Naps, sleeping times? Whats right. Maximizing rest to maximizing your performance

Naps are part of any athlete's schedule, but when does a nap start to become harmful?

I wanted to touch base on this article for a couple of reasons, I think, at times, we forget how busy kids lives can be: being in school all day, running home to get to practice or games, and doing homework in the car or late at night, not to mention family time, dinners, and everything else between.

As a former player, you regularly learn from your coaches and the older players you play with. Often, things get passed down that aren't applicable to the growth of your success. Ninety-eight percent of the players in the NHL take naps in the afternoon and eat huge meals at lunchtime to carry them over to game time. Nobody in the past asked questions; you just followed and did what you learned from things being passed down, only to learn that many of the habits are counter-productive to your peak performance.

After spending time with a sleep specialist, Dr. Chris Winters, and talking about the patterns and science behind proper sleep and the value it brings to not only your performance but also your overall growth, it is important that we step back at times and allow our kids to take 20-minute naps and breaks and learn more about the benefits from it.

Getting a good night's sleep is important and crucial for the body and mind to recover, but like any sport, our daily schedule is not routine. Late-night games or practice with travel and in some cases over multiple time zones can alter your schedule altogether.

The ritual of an afternoon can be viewed as a superstition for many, like the way a player may tape his stick, put on his equipment, etc.

Recent studies are starting to show that athletes are oversleeping during their pregame naps. The length being recommended is around 10-20 minutes and no more than 30 minutes. Longer naps tend to promote sleep inertia. Sleep inertia is the "groggy" feeling that immediately follows waking. Napping for greater than 30 minutes causes most people to feel groggy, which in turn causes a loss in concentration to the point of feeling "out of it." Longer naps take people longer to recover.

If your players are taking longer naps, they're in a way harming themselves because they won't be able to recover from the sleep inertia as quickly. Prescribed nap times of 10-30 minutes will help you feel more refreshed and have more alertness, which will make a positive impact on your game.

Coach This Way!