Myth: Sleep before a contest

You can?t store sleep. If you try by sleeping twelve hours, you will be worse off than if got by eight.

Sleep extra hours before a contest

You can’t store sleep. You can’t catch up on sleep, either. If you try by sleeping twelve hours, you will be worse off than if got by eight. Bed rest does not give energy after eight hours, nine at most.

Bed rest has a severe deconditioning effect. All the body processes slow down. After six hours, the heart beat gets down to its basal rate. The metabolism drops. The circulation becomes sluggish. The muscles become flaccid.

The whole body begins it lose its tone. A person who has been inactive for three days has lost five percent of his strength. Remaining in bed beyond a maximum of nine hours only makes you weaker.

Lying in bed in a relaxed state, incidentally, is almost as restful as sleeping and your level of recovery is sufficient.

Rather than remaining in bed beyond eight hours because you haven’t slept the night before, get out of bed - and promise to yourself to relax the next time you cannot get to sleep.

(Source: Webhealthcenter.com)