Blitz - June-July 2017

ASK THE DOC

Whether you’re a professional or amateur competitor, in a full-contact or semi-contact combat

sport, sleep can be a deciding factor in a fight. Learn how to structure your fight or training camp

for optimal sleep and recovery, taking advantage of circadian biology.

Sleep to Win

W

HY SLEEP?

So, what is sleep and

why do we need it?

The answer to this question is not

fully known, but we do know that

without sleep we cannot live or

function at our best. On average,

a person requires somewhere

between seven and nine hours

of sleep per night. However, in

Australia we are only getting six-

to-seven hours, and if you work

shift work or travel a lot, you may

be getting only four-to-five hours

per night. Sleep is like a type of

fuel: what you take out, you must

restore. And while we wouldn’t

dream of entering a competition

on an empty stomach, many of

us think nothing of struggling

through the next fight on an

empty ‘sleep tank’.

Sleep loss or accumulated

sleep debt will affect your ability

to think quickly as well as your

ability to revise plans or strategies

in the moment. If you’re going to

win, you’ve got to stay one or two

moves ahead of your opponent,

you’ve got to be fully aware

of the big picture, and you’ve

got to do it all automatically.

Sleepiness dulls your competitive

edge considerably.

FIGHT CAMP SCHEDULING

The first thing to consider is the

time of your fight. If your fight is

scheduled to be at 10pm, but you

are normally in bed then, this can

hinder your performance on fight

night. As you step into the ring or

cage, you may be feeling snoozy

and not neurologically prepared

for the fight.

To prevent this, you need to

replicate your fight conditions

and fight time at least three

weeks out from a scheduled fight

taking place. This will allow your

body and mind to get used to

staying awake at the time of the

Be the one who sleeps

well before the fight,

not during it.

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