We are all different: some “grow” faster, some slower, some taller, some shorter… But we all have one thing in common: in the evening we fall into bed and switch off until the morning. In this schedule, nothing depends on us. If we try to violate it, proving that we are able to independently control our destiny, it will be worse for us.
Who commands us? Right! Our “biological clock”!
For successful training, the precise functioning of our internal “clock” is extremely important. An athlete who has a “healthy” circadian rhythm, i.e. fluctuations in body temperature and the secretion of hormones fit into a 24-hour cycle, as part of the training it will give a hundred points to someone whose rhythm is disrupted.
Read the following points carefully and choose those that you can relate to:
- I often feel sleepy.
- It’s difficult for me to fall asleep, but when I fall asleep, I sleep well.
- I often want to go to bed early.
- In the morning I wake up too early.
- On weekends I sleep longer than on weekdays.
- I go to bed at different times, the difference is up to an hour or more.
If you find that three points hit the nail on the head, then your daily biorhythms are disrupted. The peak of activity occurs either too late (night owl syndrome) or too early (lark syndrome). If the first two points suit you one hundred percent, then you are a “night owl,” and if the third and fourth points, then you are a typical “lark.” Making up for “lack of sleep” (point 5) and non-compliance with sleep schedule (point 6) also indicates biorhythmic disturbances. “Night owls” usually sleep in on weekends, while “larks” tend to take a nap in the middle of the day.
Let’s set our watches. To be fair, it is worth saying that there are extremely few people with an ideal circadian rhythm. Most of us have a 25-26 hour internal “windup”. A lot depends on age. Teenagers are almost always night owls. And those who are older are usually “early people” with a 23-hour daily cycle.
However, within the large daily cycle there are smaller cycles. You’ve probably noticed that you go through periods of lows and highs of energy throughout the day. According to science, a decline in well-being is observed every 90 minutes and lasts up to a quarter of an hour. This mini-cycle directly affects your strength abilities, so if you are seriously focused on results, keep a diary of introspection. Then you can consciously regulate the intensity of your training.
In addition, during daylight hours we also experience a drop in psycho-emotional tone every 3 hours. Rise and fall. Muscle tone changes throughout the day, and the main reason for this is fluctuations in body temperature. The fact is that “hot” muscles are stronger than “cold” ones. The muscles perform their work best when the body temperature is close to the highest daily mark (about 17 hours). In the morning, the muscles work and develop worse. So, it is best to plan heavy training for 15-17 hours, when the muscles are ready to meet the load fully armed.
In order for your training to be extremely effective, you need to “debug” your daily cyclic rhythm. The reason is that rhythm disturbances impair athletic abilities, much more than lack of sleep. Paradoxically, lack of sleep only negatively affects concentration and mood, but the muscles grew and continue to grow. By the way, lack of sleep, even for several days, contrary to popular belief, does not disrupt circadian rhythms. The times of rise and fall remain the same: high activity during the day, low activity in the morning and evening. However, if you do not get enough sleep for a long time and, in addition, you physically strain at night (for example, at work on the night shift), then this will lead to a persistent disruption of the temperature and hormonal cycles, and then the effectiveness of the training.
How to adjust biorhythm.
Exercises. Evening training “shifts” the daily biorhythm 1-2 hours later – then it’s harder for you to get up. And for those who train in the morning, the circadian rhythm becomes “earlier”.
