“More than 8 hours of sleep, quality of sleep is more important” - Gautam Gambhir
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir has stressed on the significance of sleep for athletes. While sharing his thoughts on the same, he opined that more than the hours of sleep, it’s the quality of sleep that’s more important.
Great sleep facilitates muscle recovery and improves muscle strength. It also allows the heart to get much-needed rest. These functions are crucial for top-performing athletes because sleep allows their bodies to be well-rested.
Speaking to Sportskeeda, Gambhir admitted that sleep is an extremely important part of an athlete’s routine.
“It is very important. Recovery is very important. Some people sleep for seven hours, some sleep for six hours. I believe that more than 8 hours of sleep, quality of sleep is more important. A lot of times, after a match, your adrenaline is so high that you can only get 4-5 hours of sound sleep. But sound sleep matters,” the cricketer-turned-MP elaborated.
Gambhir represented India in 58 Tests, 147 ODIs, and 37 T20Is. He was the top-scorer for the team in the 2007 T20 World Cup final and 2011 ODI World Cup final, both of which India won.
“If any youngsters are watching this, you need to sleep 6-8 hours” - S Sreesanth
Lack of sleep can put the heart at risk. It also increases the risk of injury and slows down recovery. Echoing Gambhir’s views, former India pacer S Sreesanth said that sound sleep is crucial for recovery.
“The quality of sleep is very important. Even if you get two, three or six hours, if you get into deep sleep, that is very important to recover. If any youngsters are watching this, you need to sleep 6-8 hours - very good sound sleep. That’s the best thing,” he stated.
He also advocated power nap as a powerful recovery tool for sportspersons and added:
“One thing that has helped not just me but a lot of other international sportspersons as well - power naps. When you take a 10-15 minute power nap that is also very helpful.”
Sreesanth represented India in 27 Tests, 53 ODIs, and 10 T20Is. He was part of the team that won the 2007 T20 World Cup and the 2011 ODI World Cup.