– It almost drives you crazy at times, says an open-hearted Anne Kjersti Kalvå. Even sleep is vital for everyone. Nevertheless, a third of the Norwegian population suffers from sleep problems. – It is clear, when there is constantly too little sleep over a long, long time, it will clearly affect performance. Quite a lot too, actually, says Tomas Myklebust, who is a psychologist, specialist in clinical neuropsychology and pedagogue. Kalvå is one of those who have struggled for several years. But she also lives by skiing. Therefore, sleep is decisive for how she performs. – Are there any episodes where you really knew it? – In the worst rounds I had, it is as if I close my eyes, but then they are wide open and the tongue is strained in the palate. I often get a stanza of a song on repeat in my head all the time. I have no chance to find peace. Then I just tried to distract myself from the stanza and the effort, she says. – Terrible sleep expert Myklebust recently guested on the podcast “Skiklubben”, where he talked about the importance of rest and sleep for, among other things, top athletes. – The feeling you get, when you go for long periods without sleeping, is terrible. Depriving people of sleep is actually used as a means of torture, so it’s an absolutely terrible feeling, says Myklebust. SLEEP IS ESSENTIAL: Tomas Myklebust is a psychologist, specialist in clinical neuropsychology and pedagogue. He has also written the book “Kvil deg sterk”. Photo: Cecilie Hatløy Møre He continues: – I have spoken to people who want to bang their heads against the wall to make themselves faint. Simply because they are so tired from not being able to sleep, he says. Sleep is extremely crucial on three levels, explains Myklebust. Both for our brain, the physical and physical, but also the psychological. The latter is particularly important for top athletes with a desire to perform. Too little sleep simply makes us defensive. And Myklebust explains in what way: – This means that we have poorer self-confidence, we do not trust our own abilities, and we make choices that are characterized by the fact that we actually need rest. That’s why we pull back and don’t throw ourselves into challenges with as much enthusiasm. We use more energy to avoid getting tired than to face challenges, explains Myklebust. – For a top athlete, who depends on pushing himself in training and especially in competition, the defensiveness that comes as a result of little sleep is a huge handicap, he underlines. Have to adjust training and cut back on being social Kalvå knows that sleep is crucial for her to be able to recover after training. It is also crucial for staying healthy. BAD PERIODS: Anne Kjersti Kalvå still has bad periods where she struggles to sleep. Photo: NTB Therefore, the frustration becomes all the greater when she sometimes lies awake all night. – I try to work my way through it, she says and continued: – For me, the rescue has sometimes been that during the day, and in front of the TV, I get an hour or two in the eye, she continued. – How does it feel in a bad period? – You get tired, with a deficit on most things. It doesn’t feel good when you’ve barely slept at night and know you’re going to train for five hours. “How am I going to manage to recover through it, when I’m on the minus side when I get up?” asks Kalvå rhetorically. In the worst periods, she has had to adjust her training. She has also cut back on being social. Getting help from doctors Kalvå’s sleep problem was greatest a few years ago. Now she has received help from both a doctor and the Olympiatoppen. But if there is a complete crisis, he still has to resort to medication. – There are still periods when it can be a little difficult. GET SUPPORT: Anne Kjersti Kalvå has shared the challenges with her teammates. Photo: NTB – How stressed and desperate do you get then? – If it goes on for a long time, you will be affected by it, she says. Myklebust says that the use of sleeping pills is not optimal, as it prevents the body from regulating how much sleep one needs in a natural way. – In between, it can be useful to have a rest, or to relax. But if you use it over time, it will clearly affect your performance, he says. Kalvå points out that she has now managed to acquire good routines. At training sessions and during World Cup races, she has, among other things, a permanent roommate. Something that has helped. – You just have to find some tips and tricks, which make it livable, she says. Published 16.07.2024, at 16.35
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