Get a good nights sleep is classic advice before a big race or event.
But you dont need all those parts of your brain to run or to work out.
Sleep deprivationmightmake you slower.
The difference was small: 3.86 miles versus 3.75 miles, on average.
The results are similar when youre looking at partial nights of sleep rather than full all-nighters.
You might not even notice.
Repeated anaerobic efforts, like weightlifting: Increased fatigue.
Sports requiring strategy and concentration: Youre worse at making decisions.
High vigilance sports, including anything where you have to aim at a target: Youll make more errors.
Theres another factor affecting how well you do: the time of day.
If youre smart, youll make sleep a priority during this time.
Work your bedtime in earlier by reminding yourself about this study of basketball playerspublished in the journal Sleep.
When you do wake up, thesame tips that help you get through the workdaywill apply here too.
That breakfast should probably include coffee, for several reasons.
First, caffeine helps you wake up; enough said.
Second, caffeineimproves performance in endurance races and other sports.
If you liked it during your training runs, use it on race day too.
Lastly, caffeine helps counteract some of the mental effects of sleep deprivation.
It mayhelp you make better decisions(helpful if your event requires strategy).
Take it easy if needed, andjust focus on surviving the workout.
That could mean that youre better off working out first thing than waiting until later in the day.
No matter what, in most cases, you should start by asking yourselfwhyyoure so tired.
One workout out of dozens wont make a big difference.
But if youre skipping workouts on the regular, you probably need to reschedule something.
Illustration by Tara Jacoby.
