a be as good as inductions for cults. They do most of the following:

1. Remove the karateka from their usual environment, and surround them with people who strongly support the leader's agenda
2. Often change diet dramatically - eg fully vegetarian camps
3. Sleep deprivation
4. rigid enforcement of hierarchy even outside of training sessions
5. Ritual humiliation of those who question or disobey
6. Extremes of exercise, cold/heat/exhaustion
7. promises of reward for adherence/obedience/compliance...

I am lucky enough to have been on lots of camps, in lots of different places. Most were healthy, happy and fun. A couple were scary, because they fulfilled all of the above criteria. . Those are the camps to be avoided...sleep or no sleep...

[hasbeen]

Originally Posted by seienchin

I think it might be a thing of the past.... Just when I would have been able to be the one doing the chasing...but then again, I am now too decrepit to do any chasing of anyone!

Here's some food for thought - literally. Some camps (in my opinion) go so far down this pathway as to a be as good as inductions for cults. They do most of the following:

1. Remove the karateka from their usual environment, and surround them with people who strongly support the leader's agenda
2. Often change diet dramatically - eg fully vegetarian camps
3. Sleep deprivation
4. rigid enforcement of hierarchy even outside of training sessions
5. Ritual humiliation of those who question or disobey
6. Extremes of exercise, cold/heat/exhaustion
7. promises of reward for adherence/obedience/compliance...

I am lucky enough to have been on lots of camps, in lots of different places. Most were healthy, happy and fun. A couple were scary, because they fulfilled all of the above criteria. . Those are the camps to be avoided...sleep or no sleep...

i couldn`t agree more,i went to one and the group i went with got everything you have listed but no rewards

[seienchin]

Originally Posted by hasbeen

i couldn`t agree more,i went to one and the group i went with got everything you have listed but no rewards

Ripped off!

[A-jay]

if you train more then 3/4 times a week, sleep is extremely important. A nap during the day isnt a bad idea either.
Last week I had a habit of sleeping at 02.00 and waking up at 7.30 am, while training 4 times a week (intensive karate).At friday, I watched a movie, went to sleep at 2 am again. I was only half asleep when I saw and heard the television again. I thought I'd slept before turning it off. So I grabbed the remote but when I turned back facing the television it was off already and the sound was gone too.
So yes, not sleeping enough as a karateka can literally drive you mad.
I'd suggest sleeping whenever you have the time. Wether it's at night or day.

[helenosch]

I remember the two summer camps I was at, the rhythm was more: sleep train eat (not necessarily in that order

[Zanshin]

I think this is a situation you have to experiment with for aq few days/ weeks. Get yourself a good alarm clock and try getting from 6-8 hours of sleep and gauge how your training is affected. Because of my job and schoolwork I have trained on 6 hours of sleep and no sleep each hae their benefits although I dont recommend training on no sleep for any prolonged period of time. You have to find what works for you. Sleep is necessary though its the downtime your body uses to repair and recuperate.

[DKKC]

Sleep is very important but being woken up during the night to train once or twice (or a few times) per year has absolutely no long term effects. You'll just be tired the next day - or for a few days, depending how much sleep you can cram in during the day!