Health

5 Sleep Secrets Olympians Swear By

For Madison Hughes, captain of the USA Rugby Men’s Eagles Sevens, the key to good sleep is getting to bed on time to make sure to get enough of it.

“I’ve always been someone who kind of stays up late and likes to wake up late,” the 23-year-old previously told HuffPost Rise.

“Over the course of a few days you get drowsy, you get tired. You find yourself not being as effective,” he said.

So he cleaned up his sleep act. Now he averages eight hours of sleep a night ? and said it takes discipline to stay on track (and get to bed!).

“It’s about being disciplined and saying, ‘Okay ? I know that I need to do this,’” he said. “And say, ‘I need to go bed at this certain time because that’s going to allow me to get the sleep I need that’s going to allow me to perform at my best.’”

Sarah DiGiulio is The Huffington Post’s sleep reporter. You can contact her at sarah.digiulio@huffingtonpost.com. 

For more Olympics coverage:

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  • For These Olympic Athletes, Depression Is The Major Hurdle
  • The Most Inspiring Olympians Aren’t Always The Ones Who Win Gold Medals