If you ask a professional athlete how to get faster, you might mention the word recovery. 

It is a common misconception among amateur players that in order to improve, you need to train more. While it is true to the point, it ignores the basic principles of training, which is to allow you to introduce stress and then recover during which time your body improves its ability to adapt and cope with the same stress the next time. 

Over time, this process of stress, recovery, adaptation, and repetition is known as progressive overload. We all know the part of the pressure well: If you're a cyclist with competitive ambitions, you've definitely tried to use a training plan, get strictly every week, and everything'll be fine

But if you don't pay attention to the recovery part of that process, it's more likely to lead to burnout. Chronic fatigue, prolonged muscle pain, irritability, reduced performance, and insomnia are some of the symptoms, but the end result is that you complete a session that put yourself in

A good way to think about it, is like a bucket with a hole in the bottom. If you keep pouring stress without letting it empty, your bucket will eventually overflow. 

But the secret that professional cyclists know is that what most of our amateurs overlook is that we can find ways to increase the speed at which the bucket empties. 

While healthy eating, increased protein, stretching and maintaining hydration are part of the behavior, they are paler compared to the benefits of good night sleep. 

For this reason, Team Sky had brought his own mattress to the Tour de France. Tadej Pogañar wearing the Ultra Human ring and Mathieu van der Poel wearing the Whoop strap are also designed to help track sleep and take steps to improve recovery. 

"Sleep is an important time when muscles can repair and regenerate," Kristen Holmes, chief scientist at Whoop, told Cyclingnews.Interestingly, she added, "Athletes need to realize that their preparation for sleep begins from the moment they wake up.""

There are several important ways to do this, outlined below. 

The room you sleep in is an important factor in improving the quality and quantity of sleep. Research has shown that dark, quiet and cool bedrooms are optimal, but you can't understate the value of a good mattress to send you to slumberous snooze. 

Buying a good quality mattress is rarely a cheap expense, even if you try to reassure yourself by calling it an investment, but coincidentally, there are some great deals worth considering, as the Black Friday sale is happening now. 

We plucked some of the following from our sister site Tom's Guide, which has an entire team dedicated to sleep. (What work.

Holmes stressed that it is important to allocate some time to stop the wind before you go to bed, and this is a good idea to start around the time you want to sleep. This includes reading a book, taking a warm shower, listening to relaxing music, and doing breathing exercises.

It's as easy as scrolling through social media and getting caught in bed, but exposure to blue light from your phone screen can affect your body's desire to sleep. I think it's still time during the day to increase your wakefulness as well as suppress your body's sleep hormone melatonin and essentially trick your body

Holmes also recommends working out late at night as this raises your internal body temperature, which can make it difficult to fall asleep. Going hand in hand with the routines above

whenever possible, a consistent schedule of sleep and wakefulness times will also help you understand when it's time for your body to switch off. This not only speeds up the time it takes to nod, but also improves the quality of your sleep when you finally do as well. 

The reason for this is because it regulates your circadian rhythm, the internal 24-hour clock in your body that affects when you wake up and feel sleepy. The stronger this rhythm, the greater the signal that is sent to the brain.

Going to bed at about the same time every night, waking up at the same time every morning, taking the early morning sun and avoiding late-night stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol are key techniques here. 

Eating healthily not only helps nourish your body to maximize recovery, but also helps you sleep better and increases recovery benefits by 2 times. 

Holmes recommends avoiding caffeine for at least 4 hours before bedtime, but nicotine, sugar, alcohol, etc. should also be avoided at bedtime. 

Hydration is also important, but limiting too much fluid before bedtime can help you avoid the dreaded midnight toilet trip. Spicy and fatty foods should also be restricted, as they can lead to indigestion and heartburn, but this will not encourage a restful night. 

For more information, our detailed features on how sleep improves your cycling have more.