Nick spoke extensively about the importance of sleep

This week, Years 12 and 13 received a lecture from Nick Littlehales, an elite sports sleep coach. Nick has worked with top Olympic athletes, some of the best football teams and major companies as well as being a number one bestselling author of his book Sleep.

In his talk we were told about the different kinds of sleepers, and how understanding what kind of sleeper you are can help maximise your productivity by knowing what time of the day to work at. The difference in sleeping times is based in neuroscience and biology more than anything else, with Nick showing us graphs of brain activity during the night which highlighted how the brain functions at different times, proving that it isn't just personal preference.

The other concept we were introduced to was the real potential of napping, as is found in any country which recognises the siesta as part of every day. Nick told us about his time coaching the Real Madrid players; they would leave at 1pm and return at 3pm after taking a nap.

Nick draws up sleep plans for athletes which breaks sleep down into multiple naps per day, which actually is best for recovery. The talk really hammered home the importance of sleep, for everything we do, and how re-evaluating our sleeping habits could make all the difference.

What position is best to sleep in?