I have been reading lately on Sleep Management as a profession and below is a summary of the main points related to how best to sleep.
a) The sleep room should have total black-out from the sun
b) Temperature control is extremely important and 16-18 C is the ideal range
c) The bedding is crucial. The key to a good night is sleeping in a mattress with just 10 centimetres of foam.
d) The normal 8-hour sleep theory is rubbish as it creates unnatural rhythms that mean the least productive time for an office worker is between one and three in the afternoon.
As per sleep expert Nick Littlehales, who guides the likes of Christiano Ronaldo on sleep matters, everyone has different physical and mental recovery times but that for elite athletes, five 90-minute sleep cycles a day is optimal, no matter what order they are in.
e ) Routine is important. Each athlete has their own chronotype; they are either morning people or night owls, a factor which is genetic. Discovery of what you are is of particular importance to-footballers, limited-overs cricketers and tennis stars, whose job is to perform at their optimal capabilities at nighttime. Some are simply born with an ability to function at a high level well into the night, others need to adapt.
f) Exposure to artificial lights of mobile phones and tablets has gone through the roof . Research shows the blue light emitted keep your brain ticking sleep by suppressing sleep hormone melatonin. They should be switched off 1.5 hours before sleep time.
g) The one electronic device which is recommended is a small dawn light simulator that emits gradual light to replicate the natural circadian process of sunrise. In an ideal world every athlete would combine one of those with black-out curtains, temperature control and clean air.
h) While as per experts sex is not prohibited a night before the big match, players should sleep alone. For players who do sleep with their partner there are many extra factors to consider; the size of the bed; whether the partner is a light or fitful sleeper; that a right-handed athlete is best sleeping on their left side but on the right side of the bed, facing out to the wall or window. At the extreme end of the scale are Roger Federer’s two separate houses for use during Wimbledon, one for himself and his training and conditioning staff, the other for his family.
i) It is best to sleep in the foetal position and in fresh laundry.
For more, you can read the book Sleep by Nick Littlehales:- https://www.amazon.in/Sleep-Nick-Littlehales/dp/0241975972/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504950618&sr=8-1&keywords=nick+littlehales
