Summary

• What does getting "better quality sleep" really mean?
• The path to great quality sleep starts in the morning (strange, eh!?)
• 4 steps to an effective morning routine
• Check out our Running Coaching Programs in our Online Store

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Full Transcript

[The following is the full transcript of this episode of the BE Fit Coach "Let's Talk Running" show.  Please note that this episode, like all LTR episodes, is usually unscripted and unedited and features Barrie talking about a subject that we believe runners will find useful and interesting.]

Last week we looked at how sleep is the most crucial part of your recovery process.  Most of us are not getting enough good quality sleep, which will be holding you back from performing at your best - whether that’s your running performance or your life in general.

Hi runners, I’m Barrie Evans, the owner and creator of BE Fit Coach where I focus on providing the best quality running assessment and coaching programs that work with you as an individual runner.  In the rest of this video, I am going to be talking about how you can start working towards getting better quality sleep.

It’s important to note that getting better quality sleep is not something that will magically come your way.  If you really want to get better quality sleep then you need to be devoting time and attention to it.  Start by setting yourself an intention to get better quality sleep then work through ideas that will help you.

Notice that I am not saying that you should try to get more sleep, rather that you should work towards getting better quality sleep.  Better quality sleep includes the amount of time you spend asleep, but also the quality of that sleep.

So how do you go about doing this?

Think about your sleep quality right now.  Do you feel like your sleep is helping you to be prepared to face the day ahead?  Do you wake up each morning feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world?  Or do you feel tired and wish you could find more energy from somewhere?  Maybe you are finding yourself relying on stimulants such as caffeine to get you through the day.  Whatever your sleep currently feels like, just take a moment to consider that this is just where you are right now on a scale that runs from worse at one end to better at the other.

The purpose of this video is not to suggest that you need to immediately fix everything and get to the top of the better end of the scale, but to help you focus on skills, practices and daily actions that start to move you along that scale towards better so that you increase your chances of getting enough good quality sleep.

A great place to start is by creating a pre-sleep routine that sets you up for the best sleep possible, but even before that is creating a morning routine that sets you up for the day.  It may sound strange, but the path to getting enough quality sleep starts in the morning.  So that’s what I am going to cover now.

So, let’s spend the rest of this video taking a look at how your morning routine can help set you up for the day.

The first thing I want to cover is about helping your body get used to a regular routine.  Your body likes regularity, and through having a regular schedule it will get used to knowing when to release calming hormones before bed, and stimulating hormones when it’s time to wake up.  So waking up at a regular time will help your body feel ready to start the day.

Having a great morning routine is also a fantastic way to set you up for the day.  I’ll do a separate video another time to talk about my own morning routine, but this is something that I have developed over time that I feel really supports my mental, physical and emotional health.

If you typically find yourself waking up feeling groggy, it might also be worth considering using a device or an app that can sense the different parts of your sleep cycle and wake you up during a light stage of sleep.  Waking from a light sleep can help you feel better and more alert.

Depending on how dark your bedroom is, which is something that I’ll cover in the pre-sleep routine, you may want to consider using a light-based alarm clock.  Light naturally raises cortisol which is a really good thing in the morning, so a light-based alarm clock that gently increases the light level as it gets closer to your planned wake-up time, can help you feel both more relaxed and more alert.

Finally, movement is great for speeding up the waking process.  So, when it is time to wake, forget that snooze button, sit up on the edge of the bed and plant your feet firmly on the floor.  Not only are you getting your body moving but you’re also setting the intention that you are going to get up and start your day.

I have never been one for hitting the snooze button, but I know a lot of people are.  I can see the benefit in terms of feeling like it is waking you slowly, but the reality is that you are creating a broken pattern of sleep that won’t be as revitalising as using the same amount of time to allow your body to sleep naturally.  Where movement appears to speed up the waking process, snoozing increases sleep inertia.  So set the alarm for the time you actually need to wake up and get those feet on the floor as soon as possible.  Your body will thank you for it, although if you are used to hitting snooze 10 times it may take a little getting used to.

So there you have it, my advice for creating a morning routine that will help set you up for the best chance of getting better quality sleep come bedtime.  I’d love to hear from you once you’ve tried some of these suggestions, so please drop a comment down below or send me an email to let me know how you get on.

Next week, I’ll be looking at your pre-sleep routine and how you can use this to start moving you towards getting the best sleep possible.

Don’t forget to sign up for our email list to ensure you get the earliest notification of new videos and blog posts.  You should find a link down below somewhere, but you can also head over to the BE Fit Coach website, that’s be-fit-coach.co.uk and use the sign-up form there instead.

It’s been great having the opportunity to share some further tips with you and I look forward to sharing more with you next week.  Until then, bye for now.

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