Can't Sleep Before a Race? What to Do the Night Before

It's 11 PM. The alarm is set for 4:45. Your race kit is laid out, and you're staring at the ceiling running the course in your head. If that sounds familiar, this post is for you, whether it's a marathon, a HYROX heat, a meet or your first 10K.

You're not the only one

Researchers at the Australian Institute of Sport surveyed 283 elite athletes about sleep before big competitions (Juliff et al., 2015). The study reports that:

• 64.0% said they'd slept worse on at least one night before an important competition in the past 12 months.
• The main problem was falling asleep (82.1% of those athletes).
• The main reasons given were thoughts about the competition (83.5%) and nervousness (43.8%).
• The poor sleep was situational, tied to competition, rather than a general sleep problem.

So if you can't sleep before a race, you're in good company, including among elite athletes.

Why one bad night isn't the end

An expert consensus (Walsh et al., 2020) on athlete sleep notes that a night or more without sleep reduces athletic performance. It also says the effect of partial sleep restriction over one to three nights "remains unclear" (Walsh et al., 2020).

A few hours less than usual isn't the same as no sleep at all, and the research on that middle ground is still open. Stressing about lost sleep only adds to the thoughts keeping you up.

The week before matters more

You can't force sleep on one night, but you can stack the odds over a week:
- Hold a steady bedtime and wake time all week. The Sleep Foundation lists going to bed at the same time every night as a basic sleep habit (Sleep Foundation).
- If the race starts early, shift earlier in small steps over several nights, not all at once.
- Handle the logistics early in the week (bib, route, parking, fuel) so they aren't left for the night before.

For runners, there's more on race-week sleep in Sleep for Runners. Racing HYROX in Denver? See HYROX Denver Race Week.

A night-before routine

Keep it boring. Boring is good.
1. Eat your usual dinner at your usual time. Race night isn't the time to try a new restaurant.
2. Pack and lay out everything by early evening. Kit, shoes, fuel, bib, phone charger.
3. Set two alarms, then put the phone across the room.
4. Wind down the way you normally do. In the Juliff survey, individual-sport athletes who had a strategy reported using relaxation and reading.
5. Lights out at your normal time, not two hours early. Going to bed early just gives you more time to lie awake.

If you're lying awake

• Don't watch the clock. Turn it away.
• Rest anyway. Lie still, breathe slowly and let your body rest even if your mind won't.
• Write it down. If course thoughts are looping, jot your race plan on paper and leave it there.
• Skip the late caffeine and alcohol. The Sleep Foundation lists avoiding both before bed.

Race morning

• Get up with the first alarm and get light and movement early.
• Eat the breakfast you practiced in training.
• Leave extra time to get to the start. A calm morning beats an extra 10 minutes in bed spent worrying about traffic.

Coming to a Colorado race from lower elevation? Denver sits at 5,280 feet (City and County of Denver). Read Sleeping at Altitude in Denver before you book your trip.

A bedroom that's ready

The night before a race, the room should be the one thing you don't have to think about. Make it cool (the Sleep Foundation suggests about 65°F, within a 65 to 68°F range), dark and quiet. Have breathable bedding and a pillow you know.

The MOSO Black Performance Pillow is filled with viscose made from bamboo, blended with bamboo charcoal and tourmaline, and it's designed to sleep cool. There's no polyester in the fill or the ticking. We're a Denver company, and every pillow is assembled and finished in Denver. Standard/Queen (18 × 26 in) $109, King (18 × 36 in) $119, sizes per the product page.

Denver delivery

Between Centennial and Westminster, free same-day hand delivery runs 7 days a week. Orders placed by 1 PM MT are delivered the same day, per our shipping policy. Elsewhere in the U.S., standard shipping is free on orders over $99. New customers: HELLOMOSO takes 10% off.

Get the MOSO Black Performance Pillow →

Keep reading: Sleep for Runners · HYROX Denver Race Week · Sleep for Lifters

— Team MOSO

FAQ

Is it normal to not sleep before a race?
Yes. In a survey of 283 elite athletes, 64.0% reported worse sleep on at least one night before an important competition in the past year. Most of them had trouble falling asleep.

Will one bad night ruin my race?
Expert consensus says the effect of one to three nights of partial sleep restriction on performance remains unclear. Steady sleep in the week before is the part you can control.

Should I go to bed early the night before a race?
Go to bed at your normal time. If you have an early start, shift your schedule earlier gradually over the week instead.

What should I do if I can't fall asleep?
Turn the clock away, write down whatever's looping in your head, and rest quietly. Relaxation and reading are the strategies athletes reported in the Juliff survey.

Can I get a MOSO pillow in Denver before race day?
Between Centennial and Westminster, orders placed by 1 PM MT are delivered the same day, 7 days a week, per our shipping policy.