Sleep and recovery
Why sleep is part of training, and how to spot too much fatigue.
3 min read
Sleep is part of training: in studies with athletes, sleeping longer and short naps improved performance.
7+hours
of sleep a night, regularly, for adults 18 to 60[1]
Recovery in a week
Hard session → Easy day or rest → Sleep 7+ hours → Next hard session → back to the start
Levlofit check-in: recovering well
- Weights feel normal or lighter
- You look forward to training
- Sleep is steady
Levlofit check-in: too much fatigue
- Performance drops for more than a week
- Motivation keeps falling
- Aches that do not settle
Hard and easy days
- MonHard
- TueEasy walk
- WedHard
- ThuRest
- FriHard
- SatEasy
- SunRest
Expert consensus
Coaches use planned lighter weeks, called deloads, to clear fatigue before it becomes a problem.[2]
Key points
- Adults 18 to 60 need 7 or more hours of sleep regularly.
- Alternate hard and easy days so you recover between hard sessions.
- Falling performance and motivation for over a week are signs of too much fatigue.
Up next
- One goal at a time: Part B: with the foundations in place, start building your main goal.
Sources
- [1] Watson NF et al. Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: a joint consensus statement of the AASM and SRS. J Clin Sleep Med 2015;11(6):591-592.
- [2] Bell L et al. Integrating deloading into strength and physique sports training programmes: an international Delphi consensus approach. Sports Med Open 2023;9:87.
- [3] Cunha LA et al. The impact of sleep interventions on athletic performance: a systematic review. Sports Med Open 2023;9(1):58.
General information from published guidelines, not medical advice, and not reviewed by a clinician. See a doctor for pain, illness, pregnancy or before hard training if you have a condition.