5 Tips to Help You Fall Asleep Before Your Big Race

July 08, 2014

You’ve been preparing for your upcoming race for months, put all your efforts into the big swim, but we often work ourselves up and over-analyze everything we’ve worked for. Your nerves keep you up the night before the race and it makes you even more nervous because you’re not getting enough sleep before the big day. You tell yourself that if you fall asleep right now you’ll still get X amount of hours of sleep. Here are 5 tips to help you fall asleep before the race from swimswam.com:

1) Avoid technology

When you stare at your cell phone or tablet in bed you’re sending your body mixed signals. Your body thinks it’s ready for bed, yet your mind is concentrating on what’s on the screen.

2) Set up nightly routines

Think of this routine as your bedtime countdown. You should start getting your body into doing the same 3-4 things every night before you go to bed. This routine helps your body prepare for bed time. This will also really help you if you aren’t in the comfort of your own home.

3) Clear your mind

Trying to calm your mind down before race day is difficult. You’ll more than likely be thinking about all your preparation, what you could’ve done better, etc. A good way to get all these thoughts out of your mind is to write it all down on a piece of paper. It allows you to vent about what you want to and allows the brain to settle.

4) Do some stretching

If you’re feeling tense try to loosen up your muscles and do some easy stretching. It’s easier for you to fall asleep if your body is relaxed.

5) Plan for success

Do what makes you feel comfortable. Mark Tewksbury, Canadian Olympic champion in the 100 backstroke in 1992, swore by bringing a pillow with him around the world to all of his competitions. Bring things with you that keep you relaxed and positive.