The secret to cycling faster and longer? You might think that in a sport synonymous with suffering, it’s all about climbing more hills, ticking off more sessions and simply spending more hours in the saddle.
But you’d be wrong, because the ‘more, more, more’ ethos is the fast-track way to overtrain, hit the wall and fall ill.
Instead, you need to pay as much attention to recovery as riding – and when it comes to recovery, your greatest tool to adapt and rebuild stronger from your day’s ride is sleep.
A good night’s sleep is essential for faster cycling. This is down to the number of adaptations to your body that take place during the night.
Take human growth hormone (HGH), which is released in bucket-loads from the brain’s pituitary gland when you’re asleep. HGH repairs and rebuilds muscles, meaning lack of sleep equals lack of HGH production, which equals restricted muscle growth.
Sleep, or lack of it, also affects eating habits. Again, this relates to hormones – specifically the ones that control eating behaviour. Rising levels of a hormone called ghrelin signal that it’s time to start eating, while increased levels of the hormone leptin tell you you’re full.
Studies show that lack of sleep results in increased levels of both, leading to bad food choices, increased weight and slower cycling.
Silentnight is fully aware that lack of sleep and peak cycling performance aren’t happy bedfellows.
The UK’s most recognised sleep brand has been serving athletes and the population as a whole for over 80 years, producing mattresses, beds and headboards from its cutting-edge factory in Barnoldswick, Lancashire.
Silentnight knows that all of us and our sleep requirements are different, which is why it has created the Sleep Training Plan – a four-week programme designed for cyclists to improve their sleep to maximise their training gains.
The plan covers everything you need to forge your perfect sleep routine, be it nutritional advice or buying tips, with a different sleep tip each day. Come the end of the four weeks, you’ll have a personalised, optimised sleep plan for a happier, faster you.
Want to take your training to the next level? Download our sleep training plan produced in partnership with Silentnight.
1. Caffeine control
At events such as the Tour de France, riders will refrain from consuming caffeine late in a stage unless their role is vital to that day’s success – be it a sprinter seeking victory upon a flat parcours or a GC rider consolidating their lead in a mountain finish.
That’s because while caffeine is a proven performance-enhancer – research shows it boosts power, endurance and focus – it’s also a proven sleep-impairer.
Adenosine is a substance that accumulates in the brain during wakefulness and eventually promotes sleepiness. Caffeine is an adenosine impersonator, so it blocks its build-up, meaning you’ll not only struggle to fall asleep, but when you do, it’ll make your sleep more fitful.
As Silentnight highlights on the Wednesday of week one of the sleep training plan, we should all cease drinking caffeinated products after 2pm.
2. Pre-sleep, post-ride feeding
As a recreational cyclist, you're well-versed in balancing work, family and pedalling.
You aim to achieve your cycling goals, ideally without leading to divorce and unemployment.
It’s why indoor training and indoor-training apps have exploded – you can wrap up your day with a hard hour’s effort, no matter how time-starved you are and how inclement the weather.
The problem is, as Silentnight reveals in week two, the ideal is that you don’t eat a heavy meal within two hours of bedtime. Heavy consumption forces your body to work hard to digest the food, at a time when you should be winding down.
It’s a quandary because replenishing your muscle glycogen levels and consuming sufficient protein is vital to maximise your time on the trainer. But so is sleep.
So, what do you do?
One idea is to have a larger lunch and a smaller post-ride dinner. Or even split your dinner into two – before and after the ride.
You should also accept that late-night exercise can impair sleep quantity (and quality), so instead of going to bed at 10pm, go to bed at 11pm.
This gives your body more time to digest the food and absorb the nourishing nutrients. Ultimately, it’s better to focus on sleep quality than fitful hours of broken sleep.
3. Platform for success
Team Sky popularised the idea that improved sleep equals improved performance.
The British team, now called Ineos Grenadiers, tapped into a wealth of studies in this area, including research that showed one night’s restricted sleep resulted in a 4 per cent drop in time-trial performance. Or that prolonged sleep restriction significantly elevated inflammatory markers that raised the prospects of illness and a spell off the saddle.
It’s why an employee driving a ‘sleep van’ drove ahead of the riders, swapping the upcoming hotel’s mattresses and pillows for each rider's own mattress and topper.
The team knew how detrimental an old, uncomfortable mattress is when it comes to a good night’s sleep and peak performance. And Silentnight does, too, as you’ll discover on the Friday of week three.
4. Hot, cool… relax
A professional rider’s routine is etched into their DNA.
Awake, eat, transfer to race start, ride, finish, warm down, hit the team bus, refuel, arrive at the hotel, shower, massage, dinner and bed. Repeat. Many times over.
When it comes to the bed part of that oft-used equation, ideally, the hotel’s air conditioning or the team’s own portable units will have the room nestling at around 16 to 18°C, which is optimum for a good night’s sleep.
That good night’s sleep will crank up to a great night’s sleep if, like many riders do and as Silentnight reveals in week two (Tuesday), they have a warm shower before slipping beneath the sheets. The temperature drop from the aquatic environment to the hotel environment naturally triggers the sleep hormone melatonin, resulting in better-quality sleep.
5. Pure air, pure sleep
WorldTour squads don’t only use air conditioning units in search of a perfect performance-enhancing night’s sleep – they use air purifiers and dehumidifiers, too.
These devices purify the air, clearing out dust that can result in breathing problems and impaired performance.
They also balance out humidity. Too high and the excess moisture can lead to mould growth, too low and the lack of moisture dries out the nasal passage and throat, making it uncomfortable to breathe.
In short, better oxygen flow equals a better night’s sleep.
But as Silentnight shows in week three, an air-purifying machine isn’t essential. You can simply open the window for ventilation or even add an air-purifying plant. Snake plants, peace lilies and aloe vera are good options.
6. Consistency counts
It takes some commitment to be a performance-seeking recreational rider. You work hard Monday to Friday and then, come the weekend, while your contemporaries are enjoying a lie in, you’re up at the same time as a workday to ride for several hours with your mates. That’s not just summer, but all-year round. Cold, wet, windy… all the time.
The good news is your efforts are rewarded with a performance double-whammy.
Not only do you benefit from your morning ride, but your sleep quality and quantity improve too, resulting in further performance gains.
That’s because sleep loves a routine. Keep to a week-long schedule and watch your performance and health fly.
7. A Silentnight’s sleep
The average WorldTour rider competes for around 80 race days a year, be it at a GrandTour race such as the Giro d’Italia or a one-day classic such as Paris-Roubaix.
That’s a lot of hotels, the quality of which can vary, especially in a three-week race, where the respective event organiser chooses which team sleeps where on any given night – mixing up the good, bad and ugly in the interests of fairness.
It’s why the sacrificial support staff will recce the accommodation beforehand and ensure the riders sleep on the quiet side of the hotel – in other words, if there’s a nightclub out front and tranquillity at the back, it’ll be the mechanics and soigneurs who’ll be wrestling with the banging beats.
Background noise is one of sleep’s major enemies, but it can be overcome. Silentnight suggests that not only the team’s backroom heroes but recreational riders can mask background noises by playing white noise or nature sounds. It’s also great for quietening overactive thoughts.
All in all, a good night’s sleep is key to faster cycling. Follow this exclusive 28-day sleep plan and you’ll be stronger before you’ve even turned a pedal. Chapeau to that.
