Most golfers love a nice early morning round. Fresh dew on the field, and not another golfer in sight. The only problem with waking up early to play golf is, well, the waking up part.
It’s hard for most golfers not to feel groggy, especially during early morning rounds. And as we all know, a golfer who feels groggy is not one to play their best golf. You have to focus. And to do that, you have to be careful.
It was not golf that inspired scientists from University of California-Berkeley for the Study of Causes early morning stupor, but there are certainly applications for golfers, both on and off the golf course.
In a study published last month in magazine Nature Communication, researchers monitored the diets of 833 people for two weeks and monitored key health indicators via a wristwatch.
By the end of the study, the researchers had come to a clearer understanding of what caused people to feel groggy and concluded that “the secret to alertness is a three-part recipe.”
1. Exercising the previous day
Researchers have found that the first recipe for feeling more alert tomorrow is to exercise more today. Researchers have discovered that “substantial exercise the previous day” helped improve participants’ general mood and general alertness, in part because they got better sleep the night before.
“Perhaps better exercise-induced sleep is part of the reason why exercising the day before, aiding sleep that night, leads to peak alertness during the next day,” said study author Raphael Vallat.
Editor’s note: If you’re looking for a golf-specific fitness program to commit to, we’ve got a ton of them for you to check out at Golf Digest Schools right here.
2. Sleeping a little later
Yes, we know this is the most obvious one, and if you have an early start time, there’s not much you can do. But it is undeniable that sleeping a little longer will help you feel more alert during the day.
“When you wake up later, you’re at a higher point on the rise of your 24-hour circadian rhythm, which speeds up during the morning and increases alertness,” says Vallat.
So if you’re trying to play your best, maybe opt for late morning.
3. Breakfast rich in carbohydrates, modest protein intake, without sugar
Finally, and most importantly, the key to feeling alert throughout the day starts with breakfast. The study showed that only a “modest amount of protein” is ideal, and the less sugar the better. Instead, eating more carbohydrates in the morning was associated with “individuals who rapidly increase their alertness in the morning and maintain that alert state.”
“A high-carbohydrate breakfast can increase alertness, as long as your body is healthy and able to efficiently dispose of the glucose from that meal, preventing a sustained spike in blood sugar that otherwise dampens your brain’s alertness,” Vallat said.
