Over the past 10 years, there have been revolutionary improvements in running shoes that have enhanced our ability to train better and run faster. There’s also been breakthroughs in running nutrition products, giving us the ability to ingest more calories and electrolytes on the run than ever before.
Is a sleep revolution next?
Ryan Hurley, the founder of Lagoon Performance Pillows, sure thinks so, and elite runners Emma Bates, Kiera D’Amato, Grayson Murphy, and Dakotah Popehn are convinced there is a correlation between optimal sleep and optimal running performance.
Those who know me well know that I haven’t had great sleep habits, in part, because I’m a workaholic and tend to rev at high energy all the time. But that’s taken a toll on my running for years, as I’m often more fatigued than I should be, especially when I plan on running late in the afternoon or early in the evening. However, after resting my head on a Lagoon pillow every night for the past month, I’ve quickly become a convert, too.
Could a new pillow — one that matches my comfort preferences, my sleeping position, and my physique — be a game-changer for me? So far, yes, indeed it has.
After taking Lagoon’s online quiz (Lagoon calls the quiz its “ErgoFit Pillow Assessment”) that asked about my sleep habits, challenges, and goals, as well as inquiring about my typical sleep position and cushioning preferences, I ordered a semi-custom Lagoon Otter gel-infused memory foam pillow made to my specifications.
It’s been deamy — peharps on par with the cushiness pair of super shoes I’d ever laced up. Since then, I’ve been sleeping much better — both longer and through the night more regularly — and my physical and emotional energy for my running has also improved and become more consistent. And let’s be honest, it’s not just the pillow that has helped my sleep and running improve, but it’s certainly been a catalyst that has helped me pay more attention to daily routine and start to build better habits.
And that’s made me realize I’ve been sleeping on some pretty mediocre pillows for years — or at least pillows that haven’t felt exquisitely matched to my head, neck, or helped me sink into a calm, pre-sleep aura.
The thing is we all have pillows on our beds, but not all pillows are made the same. Think about your favorite running socks, your best running shorts, or your go-to running shoes. It’s not like you’re wearing any old pair of socks, shorts or shoes, so why should we settle for a less-than-wonderful pillow that really feels good and helps us rest better? The answer — as I have found out — we shouldn’t.
Hurley, an accomplished triathlete and ultrarunner, contends that a pillow should be one of the most important purchases you make, but the time when you feel that pain point of decision-making is when you’re getting into bed for the night.
“You’re already exhausted and you’re not really in the mindset of, ‘OK, how am I going to find the best pillow for me?’” Hurley says. “At that point, you just want to go to bed and pass out into sleep. I think finding the right time to be talking to people and making sure they’re in the right mindset to smartly consider their pillow choices is important, and we feel that’s what the quiz helps facilitate.”
After years of working in the sports broadcast industry for a decade, Hurley began an entrepreneurial journey and started Lagoon with the intent of helping athletes get better sleep through high-quality, semi-custom pillows.
“We’re a pillow company, but this isn’t just a pillow company,” Hurley told me. “We’re a company that focuses on optimizing sleep for athletes, for runners, for active people, who need and appreciate the consistency of optimal sleep.”
Hurley has dug into sleep science, especially as it relates to sports performance, and he’s also produced a lot of content about sleep as it relates to running performance, including articles about how to implement sleep into a training schedule and race week sleep banking.
(During race week, Hurley suggests being particularly mindful of sleep positions that might strain key running muscles. He says side sleepers should consider placing a pillow between knees to maintain hip alignment; back sleepers can place a small pillow under their knees to reduce lower back pressure; and stomach sleepers might benefit from transitioning to side sleeping during this critical marathon preparation period.)
For years, runners have focused on training as hard as possible and running as many miles as possible. But the need for sufficient rest —specifically deep sleep, aka “slow-wave sleep” — is vital for runners because it is only through optimal recovery that the training adaptations of our workouts and long runs can take hold.
During deep sleep, the body releases growth hormones that are essential for repairing muscles, bones, and tissues. It also helps regulate and reset the immune system, enhance cognitive function, and stabilize our moods while reducing twinges of depression and anxiety. Research has shown that endurance athletes who sleep for under seven hours a night are 50 percent more likely to get injured over only a two-week period.
There’s also an interesting link between deep sleep and heart rate variability (HRV), an indicator of cardiovascular health based on variation between heartbeats. Research shows that deep sleep is associated with increased HRV, suggesting that it supports overall heart health.
Numerous studies have confirmed that quality sleep improves athletic performance, while poor sleep is associated with fatigue, becoming exhausted faster, delayed reaction time. A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports showed that runners who sleep seven or more hours per night are less susceptible to illness.
OK, but what about a pillow’s impact on your sleep?
Just as marathon training takes time, so, too, does improved sleep. So where do I go from here? I’m going to continue to prioritize good sleep habits, decrease my caffeine intake, and really plan to wind down in the evenings — knowing I have the key catalyst to change. Long-term habits don’t form overnight, but linking up a series of 8-hour nights of sleep is a good way to start. And what better way to keep my streak going than to start my own version of the 8x8x8 Challenge — running 8 miles every day and sleeping 8 hours every night for eight straight days to ensure I’m reinforcing good habits and good training.
