8-24 hours

Sleep: Sleep has major effects on “cellular homeostasis and maintenance of function”, and also plays important roles in “normal endocrine and immune function, vital to recovery”(8). 

Studies are finding that there are relationships existing between sleep, physical activity, and psychological factors such as emotion regulation. Emotion regulation involves things such as your ability to handle stress, coping mechanisms, and adjustment to certain situations (9). But, the link between these three things may work a little differently than we originally thought.

It turns out, physical activity and sleep quality are indirectly related through emotion regulation. That is, sleep quality improves emotion regulation, which in turn, further improves sleep quality. Similarly, physical activity improves emotion regulation, which then predicts increased levels of physical activity. So, improving sleep quality and engaging in physical activity can both improve mental status such as emotion regulation, which in turn, leads to improved sleep quality and promotes more physical activity (9).

So if you want to sleep better, want to engage in more physical activity, and want to improve mental status including regulation of emotions… you need to sleep well and engage in physical activity.

Current recommendations are that adults need at least 7 hours of sleep per night, and children even more (8).

 Nutrition: Rehydration Recommendations: It has been recommended, in order to properly rehydrate after exercise and training that individuals drink 1-1.5 liters of water for each kilogram of body mass lost during training (10).

Nutrition: Carbohydrate Recommendations: Less than 8 hours between training or competition sessions? Eat 1-1.2 grams of carbohydrate per kilogram of body mass immediately after training, then again every hour for 4 hours. If there is around a day before the next training session, the timing of this carbohydrate intake is not as important, as long as the required amounts are eaten to recover depleted energy stores. These requirements are about 5-7 grams per kilogram of body mass per day for moderate training of 1 hour per day, or 6-10 grams per kilogram per day for moderate-to-high-intensity training of 1-3 hours per day (10).

Nutrition: Protein Recommendations: After exercise, muscles have an increased sensitivity for protein intake for around 24 hours. It has been recommended that about 0.4-0.5 grams of protein per kilogram of lean body mass be ingested both before and after exercise within 4-6 hours of each other (11). Building and maintaining muscle mass can be achieved with daily protein intakes of 1.4-2.0 grams per kilogram body mass per day, but higher amounts of 2.3-3.1 grams per kilogram of body mass may be needed for resistance-trained individuals such as bodybuilders in caloric deficit phases (12).

Active Recovery: Active recovery can be used post-exercise for reducing muscular fatigue and improving muscular performance. Active recovery should involve the muscle groups used during the fatiguing exercise, and should be performed at an intensity of about 30-60% of the individual’s maximal oxygen consumption. It can be performed for several minutes between sets, or for up to 15-20 minutes for post-training recovery. Although active recovery can produce acute recovery benefits, it has been shown to not produce long-term recovery benefits and should not replace other appropriate methods of recovery such as rest days (1,13,14).

 Compression Garments: Wearing compression garments can be effective for the recovery of strength after resistance exercise. Compression garments should be worn for 2-8 hours after activity for the arms, and up to 24 hours for the legs (17,18).

 Foam Rolling: Foam roll immediately after exercise, 24 hours after exercise, and 48 hours after exercise for decreases in delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and recovery in performance 24-72 hours after exercise. Foam rolling should be performed for 30-60 seconds to each muscle group used during exercise (26,27).

References

(1)      Mika, A., et al., Comparison of Two Different Modes of Active Recovery on Muscles Performance after Fatiguing Exercise in Mountain Canoeist and Football Players. PLOS ONE, 2016; 1-14. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0164216

(2)      Kellmann, M., et al., Recovery and Performance in Sport: Consensus Statement. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2018; 13: 240-245. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2017-0759

(3)      Borges, N., et al., Age-Related Changes in Performance and Recovery Kinetics in Masters Athletes: A Narrative Review. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 2016; 24: 149-157. doi: 10.1123/japa.2015-0021

(4)      Schoenfeld, B. and Aragon, A.A., Is There a Postworkout Anabolic Window of Opportunity for Nutrient Consumption? Clearing up Controversies. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 2018; 48(12): 911-914. doi: 10.2519/jospt.2018.0615

(5)      Brown, F., et al., Compression Garments and Recovery from Exercise: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med, 2017; 47: 2245-2267. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0728-9

(6)      Zatsiorsky, V.M. and Kraemer, W.J., Science and Practice of Strength Training: Second Edition. 2006, Human Kinetics.

(7)      MacDonald, G.Z., et al., Foam Rolling as a Recovery Tool after an Intense Bout of Physical Activity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2013; 131-142. doi: 10.1239/MSS.0b013e3182a123db

(8)      Malhotra, R.K., Sleep, Recovery, and Performance in Sports. Neurol Clin, 2017; 35: 547-557. doi: 10.1016/j.ncl.2017.03.002

(9)      Semplonius, T. and Willoughby, T., Long-Term Links between Physical Activity and Sleep Quality. Medicine & Science in Sport & Exercise, 2018; 2418-2424. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000001.706

(10)    Kovacs, M.S. and Baker, L.B., Recovery interventions and strategies for improved tennis performance. Br J Sports Med, 2014; 48: i18-21. doi:10.1136/bjsports-2013-093223

(11)    Schoenfeld, B.J. and Aragon, A.A., Is There a Postworkout Anabolic Window of Opportunity for Nutrient Consumption? Clearing up Controversies. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther, 2018; 48(12): 911-914. doi:10.2519/jospt.2018.0615

(12)    Jäger, R., et al., International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: protein and exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2017; 14(20). doi 10.1186/s12970-017-0177-8

(13)    Nalbandian, H.M., et al., Active Recovery between Interval Bouts Reduces Blood Lactate While Improving Subsequent Exercise Performance in Trained Men. Sports, 2017; 5(40). doi:10.3390/sports5020040

(14)    Wiewelhove, T., et al., Effect of Repeated Active Recovery During a High-Intensity Interval-Training Shock Microcycle on Markers of Fatigue. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2016; 11: 1060-1066.

(15)    Stephens, J.M., et al., Effect of Body Composition on Physiological Responses to Cold-Water Immersion and the Recovery of Exercise Performance. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2018; 13; 382-389.

(16)    Zandvoort, C.S., et al., A customized cold-water immersion protocol favours one-size-fits-all protocols in improving acute performance recovery. European Journal of Sport Science, 2018; 18(1): 54-61.

(17)    Brown, F., et al., Compression Garments and Recovery from Exercise: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med, 2017; 47: 2245-2267. doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0728-9

(18)    Goto, K. and Morishima, T., Compression Garment Promotes Muscular Strength Recovery after Resistance Exercise. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2014; 46(12): 2265-2270. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0000000000000359

(19)    Winke, M. and Shelby, W., Comparison of a Pneumatic Compression Device to a Compression Garment During Recovery from DOMS. International Journal of Exercise Science, 2018; 11(3): 375-383.

(20)    Heapy, A.M., et al., A randomized controlled trial of manual therapy and pneumatic compression for recovery from prolonged running- an extended study. Research in Sports Medicine, 2018; 26(3): 354-364.

(21)    Overymayer, R.G. and Driller, M.W., Pneumatic Compression Fails to Improve Performance Recovery in Trained Cyclists. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2018; 13: 490-496.

(22)    Hoffman, M.D., et al., A Randomized Controlled Trial of Massage and Pneumatic Compression for Ultramarathon Recovery. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 2016; 46(5): 320-326.

(23)    Poppendieck, W., et al., Massage and Performance Recovery: A Meta-Analytical Review. Sports Med, 2016; 46: 183-204. doi: 10.1007/s40279-015-0420-x

(24)    Babault, N., et al., Does electrical stimulation enhance post-exercise performance recovery?. Eur J Appl Physiol, 2011; 111: 2501-2507. doi: 10.1007/s00421-011-2117-7

(25)    Borne, R., et al., Relationship Between Blood Flow and Performance Recovery: A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 2017; 12: 152-160.

(26)    Pearcey, G.E., et al., Foam Rolling for Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness and Recovery of Dynamic Performance Measures. Journal of Athletic Training, 2015; 50(1): 5-13. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-50.1.01

(27)    MacDonald, G.Z., et al., Foam Rolling as a Recovery Tool after an Intense Bout of Physical Activity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2013; 131-142. doi: 10.1249/MSS.0b013e3182a123db