Sleep

There is plenty of evidence to support the idea that chronic sleep deprivation is one of the worst things we can do to ourselves if we expect to be able to train hard and recover from that hard training.

Tons of essential processes happen while we sleep — including hormone production, autonomic nervous system regulation, maintenance of immune function, and plenty more.

As little as one or two acute instances of poor sleep can negatively affect training, but a consistent lack of quality sleep (i.e. not just the number of hours in bed) can quickly push us into overreaching.

Prioritizing getting at least 7-9 hours of sleep per night — along with practicing proper sleep hygiene — can make a world of a difference towards our recovery and rate of progress.