Many football fans have been looking with some concern at the start times for Sweden's matches in the group stage. The match against Tunisia kicks off at 4 a.m., and against Japan at 1 a.m. How are you supposed to cope - and how are you supposed to think about your sleep?
Maria Nordin, associate professor at the Department of Psychology at Umeå University, says that the strategy for the first match against Tunisia depends on whether you are an evening or morning person.
We have different rhythms. Morning people can probably get up, while evening people might stay up all night.
Evening people may wonder whether drinking coffee at night is the best choice.
Too much caffeine stimulates the body, so if you want to go to bed after the match, you may be very alert if you've had a lot of caffeine, she says.
Skip the beer
Those who get up early, however, can treat themselves to a morning cup at 3:45 a.m.
I think that can be good, then we tell the body that “we're starting early today.” The body generally starts to get going around four or five o'clock, then it can get a boost.
For the 1 a.m. match, most people can expect to stay awake.
Even though the restaurants are open late, the sensible recommendation is to abstain from beer.
Alcohol affects sleep more than we think. You can fall asleep well with alcohol, but your sleep is often very disturbed and fragmented if you have had alcohol in your system.
The same goes for chips. There is a link between a diet high in fat and sugar and poor sleep habits, and the recommendation for night workers is to avoid heavy food at night.
Nap and exercise
A lot also depends on how you function the day after the match. Maria Nordin recommends taking time off for those who have the opportunity. It's also about maintaining routines like eating breakfast, maybe taking a shower to get going.
In the worst case, you can take a short nap. It should be short so you can set the timer, 15 minutes - maximum half an hour. The best thing to do then is to drink coffee right before taking this nap.
It's important not to train too hard, which can put extra stress on the body. But exercise - strength training, jogging or walking - can help.
The stress the body is exposed to due to lack of sleep can be mitigated by normal exercise sessions.
It's also about preparing yourself mentally, because you will be tired.
You can grit your teeth a little the next day.
+ Avoid alcohol, fat and sugar at night. However, water is good to drink.
+ Don't exercise too hard the day after a night of poor sleep, but lighter exercise can be good.
+ For late-night games, evening people may be better off staying up all night, while morning people may want to sleep in first.
+ If you've been staying up, avoid too much caffeine. However, if you get up early, a cup of coffee can help kick-start your day.
+ If you take a nap during the day, set the timer for a maximum of half an hour and feel free to have a cup of coffee immediately before.
