Sleep and recovery: the guide

Sleep is when your body releases the most growth hormone, consolidates the movement skills you practised, and resets appetite hormones that make the next day's food choices easier. Short sleep shows up everywhere: weaker lifts, slower recovery, more cravings.

How much

Adults should sleep seven hours or more a night on a regular basis, according to a consensus statement from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Athletes and people training hard often do better with more.

Seven habits that help

1. Keep the same wake-up time every day, weekends included. Bedtime follows.
2. Get daylight in the first hour after waking: a walk to the gym counts.
3. Stop caffeine about eight hours before bed. A 4 p.m. coffee is still working at midnight.
4. Finish hard training at least two to three hours before sleep where you can.
5. Keep the room dark, quiet and cool. An eye mask and a fan are cheap and effective.
6. Put the phone across the room. The light matters less than the scrolling.
7. If you can't sleep after about 20 minutes, get up, do something calm in dim light, and go back when sleepy.

Recovery beyond sleep

• Eat your protein target on rest days too.
• Move gently on days off: a walk or easy cycle helps more than the sofa.
• Plan a lighter week every four to eight weeks if you train hard.

Snoring loudly, waking gasping, or feeling exhausted despite enough hours can be signs of a sleep disorder. See a doctor rather than pushing through.

General information, not medical advice. If you have a health condition, speak to a doctor before changing how you train or eat.