Early Training Sleep Tips for Swimmers, Rowers and Teen Athletes

If you're looking for early training sleep tips, you're probably a swimmer, rower or triathlete staring at a 4:30am alarm, or the parent who drives them. Early squad sessions cost athletes sleep unless the rest of the day is organised around protecting it. This guide covers how much sleep athletes need, what early training does to it, how to build the day around a 5am start, how to nap properly, and what parents can do.

The short answer: early training doesn't have to mean short sleep, but it will unless you plan for it. Set bedtime from the alarm: a 4:30am wake-up means lights out by about 8:45pm. Protect a 15 to 30 minute early afternoon nap on training days, keep weekend sleep-ins within two hours of your normal wake time, and get morning light as soon as you're up. Teen athletes need 8 to 10 hours and are fighting their body clock, so parents carry more of the load.

How much sleep do athletes need?

More than most of them get. A large review of sleep and athletic performance notes that the IOC and NCAA define adequate sleep as at least 7 hours for adults, yet athletes tend to sleep less, with studies finding averages of roughly 6.5 hours (source). The same review reports that reaction times suffer after a single night without sleep, and that in one study of young athletes, those sleeping less than 8.1 hours were 1.7 times more likely to have had an injury.

Teenagers need more. Better Health Channel says a teenager needs between eight and 10 hours every night, while most get about 6.5 to 7.5 (source). The Sleep Health Foundation's advice for teens is at least 8 hours on school nights (source).

So a 15-year-old swimmer getting up at 4:30am for squad needs to be asleep by around 8pm to get eight hours. That's the uncomfortable maths behind this guide.

What early training does to sleep

Australian researchers have measured this. In a study of 70 elite athletes across seven sports, monitored for two weeks, athletes averaged about 6.5 hours of sleep a night. Before training days they spent significantly less time in bed and got less sleep than before rest days, and shorter sleep was linked to higher fatigue before training. The authors recommended that coaches consider scheduling and use strategic daytime napping and good sleep hygiene when early starts can't be avoided (Sargent, Lastella, Halson and Roach, Chronobiology International, 2014).

The pattern is simple: the alarm moves earlier, bedtime doesn't, so sleep gets squeezed. Everything below is about moving bedtime.

Build the day around the alarm

Work backwards from the squad start, allowing for travel and 15 minutes to fall asleep.

Session starts	Leave home	Alarm	Lights out (8 hours, adult)	Lights out (9 hours, teen)
5:00am	4:40am	4:20am	8:05pm	7:05pm
5:30am	5:10am	4:50am	8:35pm	7:35pm
6:00am	5:40am	5:20am	9:05pm	8:05pm

If those bedtimes look impossible, that's the point. Either the evening changes, a nap fills the gap, or the number of early sessions comes down. Pretending otherwise is how athletes end up at 6 hours.

Things that make the early bedtime work:

1. Eat dinner early on nights before training.
2. Pack the bag at dinner time. Nothing left to find at 4:30am.
3. Screens off an hour before bed. Better Health Channel advises teens to avoid computers, TV and smartphones for at least an hour before bedtime.
4. Dim the house. The Sleep Health Foundation suggests stopping technology earlier, dimming the lights earlier and starting to relax earlier.
5. Same wake time most days. Better Health Channel says getting up at the same time every day helps set your body clock (source). On non-training days, don't sleep more than an hour or two past the squad alarm.

See what time should I go to bed? and how to wake up early for the gym for the adult version of this routine.

Napping on training days

A nap can't replace the night, but it can patch it. The Sleep Health Foundation says a 15 to 30 minute nap is best for alertness, that most people feel sleepiest around 2 to 3pm, that naps too late in the day can hurt night sleep, and that a nap does not replace good quality sleep at night (source).

For an athlete on a 4:30am alarm:

• Nap after lunch, not after dinner. A 20-minute nap at 2pm helps. A 90-minute sleep at 6pm wrecks bedtime.
• Set an alarm for the nap, or sleep inertia will leave you groggy.
• Teens at school can't nap at 2pm. Straight after school, before homework, is the next best slot. Better Health Channel suggests parents allow afternoon naps if time permits.

See how long should a power nap be?

Teen athletes: why it's harder, and what parents can do

Puberty shifts a teenager's body clock later by about one to two hours, Better Health Channel explains, so they feel sleepy later at night but can't sleep in to compensate. A 4:30am squad alarm fights that directly. Parents are often the ones most short of sleep, up at 4:15am to drive and unable to nap. What helps:

• Carpool with another squad family and alternate mornings.
• Hold the bedtime. The Sleep Health Foundation says going to bed at a set time on school nights helps, and to keep weekend bedtimes within two hours of weeknights.
• Morning light for everyone. The Sleep Health Foundation says to get enough bright light in the morning, and that outdoor light works well. Kitchen lights on fully at 4:30am, outside at sunrise.
• Give the teen their own alarm so you're not the alarm. A silent one won't wake younger siblings. See alarms for teenagers who sleep through alarms.
• Protect the driver's sleep too. Driving at 4:40am on five hours of sleep makes you the tired one on the road. Go to bed when your teen does on squad nights, or share the driving.
• Watch for signs it's too much. Better Health Channel lists concentration problems, moodiness, slower reflexes and dropping school performance among the effects of chronic short sleep in teens. If early sessions are producing those, talk to the coach about dropping a morning.

See how much sleep do teenagers need?

When to see your GP

This guide is general information, not medical advice. See your GP if you or your teen are getting enough time in bed but still waking exhausted, falling asleep in class or at work, snoring loudly, or if low mood is building alongside the tiredness.

Where the Sovune Nudge fits

We make the Sovune Nudge, a silent alarm wristband, so we're not neutral. For early squad mornings:

• Silent, so a 4:30am alarm wakes the swimmer and not the rest of the house.
• Each alarm vibrates for a full minute, building through three intensity levels, on the wrist rather than on a phone across the room.
• Three separate alarms: squad days, school days and a nap alarm.
• Set on the band, no phone or app, so the phone can stay out of the bedroom.
• Battery lasts up to 14 days of nightly use per charge.

It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Quick answers

How much sleep does an athlete need? At least 7 hours for adults, 8 to 10 for teenagers. Most athletes studied get closer to 6.5, largely because of early training.

What time should I go to bed for a 4:30am training session? About 8:15pm for eight hours. If that's not possible, add an early afternoon nap and reduce the number of early sessions.

Are naps good for athletes? Yes, if short and early. Aim for 15 to 30 minutes in the early afternoon and set an alarm.

How can parents cope with 4:30am swimming starts? Carpool and alternate mornings, go to bed early on squad nights yourself, hold the teen's bedtime, and give them an alarm that wakes only them.

For every type of silent alarm compared, see our complete guide to vibrating alarms in Australia.

See the Sovune Nudge →