Napping before games

[biff44 0]

Pros do it, even the young ones!

[Gongshow11 1]

guys in the show will eat liek a steak 4 hours before game, take a nap for liek an hour, so it delays the digestion a bit, so they get the protein/energy when needed.

Me? i'd say on bus trips yes but home no.

[biff44 0]

Yeah, just watch out for the meat loaf!

[Nick23 0]

when sleeping, your body does it in 30 minute cycles, so 15 minutes in being at your deepest part of the sleep. The trick is to get the whole cycle in, so 30 minutes sleep, or an hour, 15 or 45 minutes and you will wake up mid cycle at your deepest, so it will be hard for you to wake up and be at your most alert. This is for any situation, so if i need to revise for an exam, i will sleep for 30 minutes after school, and will be alot better off afterwards.

[Jim A 4]

my cell bio teacher used to preach something similar..mostly about REM cycles they last about 90 min..so whenever he was getting 6 hours or less of sleep..he'd pick a wake time around that 90 min cycle..his other key was that he was active the first 30 min or so he was awake and did zero for 30 before he went to sleep..

for me a nap has to be ~20 min...or I need 90 min...on the weekends I make sure to nap once per day when I'm kicking around in the afternoon to help recharge for the week since I'm on the ice up to 5-6 nights..

since typically I'm heading to the rink from work..I rely on the Advil Cold and Sinus to provide a nice little pick me up on the days I need it (need advil anyway before the game)..although don't recommend it at all..

[millertime99 0]

i vote for nap..after school i usually take 30-45 minute nap..more than an hour makes me feel sluggish...if im at a tourny its a diff story ;)

[sharks_bazooka_joe_19 0]

One of the leagues I play in (beer league) has 9:45pm games. Being as how I usually hit the sack around 10:30, I usually nap on those game days.

If I'm tired at all on a game day (my other league has much more respectable game times!) I try to nap no more than an hour with at least 2 - 3 hours before I leave for the rink. If I wake up groggy I take a shower and that seems to help.

Generally, I think anyone's game would benefit from being more awake than not. Hockey takes so much mental energy that being sleepy isn't much help. Not to mention the lack of energy. I find it tends to result in injuries. But then, you may be much younger than me. B)

[sonsplayhockey 0]

I do end up feeling groggy, too, but I commit the ultimate sports nutrition sin of consuming caffeine. I don't know if it actually hurts more than helps, but I know that if I play tired I feel like crap and can't seem to get my feet moving

If your over 40 its not a sin ;)

[sharks_bazooka_joe_19 0]

I do end up feeling groggy, too, but I commit the ultimate sports nutrition sin of consuming caffeine.  I don't know if it actually hurts more than helps, but I know that if I play tired I feel like crap and can't seem to get my feet moving

If your over 40 its not a sin ;)

Here Here! LOL

[hockeytim18 0]

For me I like to nap before and on the way to hockey(not old enough to drive yet.) By the time we get to the rink and my dad wakes me up I get up with an urgency just like energized and feel like i gotta get on the rink.

[mrusse01 0]

when sleeping, your body does it in 30 minute cycles, so 15 minutes in being at your deepest part of the sleep. The trick is to get the whole cycle in, so 30 minutes sleep, or an hour, 15 or 45 minutes and you will wake up mid cycle at your deepest, so it will be hard for you to wake up and be at your most alert. This is for any situation, so if i need to revise for an exam, i will sleep for 30 minutes after school, and will be alot better off afterwards.

Your sleep cycle is longer than that, about 60-100 minutes depending on the person.

You go through several of these cycles while you sleep, from Stage 1, Stage 2, Stage 3, Stage 4, and REM (Rapid Eye Movement). The first few cycles when you are asleep you spend a longer time in 'deep sleep' which is stages 3 and 4, and less time in REM and the earlier stages. Deep sleep is most essential for your body, so naturally you are programmed to get as much deep sleep as quickly as possible, sort of a survival thing. By the last few cycles of sleep in a regular night you are getting very little deep sleep and lots of REM, which is where your dreams occur.

As mentioned previously, one of the keys to waking up feeling refreshed is to try and time yourself so that you awake in REM sleep, and not during deep sleep. So for example there are situations where waking up say 45 minutes earlier, when you are in REM sleep would leave you feeling less tired than if you woke up after actually sleeping longer, but waking up in deep sleep.

This translates to naps such that you want to wake up from your nap before you enter deep sleep. The general rule is to only nap for 45 minutes to an hour at absolute max, otherwise your body will be in a deeper sleep and you will have a tough time waking up. I bet most of the people here who report having a tough time after taking a nap would also report napping longer than 45 minutes to an hour.

[hokigai 0]

I definately try to take at least a 6 hour nap before my games.... thats because I play 6AM in the morning. :D

[dieselbro 0]

I would say its up to you and really how you usually feel after a nap, I feel asleep in the car on the way to a game, got about 45mins in. Woke up right as we got to the rink and I didnt feel all too bad, just a little shocked, didnt know where I was, but I played an allright game. Really I think it would be better to just get a better sleep so you can stay energized for the entire day

[jbyun04 7]

they say the best naps that have the strongest affect on your bodies is a 15 minute powernap

since my games are @ 6AM and I only get 4hours of sleep I guess it's like taking a long nap