Every swimmer knows that time is the ultimate currency. They spend hours, days, months, even years chasing fractions of a second, waking to alarms long before the sun rises, all with the goal of dropping time when the moment matters most.
This Sunday, November 1, at 2 a.m., the clocks fall back to 1 a.m. For once, time gives swimmers a little something back: the gift of an extra 60 minutes.
That’s 60 whole minutes to sleep, eat, daydream, scroll through swim memes, drop a comment on a SwimSwam story, or wrestle into a new tech suit.
Of course, an extra hour on the clock doesn’t guarantee an extra hour of restorative sleep. And one Sunday morning each fall won’t undo a season’s worth of early alarms and late homework.
One Extra Hour. So Many Possibilities.
How shall a swimmer spend thee? Let us count the ways.
Sleep: For a tired swimmer during a demanding stretch of the season, doing absolutely nothing may be the most productive choice of all. No alarms to set, no laps to count, no pace clock to watch. Just a little more time cuddled comfortably under their favorite fleece blanket.
Eat: An extra hour of sleep is great, but an extra breakfast is pretty tempting, too. Pancakes, eggs, cereal, yogurt… now that’s time totally well spent.
Overthink: Some swimmers might spend that extra hour staring at the ceiling, calculating splits, replaying races and visualizing the perfect finish. Resting your body is one thing. Switching off your brain can be another.
Scroll: A little mindless scrolling through favorite swimming sites and memes might be a welcome break from training. But if that screen time cuts into your sleep, the bonus hour may not be such a bonus after all.
Suit up: Anyone who has wrestled their way into a brand new tech suit knows that getting ready to race can be a workout in itself. If it’s race day, an extra hour might leave a little more leeway for tugging, stretching, pulling and any other manner of maneuvering.
The bigger question isn’t what swimmers will do with one extra hour, but whether they’re getting enough sleep in the first place.
Sleep: Keeping Up Is Hard to Do
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends 8–10 hours of sleep per day for teenagers ages 13–17 and at least seven hours for adults ages 18–60.
For athletes, sleep is about more than simply feeling less tired. The National Sleep Foundation explores how sleep supports the physical and mental demands of training and competition.
An extra hour of sleep won’t automatically translate into a faster swim. Consistently getting enough sleep may matter more than what swimmers do with one bonus hour.
Teenagers have a tough time getting enough sleep. As they get older, their bodies naturally want to stay up later at night and sleep longer in the morning. But school bells and morning practices won’t wait. For a high school swimmer, it’s an early alarm, a full day of school, practice, homework and then waking up to do it all again. The CDC notes that the combination of late bedtimes and early school start times leaves many teens short on sleep.
Sleeping later on weekends may help swimmers feel less tired, but it isn’t a substitute for getting enough sleep consistently. Research summarized by the NIH found that weekend catch-up sleep didn’t undo all of the effects of regularly getting too little sleep.
Beyond the Extra Hour: Making Sleep Part of the Training Plan
Swimmers are creatures of habit, and many thrive on routine. They follow structured training plans, fit classes and meals around practice, and make time for recovery in their already busy lives. The extra hour is a small bonus, but consistent sleep habits matter long after the clocks change.
The CDC recommends keeping consistent bedtimes and wake times, turning off electronic devices at least 30 minutes before bedtime, and keeping the bedroom a quiet, relaxing and cool space. These habits can help swimmers make sleep a priority beyond the occasional bonus hour.
For swimmers, coaches and parents, the takeaway may be bigger than what happens on one Sunday morning each fall. The extra hour is a reminder to consider sleep as an important part of the overall training picture.
The clocks may fall back, but the goal remains the same: show up rested, recharged and ready to race.
Sweet Dreams, Swimmers! Photo courtesy of Mike LaMonica
