Sleep is part of your training. You can have a thoughtful workout plan and still struggle to recover if school, homework and your phone keep pushing bedtime later. Start by giving sleep a place in your schedule.
How Sleep Affects Running Performance
In a small Stanford study of 11 male college basketball players, players improved sprint times, shooting accuracy and measures of alertness during a period of extended sleep. They aimed for at least 10 hours in bed, which isn’t the same as sleeping for 10 hours. The study supports taking sleep seriously. It doesn’t establish an exact performance benefit for high school distance runners.
How Sleep Helps You Recover Faster
Training gives your body a reason to adapt. Recovery gives it time to respond. Make room for sleep alongside your easy days, meals and post-run routines. Adding another hard workout when you’re exhausted won’t solve a recovery problem.
How Sleep Improves Mental Focus
Sleep also matters when you’re trying to learn at school and stay attentive at practice. If you’re regularly struggling to stay awake, tell a parent or your coach. Treat the fatigue as information, rather than assuming you need to try harder.
Sleep and Health
Increased Risk of Injury
A 2014 study in the Journal of Pediatric Orthopaedics surveyed 112 adolescent athletes and reviewed their injury records. Athletes reporting less than eight hours of sleep were 1.7 times as likely to have had an injury as those reporting at least eight hours. This was an association, not proof that a specific sleep routine prevents injuries. It also wasn’t a study of distance runners alone.
Weakened Immune System
In a study of healthy adults exposed to a cold virus, shorter reported sleep was associated with a greater likelihood of developing a cold. That finding doesn’t tell us exactly how often a high school runner will get sick. It gives us another reason to make consistent sleep a priority.
The Importance of Sleep Hygiene for High School Athletes
Just like you wouldn't start a race without warming up, you shouldn't try to sleep without the right preparation. Sleep hygiene - the habits and practices that help you get quality sleep - is especially important for student-athletes who need to maximize their rest for recovery and performance.
The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends 8-10 hours of sleep per 24 hours for teenagers ages 13-18. Think about your wake-up time and work backward. Getting into bed at the time you need to be asleep leaves no time to settle down.
Sleep Hygiene For Runners
Sleep hygiene is a name for the habits and surroundings that support sleep. You don’t need an elaborate routine. Start with the things you can control: when you put your phone away, how you prepare for the next morning, and whether your bedroom is comfortable.
Temperature Management
Keep your bedroom comfortably cool. Adjust the bedding or the room temperature so you aren’t waking up because you’re too hot or too cold.
Control Light Exposure
Get some natural daylight during the day. As evening approaches, lower the lights and give yourself a quieter setting. At bedtime, close the curtains and reduce light that bothers you. An eye mask can help if you can’t control the room’s light.
Create a Wind-Down Ritual
Establishing a consistent pre-sleep routine helps signal to your body that it's time to rest. Consider incorporating light stretching, gentle yoga, foam rolling, or some hip mobility exercises to release any remaining tension from training. Writing in your training log can help clear your mind of tomorrow's workout worries. Reading a physical book (not on a screen) can help you relax, while a warm shower can be a relaxing part of your routine. Deep breathing exercises or meditation can further calm your mind and prepare you for sleep.
Manage Your Training Schedule
Practice times aren’t always within your control. When you have an evening workout or a late meet, give yourself a little time to wind down after getting home. Finish what you need to do, prepare for the morning and move toward bed. Talk with your coach if the schedule routinely leaves you without enough time to sleep.
Key Point: Perfect Sleep Hygiene Isn't Always Possible...And That's Okay!
As a student-athlete, there will be times when you can't follow all these guidelines perfectly. Late-night meets, away games, or important study sessions might disrupt your routine. That's okay - focus on controlling what you can and getting back to good habits when possible. The goal isn't perfection; it's creating the best possible conditions for sleep within your schedule.
Three Ways to Improve Your Sleep
Now that we know why sleep is essential, how can you make sure you're getting enough of it? Balancing school, sports, and social life can be hard, but with a few smart strategies, you can make sleep a regular part of your routine.
1. Put Away the Screens
Put your phone away before bed instead of letting one more video become another half hour. Choose a time you can follow consistently. Read a book, finish your training log or get your clothes ready for tomorrow.
2. Create a Sleep-Friendly Environment
Make the room dark, quiet and comfortable. Try blackout curtains or an eye mask if light keeps you awake. Work with the room you have rather than worrying about creating a perfect setup.
3. Set a Consistent Sleep Routine...To the Degree That You Can
You may have heard the advice to "go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends." Ideally, yes, the body responds well to this type of consistency. But perfect consistency is unrealistic for most high school student-athletes.
School, meets and family plans make perfect consistency difficult. Aim for a routine you can repeat on most nights and protect enough time for sleep during the school week. If you’re regularly exhausted despite making time for sleep, talk with a parent and a healthcare professional.
What to Do If You Miss Sleep
A late meet or an unusually busy school night can disrupt your routine. Focus on the next useful step: return to your usual schedule and give yourself enough time to sleep. One imperfect night doesn’t mean you should give up on the habits you’ve been building.
1. Don't Stress About a Single Missed Night
Don’t turn a missed hour of sleep into another hour spent worrying about it. Return to your normal routine the following evening. Let your coach know if you’re unusually tired before a hard session.
2. Nap Wisely
If you take a nap, keep it short and avoid letting it push your bedtime later. Pay attention to how naps affect your own sleep. They’re an occasional tool, not a replacement for making enough time to sleep at night.
3. Make Sleep a Priority the Following Night
Return to a schedule that allows the 8-10 hours of sleep recommended for your age. Don’t assume one long night erases a pattern of short nights. The useful goal is a schedule that gives you enough sleep consistently.
Why Reducing Screen Time Matters If You Want To Get Good Sleep
Putting your phone away is a practical place to start when you decide to make sleep a bigger part of your training. It removes something that can keep you awake well past the time you planned to stop.
Why?
A review by Carter and colleagues found an association between access to or use of portable screens at bedtime and poorer sleep outcomes in children and adolescents. Much of that evidence was observational, so it doesn’t establish the effect of a particular phone setting or bedtime rule.
In a controlled study by Chang and colleagues, adults who read on a light-emitting device before bed had later circadian timing and reduced next-morning alertness compared with reading a printed book. This wasn’t a study of teenage runners, but it supports choosing a screen-free way to wind down.
So what should you do?
Put the devices away and choose a screen-free activity such as reading. Don’t rely on a phone’s night-mode setting as a substitute for ending the scrolling.
Once you've committed to getting off your phone...
Here are two simple habits you can try tonight:
1. Set a Bedtime Alarm
Most of us set alarms to wake up. Set one to remind yourself when it’s time to wind down, too. Give yourself enough time to finish what you’re doing and get ready for bed. The alarm is a cue to begin your routine, not one more deadline to stress about.
2. Prep for the Next Day
Pack your school bag, lay out your running clothes, and decide what you’ll have for breakfast. Doing those things before bed leaves fewer decisions for a rushed morning. It’s a small habit that can make your routine easier to repeat.