Insomnia often affects us at the most inopportune times! The answer to this question is undoubtedly YES....and we must take its effect (and accumulative effect) into consideration.

As with most issues, make sure you raise this with your coach as soon as you can. Often, reduced sleep is a signal that there is an imbalance present: this could be too much stress at work; something playing on our mind OR a more physical cause - diet not matching our needs; the training is too challenging.

As for what the recommended levels are, this is not an easy question - many people can cope with as little as 4 hours a night, whilst others need 10. the best guide is to establish what you need to function adequately. Ask yourself how many hours were you experiencing in order to feel fully rested and energised.

Research does show that more sleep is needed during times of hard training. Rather than adding this onto your night-time sleep, consider if an additional 'cat nap' (20 to 30 mins) after a session is possible. This prevents our normal sleep routine becoming disturbed, and also doubles up the opportunity of creating optimal hormone spikes - a great booster for training adaptation!