Perform better: Optimize your sleep for better athletic performance

There are not many studies that scientifically prove these positive effects - one reputable one dates back several years: sleep researchers at Stanford University in California, led by Dr. Cheri Mah, studied tennis players aged 18 to 21 who were prescribed ten hours of sleep per night for six weeks.

Result: In subsequent sprint tests, the well-rested athletes improved their performance by an average of 10 percent. The percentage of serves in the field increased by approximately 20 percent. Another positive effect: The athletes' daytime fatigue decreased, and their mood improved.

These results have been confirmed in follow-up studies in other sports such as swimming , athletics, etc., where, for example, reaction times at the start improved. So: enhance your daytime training at night—reaching peak performance while sleeping is no joke!

Exercise not only makes you better, it is also considered a great sleep aid – although it depends on how long, how late and how intensively you train.

If you get your circulation going until 9:30 p.m. and then go to bed a little later with a red face and a pounding pulse, you can usually forget about falling asleep.

The problem is that in such a moment, two processes are playing against each other: "To fall asleep, the body always tries to regulate its core temperature and metabolism. During exercise, the exact opposite happens; we really heat ourselves up," says Dr. Kölling.

To recover as quickly as possible, the expert recommends: "Take a lukewarm shower or a warm foot bath after exercise to dissipate the heat as quickly as possible."

Intense training can also "shift the melatonin rhythm by one to two hours. If the hormone is missing, it's harder to fall asleep," says Prof. Fietze. It's better, of course, to avoid getting so stressed in the first place. Here's how to fall asleep:

If you find it difficult to fall asleep after strenuous exercise in the evening, you should move your training time forward as much as possible.

Do moderate exercise in the evening, such as walking, swimming, leisurely jogging or yoga – so that you feel pleasantly tired afterwards.

According to Kölling's research, strength training also works even with greater exertion: "This is probably because it targets local muscle groups rather than the whole body being put into such high gear."

But there's nothing that applies to everyone. So find the right time and dosage for yourself! These rules apply primarily to those who are "sleep-sensitive," "but there are also people who power through the studio until just before midnight, go home, and fall asleep like the dead. To them, all I can say is: congratulations, keep going," says Fietze.

Dr. Sarah Kölling, expert for regeneration management in elite sports at the Ruhr University Bochum

After exercise, adaptation processes take place, and sleep is the best way to do this. I recommend simply going to bed half an hour earlier after exercise and seeing if that does you any good. However, more than eight hours of sleep doesn't necessarily mean better recovery.

The body then has to simultaneously break down alcohol and work on recovery—it's a double burden. If you still feel refreshed the next day, that's okay.

However, anyone who is looking for performance should consider what benefits the body and not just what doesn't harm it. Therefore, I only recommend non-alcoholic beer .

Plenty of fluids, of course! And carbohydrates. The body needs these for rapid regeneration, and they promote the sleep process.

This can happen if you incorporate a lot of exercise into your daily routine but still want to maintain a "normal" social life. For example, you start training as early as 6 a.m. to fit everything in. Then a 24-hour day is sometimes too short, and exercise becomes a stress factor. There's no time to relax.