3 healthy habits for runners that are more beneficial than sports supplementation

Many runners (and athletes in general) mistakenly think that sports supplementation is very important, most importantly, to improve sports performance. In this article I am going to talk about certain habits or routines that should be part of the life of any runner and that, in general, can be more beneficial for their sports performance than sports supplementation.

In this article I am going to explain 3 healthy habits for runners that, without a doubt, report more benefits from the point of view of sports performance than sports supplementation.

3 healthy habits for runners: more hours of sleep, adequate carbohydrates and correct hydration

All of us who are immersed in the world of sports exercise know one of those people who has a closet at home reserved for the endless sports supplements that he collects. Although it is true that there are several supplements with solid scientific evidence to support them (which we will talk about in future articles in this blog), acquiring one of the rest almost always means wasting our money.

Let's start by clarifying what we mean by 'habit'. In the Health Sciences, and in particular in the behavioral sciences, is considered or called habit to any regularly repeated behavior.

There are many guidelines and habits that can provide us with greater benefits in terms of our sports performance and health without investing the considerable amount of money involved in purchasing sports supplementation. But if I had to point out 3 healthy habits for runners that I consider essential, they would be these:

1. Improve sleep hygiene (more hours and better quality of sleep).
2. Introduce adequate sources of carbohydrates in the diet.
3. Establish a good hydration pattern around exercise.

Improve sleep hygiene, one of the essential healthy habits for runners

Adequate rest, in terms of quantity and quality of hours of sleep, is one of the fundamental pillars for good health and sports performance, although the importance of sleep hygiene in the health of people. And it must be emphasized emphatically that among the essential healthy habits for runners must be the improvement of sleep hygiene.

It is evident that there is a problem with lack of sleep in a large part of the population due to factors such as stress, socioeconomic problems and the great epidemic of addiction to electronic devices, including night use.

There is scientific evidence that sleep restriction significantly decreases athletic performance (article: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35708888/), and this worsens as sleep restriction is greater.

Additionally, sleep restriction has been shown to lead to increased caloric intake and abdominal fat gain (article: https://www.jacc.org/doi/abs/10.1016/j.jacc.2022.01.038), probably due to poorer regulation of satiety at the hormonal level. As expected, this will be noticeably negative for our health and sports performance.

Due to the above and other negative consequences of a poor rest, it is especially important to take measures that imply an improvement in sleep hygiene; In other words: you have to do everything possible to sleep more and better. Here are some mandatory recommendations to achieve this goal:

• Establish a pre-bed routine for every day. This can be different for each person, but the common denominator must be the following: prepare physically and mentally for the rest. Soothing sounds or reading a book on paper would be a good idea.
• Avoiding the use of screens 1-2 hours before going to bed would be ideal, since the blue light from these screens inhibits the production of melatonin (sleep-regulating hormone).
• The best conditions for the bedroom are as follows: no noise, as dark as possible, and a slightly low temperature.

Introduce adequate sources of carbohydrates in the diet

The second of the healthy habits for runners that I want to highlight is the incorporation of adequate sources of carbohydrates into the diet.

There are various carbohydrate supplements that can be very useful on many occasions to improve our performance (especially intra-workout, as we saw in a previous article in which we talked about how to lose fat in a healthy way). However, most of our daily carbohydrate intake will be from sources atlimentaries.

In addition, it is of special importance (mainly for health) that these sources are adequate. What should we understand as adequate sources of carbohydrates? Whole grains, fruits, tubers, and legumes should be the primary sources of carbohydrates to promote optimal health and athletic performance.

Some examples of these groups of alimeTips and advice to introduce them into the diet as one of the healthy habits for runners:

• Whole grains: whole wheat pasta, quinoa, brown rice, corn and oats. For snacks, it is a good idea to prepare a bowl of oatmeal with micro-based vegetable milk, later adding fruit or nuts, for example. In the main meals you can prepare a salad with whole wheat pasta as a base.
• Fruits: the typical ones such as banana, orange or apple, but also other less common ones such as blueberries, pomegranate or persimmon. Both snacks and dessert are ideal.
• Tubers: potato, sweet potato or cassava. In cooked or baked, for example.
• Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, edamame, black beans, etc. In stews it is typical, but in salads it is also a very good idea.

Establish a good hydration pattern around exercise

A good hydration pattern is another of the healthy habits for runners to keep in mind.

We all know someone who readily states that they never, or barely, consume fluids during training. This is far from adequate, since a good peri-workout hydration regimen will maintain our performance optimally and avoid health problems associated with dehydration.

A person who practices sports regularly, especially in the case of running, and who does not follow adequate hydration guidelines is putting their sports performance at risk. Correct and adequate hydration is one of the healthy habits for runners that I consider essential.

In addition to water, it is important at certain times that the drink also contains added sodium and carbohydrates, such as intra-workout (article: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cphy.c130014). Although there are sports supplement preparations that make it easier for us to prepare, it can be perfectly prepared with homemade ingredients. Something to keep in mind is that it is important to individualize the amounts of water, carbohydrates and sodium, especially during training.

Among other factors to take into account we have the sweat rate, which we will talk about in future articles on this blog. Here are some general guidelines for peri-workout hydration.

• Pre-workout: 500 ml of water + a small pinch of common salt about 30 minutes before.
• Intra-workout: (Important, per HOUR): 500-750 ml of water + a pinch of common salt + 30 g of sugar.
• Post-workout: 500-750 ml of water + a pinch of salt or include somelimevery salty

In conclusion, there are healthy habits for runners that must be taken into account. Training is essential to improve performance for any runner, but great value must be placed on incorporating healthy habits that will contribute to greater and more effective performance improvement.

Text to 42K of :

Mario Cotanda

nutritionist dietitian

Mario Cotanda is a dietitian-nutritionist from the University of Valencia. His final degree project was "Carbohydrates and strength training."
Mario Cotanda on instagram

Other entries by Mario Cotanda

• 3 tips to lose fat in a healthy way