Badminton is an easy game to many outsiders; just hitting the shuttlecock over the net and how difficult can this be?
In actual fact, badminton involves a multi-faceted approach within a restricted hitting zone. Your precision will be tested, your endurance will be stretched and your ability to think in the milliseconds will be counted upon.
Training makes perfect and nutrition keeps the body healthy and strong. But many forgot about a third element: adequate and quality sleep the night before a BIG GAME.
Just take a look at NBA. Keke Lyles joined the Golden State Warriors as the team’s director of athletic performance in the summer of 2012. Lyles had Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala wear a Jawbone wristband to track his sleep, remove his TV from his bedroom, and store his cellphone in his bathroom at night time, all to improve his quality of sleep. The result? Andre Iguodala is the reigning MVP of NBA Finals 2015.
So good sleep plays a critical role for all players, because much of the growth and recovery process only occur during sleep. We may be constantly in and out of sleep, but many of our systems still run at full speed during this time.
How do we tune our bodies' internal sleeping clock then?
Few people can have the discipline to go to bed and rise exactly at the same time, even to the seconds, on a daily basis. But this is not strictly necessary.
For now, focus on keeping your sleeping hours within a certain time frame for the most part and avoiding distractions (get your iPhone or iPad away now) at least 30 minutes before your scheduled bed time. Persistent swings over a longer period are detrimental to building up a good sleep routine.
A more regular bedtime and rising time promotes harmony in body functions. This in turn leads to the body knowing why systems at what time and in which direction must be activated. And you certainly want it activated during the crucial match-day time!
So what are you doing? GO TO BED :)