Lackluster athletic performance? The answers may lie in your athletes's dietary and sleeping habits.

High school and college athletes find it extremely difficult to stay in balance--ensuring a healthful mixture of academics, sports, and sufficient sleep, exercise, and nutrition in every 24-hour period.

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It will take an extraordinary amount of discipline. The rigorous rigorous demands to make the grade academically and athletically will force many student-athletes to live a topsyturvy, stress-filled existence from inadequate sleep, improper nutrition, obsessive, sparse or irregular exercise habits, and, perhaps worst of all, a lack of time to unwind and enjoy life.

While it is unrealistic for busy coaches to force their athletes to eat better or to monitor their sleeping and exercise habits, coaches can be instrumental in recognizing the external causes that lead to poor athletic performance in practices or games and in advising athletes to improve their habits and thus enhance their sports and academic performance.

THE IDEAL BALANCED DAY

If the student-athlete were to divide a 24-hour day into three equal parts, his ideal consistent goal would be: eight hours of academics and athletics; eight hours of nightly sleep; and eight hours of recreation.

Recreation is important for balance in life. The eight hours could comprise dining with friends, reading a newspaper or magazine, exercising, or playing a musical instrument, listening to a CD, the radio or watching TV.

So, in a picture-perfect world, the athlete would be fitting in classes, studying, attending practices or playing a game within eight hours; have eight hours of recreation, and get the recommended eight hours of sleep.

For many athletes that consummate 24-hour day is a mirage that breaks down like this: five or six hours of sleep or less (especially when preparing for exams); 10 or 12 hours spent studying, attending classes, sports practices, and playing games in the six hours for recreation.

The athlete who tries to cram it all into 24 hours will usually come out on the short end--tired, and unprepared mentally or physically for academic or athletic tasks, and an unaware coach searching for answers for the athlete's disastrous performance in practice or games.

BALANCING LIFE WITH SLEEP

Researchers say that teens and adults require seven to nine hours of sleep for physical and mental well-being. Sleep is especially essential for recovery from intense exercise, sports practices and games.

Here are some "good night's sleep" tips from Parade Magazine (September 17, 2000):

Exercise no later than four hours before bedtime, finish a big meal at least three hours before going to bed, and avoid alcohol and caffeinated beverages before bedtime.

Dr. Roseanne Armitage, director of the Sleep and Chronophysiology Laboratory at the U. of Michigan Depression Center, mentions in The New York Times (September 2, 2003), "There's no question that college kids are sleeping less than they used to."

Indeed, a 2002 study showed that college students averaged 6 to 6.9 hours of sleep a night, far less than the suggested 8 to 9.25 and down from 7 to 7.5 in the 1980's, according to The New York Times.

The Times also cites Dr. Mary Alice Carskadon, a professor of psychology at Brown University and a leading researcher of college student's sleep patterns, who has found that increasing depression is associated with insufficient sleep. So, scholastic athletes and students who are sleep deprived will undoubtedly face unhealthy mental and physical consequences--as stated earlier.

BALANCED NUTRITION PROGRAM

Nourishing foods and beverages and, of course, plentiful sleep, are absolutely necessary for the student-athlete to elevate performance in the classroom, in the weight room, and on the playing field.

Coaches will find that the scholastic athlete who skips breakfast, grabs just pizza for lunch, and has chips, soda, and other vending machine fare later due to time constraints, will be sluggish (due to low blood sugar) through-out the day and no doubt pay the price either in a game or academically.

Nutrition also elevates the immune system so that the student-athlete is less susceptible to colds and other campus illnesses.

How does the student-athlete attain nutritional balance? Sports nutritionists such as Susan M. Kleiner, Ph.D., author of Power Eating (Human Kinetics, 1998), emphasize that you start with water--the basic nutrient for bodily functions. "If you're low on water or electrolytes, muscle strength and control are weakened. In fact, a water deficit of just 2 to 4 percent of your body weight can cut your strength-training workout by as much as 21 percent if you're dehydrated--and your aerobic power by a whopping 48 percent."

Another noted sports nutritionist, Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., author of Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook (Human Kinetics, 1997), stresses the need for water beyond the typically recommended eight-glasses-daily minimum. "Eight glasses of water might be adequate for a sedentary person, but it is probably too little for many athletes. A general rule of thumb is a liter of water (about one quart) for every 1,000 calories you expend. Hence, the more calories you expend through exercise, the more fluids you'll need."

Athletes seeking to build lean muscle tissue should note that water is also necessary for promoting muscle growth. Dave Tuttle, author of 50 Ways To Build Muscle Fast (Avery Publishing, 2000) says, "Water is an essential yet frequently overlooked nutrient. Your muscles are up to 70% water, and adequate hydration is essential for muscle function and growth. In fact, protein synthesis is increased when the muscles are fully hydrated."

Coaches, of course, need to be especially vigilant about dehydration symptoms in their athletes. According to Kleiner, early signs of dehydration include fatigue, light-headedness, diminished appetite and a dry cough.

Athletes should note that an easy gauge for adequate hydration before and after practices or games is simply by checking their urine color, which should be clear or light-colored (not deep yellow) and nearly odorless. So, just as insufficient sleep creates imbalance, inadequate water consumption also knocks the athlete's body out of balance. And coaches must admonish athletes to drink water before, during and after workouts, practices and games for proper hydration!

Kleiner also mentions water as a powerful energy source. "While water does not provide energy in the same way carbs and fat do, it is the medium in which all energy reactions take place. Thus, you need ample fluids for fuel and stamina. You get those fluids come from a variety of sources--the foods you eat, the beverages you consume, and the plain, pure water you drink."

Other factors for balanced sports nutrition include ample amounts of protein daily (meat, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, milk, cheese, yogurt, soy); high-fiber, nutrient-dense carbohydrates (fruits, vegetables, brown rice, oatmeal, whole-wheat bread, beans); and beneficial fats found in fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds. Carbohydrates replenish the body's energy reserves, plus supplying nutrients called antioxidants to enhance recovery processes. Protein provides the amino acids required to repair and build muscle tissue following exercise.

BALANCING WORKOUTS

Coaches can impress upon their athletes that they not only have to be consistent about nutrition and sleep, but also diligent about balancing exercise and sports to avoid overtraining problems caused by the excessive physical demands on the body during the season.

The school strength coach should provide a balanced weight training program that includes training all muscle groups each week before and during the season and balance the frequency of workouts to allow enough recovery time.

HOW TO TELL IF AN ATHLETE IS OVERTRAINING?

"Overtraining occurs when you exercise so much and so hard that your body can't properly recover. Consequently, it starts breaking down more tissue than it builds. The first sign of overtraining is a drop in performance. You can't lift as much weight, run as fast or as long, walk without getting winded," says Cliff Sheats, author of Lean Bodies TotalFitness (Summit Publishing, 1995).

Sheats mentions other overtraining signs including weight loss, fatigue, sleep problems, decreased appetite, elevated resting heart rate, and a weakened immune system (resulting in colds and infection), while Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale, author of The Anabolic Diet (Optimum Training, 1995), has observed additional overtraining symptoms including depression, irritability, loss of motivation, increasing soreness, bowel problems, and lymph node swelling.

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"Nutrition and adequate rest are the two best ways to treat overtraining," says Sheats.

It's also easy to over-train particular muscles while neglecting or under- training other muscle groups--thereby inviting injury because the trained muscles are stronger, while the insufficiently trained muscles are weaker (a strength imbalance). Competitive bodybuilders require balanced musculature (judges seek symmetry, proportionate size/ shape of muscle groups).

Obviously a male athlete with huge arms, massive chest, back and shoulders, but less impressive legs, has mainly concentrated on training the upper body, while under-training legs. Besides bodybuilders, other athletes (football, tennis, soccer players, gymnasts, swimmers, etc.) as well as non-athletes should follow a balanced training procedure as a means of preventing injury.

According to Donald A. Chu, Ph.D., author of Power Tennis Training (Human Kinetics, 1995), "A balanced weight-training program will also enhance sports performance, minimize injury, and help you return to action quicker if you do suffer an injury."

While high school and college coaches should not blame themselves if the athlete drops a pass, strikes out, or misses the potential game-winning basket, they can indirectly ensure optimal performance in practices and games by addressing their athletes before the season even begins.

The coaches should have a team meeting and motivate their athletes to follow these important guidelines about balancing workouts, balanced nutrition; balanced sleep habits; balancing school hours; and, of course, balancing their free time--the keys to not only a healthier, more balanced lifestyle, but also for achieving academic and athletic success.

By Jim Carpentier, C.S.C.S.

Jim Carpentier is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (National Strength & Conditioning Association) and a strength and conditioning coach at Newark Academy, Livingston, NJ.