Sports
Five science
Sleep is arguably the most overlooked tenet of health and fitness there is. It also tends to be the one people are most reluctant to take steps to improve. Those on a health kick will happily compare workout plans, diets, supplements and shiny new recovery tools, pouring time and money into each category. Then they […]
Sleep is arguably the most overlooked tenet of health and fitness there is. It also tends to be the one people are most reluctant to take steps to improve.
Those on a health kick will happily compare workout plans, diets, supplements and shiny new recovery tools, pouring time and money into each category. Then they go home, watch TV into the early hours and wonder why they don’t feel so good. Yet experts agree that your time between the sheets could be the key to unlocking untold benefits.
“It’s free, but not everyone uses it,” Coros athlete and Scotland’s first four-time Olympian Eilish McColgan tells me. “It’s probably the thing that’s neglected the most, but it should be a key focus – that is when your body recovers.”
“Sleep is a massive thing for me, but it’s something I neglected for a long time,” fellow Olympian, Red Bull athlete and BMX supremo Kieran Reilly adds. “I thought it wasn’t a big deal, and if I focused on everything else it would be fine. But [since fine-tuning my approach in 2022] the difference in my energy levels, recovery and performance has been massive.”
The problem is, elite athletes don’t live the same lives as the majority of people. For the rest of the world, sleep can’t always be a priority, and the fabled (though scientifically dubious) eight hours per night reads more like fiction than aspiration.
For those in this camp, for whom improving sleep quantity isn’t an option, upping their sleep quality might be enough to enjoy some of the impressive benefits of an optimised kip – improved appetite regulation, focus, mood and immune function, to name a few.
This is something the UK’s best-known trainer, Joe Wicks, found as a father of four with frequent interruptions to his nightly resting efforts.
“The first thing to really prioritise, and I think a lot of people will resonate with this, is getting your sleep right,” he says. “When you’re sleeping well, the food and exercise side of things comes a little bit easier.”
He said two changes have proved transformative to this; improving his sleep regularity, and investing in a Lumie alarm clock so he can leave his phone downstairs when bedtime rolls around.
“The truth is, if you remove the phone from your bedroom, you’re way less likely to doom-scroll, to wake up in the night and check your phone or to lay in bed for an extra hour in the morning – it is the most important thing you can do,” he says.
If you’re in the market for some sleep tips to supercharge whatever slumber you are able to snag, read on. We’ve spoken to experts and raided the research to find the best actionable advice for doing just that.
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Sleep regularity
As Wicks mentions, sleep regularity is key. This simply means attempting to establish consistent times at which you fall asleep and wake up.
In fact, sleep regularity is now believed to be almost as important as sleep duration for our long-term health, with a 2023 consensus statement published in the Sleep Health journal highlighting its role in “health, safety and performance”. However, the statement also concludes that “when insufficient sleep is obtained during the week or work days, weekend or non-work day, catch-up sleep may be beneficial”.
The reason sleep regularity is so important is because of your circadian rhythm – an intrinsic 24-hour body clock plugged into every cell and system in the body. Disrupting this rhythm with irregular sleep throws the body off balance, playing havoc with our internal systems and contributing to an increased risk of conditions such as fatigue, depression and heart disease.
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Be careful with food and caffeine timings
Don’t consume caffeine in the eight hours before you plan to sleep, and avoid eating at least two hours before heading to bed, The Sleep Scientist founder Dr Sophie Bostock advises.
Caffeine’s stimulatory effects are widely known, and most people will be able to work out why swerving it ahead of bedtime is a good idea. With food, Dr Bostock says eating sends signals to our body that it still has a job to do – namely, digesting – so it will struggle to access deep sleep in the hours afterward.
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Moderate phone use
It was previously believed that exposure to bright light from phone screens before bed was derailing your slumber. While this probably doesn’t help, recent research suggests it doesn’t play as significant a role as many once thought. However, your phone is still standing between you and a solid night’s kip.
A 2024 theoretical review proposed that other tech-linked factors are also at play – its phrasing of “bedtime procrastination” may strike uncomfortably close to home for some.
“Bright light and arousal do not seem to matter as much as how we manage our screen time in the evening,” it states. “For some individuals and families, removing technology from bedrooms overnight could be a helpful way to prevent any possible impacts of technology use on sleep. However, restricting devices may not suit everyone, or for some families this could be difficult to implement.
“Technology is here to stay, and a harm minimisation approach is warranted – technology can be in the bedroom, but to avoid a negative impact on sleep it should not disturb you during the night [or be put on flight mode]. It should not be used later than the intended bedtime, and it should be used for less engaging activities like TV watching [before your set bedtime].”
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Use light to your advantage
While phone light may not be as important as first thought, light in general remains vital for regulating your sleep.
Consistent signalling is key to keeping your body operating smoothly, and for time-signalling, these signals are called zeitgebers or time-givers. Natural light, Dr Bostock says, is the most powerful zeitgeber at our disposal.
For this reason, it’s important to expose yourself to plenty of natural light shortly after waking wherever possible. Working in a well-lit area during the day will also help.
Contrastingly, in the two hours before bed, turn down the lights in your home. This advice comes from a list of tips given to participants in a 2020 sleep study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, with a view to improving their sleep.
Further featured advice includes the three points above, as well as keeping your bedroom quiet and cool, doing calm and positive activities before bed, “trying to get so much sleep that you do not need an alarm clock to wake up”, and learning a relaxation technique. This brings us nicely to our final point.
Read more: Sleepmaxxing: Is the pursuit of the perfect night’s rest making us more anxious?
Learn a relaxation technique
This can be anything from meditation to journaling. You might even benefit from drafting up a quick action plan for the next day or a simple to-do list, Dr Bostock says.
It’s all about giving yourself a sense of control, she advises. “Reflect on each thought, express it so it’s not just churning around in your head, then move on.”
Read more: 17 best mattresses, tried and tested by The Independent’s sleep expert
Sports
Liz Wluka – Director of Sports Nutrition – Women’s Volleyball Support Staff
UConn Sports Nutrition Overview and Services Hungry Husky Newsletter Liz Wluka joined the UConn athletics staff in August 2017 and serves as the director of sports nutrition. As a registered dietitian and a certified specialist in sports dietetics, Wluka provides individual counseling as well as team nutrition education to enhance the health and performance of all student-athletes. […]
UConn Sports Nutrition Overview and Services
Hungry Husky Newsletter
Liz Wluka joined the UConn athletics staff in August 2017 and serves as the director of sports nutrition. As a registered dietitian and a certified specialist in sports dietetics, Wluka provides individual counseling as well as team nutrition education to enhance the health and performance of all student-athletes. In this role, she is responsible for planning, developing, and implementing all performance nutrition services provided to all 24 teams.
Wluka came to Storrs following an eight-month sports nutrition fellowship called “SNIP” Sports Nutrition Immersion Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This fellowship is through the CPSDA organization (Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietetians Association) sponsored by Gatorade.
Wluka was one of 10 participants chosen across the country to participate in this exclusive training program as a sports dietitian. Wluka completed her dietetic internship at Pepperdine University in 2016 and previously worked in the sports nutrition department at UCLA.
She graduated from Syracuse University in 2015 and earned her bachelor’s degree in nutrition. During her undergraduate career at Syracuse, Wluka studied abroad in Sydney, Australia.
A native of Sharon, Mass., Wluka was selected for both the Boston Globe and Herald All-Scholastic teams in 2011 in the sport of basketball. Wluka was also selected Hockomock League MVP her senior season, becoming the first Sharon high female basketball player to receive this award in three decades.
She is a member of the Collegiate and Professional Sports Dietitians Association and the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Sports
Joel DeMarco – Senior Associate Director of Olympic Sports Performance – Women’s Volleyball Support Staff
Team Assignments: Baseball, Women’s Ice Hockey, Volleyball Education: Master of Education: Exercise Science and Sports Studies – Springfield College, 2009 Bachelor of Science: Exercise Science and Health Promotion – University of New England, 2005 Certifications: CSCS/RSCC FMS Level 2 Professional & FCS USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach […]
Team Assignments:
- Baseball, Women’s Ice Hockey, Volleyball
Education:
- Master of Education: Exercise Science and Sports Studies – Springfield College, 2009
- Bachelor of Science: Exercise Science and Health Promotion – University of New England, 2005
Certifications:
- CSCS/RSCC
- FMS Level 2 Professional & FCS
- USAW Level 1 Sports Performance Coach
- Precision Nutrition Pn1
- American Red Cross CPR/First Aid/AED
Coach DeMarco joined the UConn staff in 2012. He currently oversees all aspects of training for the Baseball, Women’s Ice Hockey, and Women’s Volleyball. Prior to his current team assignments, Joel assisted with Football and oversaw training for the Men’s & Women’s Track & Field/Cross Country, Men’s and Women’s Tennis and Golf teams. He has coached student-athletes to 2 AAC Conference Championships with Women’s Track & Field, a Men’s Track and Field AAC Outdoor Championship, as well as the 2021 Big East Regular Season and Conference Baseball Championship. He has also coached 5 All-Americans, 17 MLB draft picks, and 11 NFL draft picks.
In addition to Joel’s commitment to his teams, he oversees the daily operations of the Husky Fuel Station, facility operations and development of interns
Prior to UConn, Joel served as the first full-time Strength & Conditioning Coach at Trinity College, overseeing all aspects of the program including design and implementation of training programs for all 29 varsity teams. He was the driving force behind the Trinity weight room design as well as raised funds to provide additional equipment in their training facility. In his time at Trinity he was part of the 2012 Women’s Lacrosse National Championship, the 2009 NESCAC Baseball Championships/NCAA New England Regionals/Advancement to the College World Series, 2012 NESCAC Baseball Championships, 5 conference championships, 20 conference players of the year and 19 All-Americans.
In addition to full-time appointments, Joel spent three summers with the Buffalo Bills assisting the full-time strength staff with all aspects of training camp. In addition to his time with the Bills, Joel interned at Williams College, Western New England College, Athletic Evolution, Springfield College and UMass Amherst. He also served as the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at Western New England College overseeing the day-to-day operations including practice, competition and recruiting. In his season with the team they set a school record 22 wins and were the 2007 ECAC New England Champions.
A native of North Adams, MA, Joel earned his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and Health Performance from the University of New England and his Master of Education in Exercise Science and Sports Studies from Springfield College. He was a varsity letter winner in the sport of Basketball for the University of New England.
Joel resides in Vernon, CT with his wife Kara and daughters Malia and Evelyn.
Sports
The Space Program on Water Polo Drama ‘The Plague’
The Space Program, a New York-based team of indie producers, describes itself as a collective. The way things work is that the three-person team collaborates on all projects — with one person taking lead and the others assuming supporting roles, depending on the film. “We have been able to become a safety net for each […]
The Space Program, a New York-based team of indie producers, describes itself as a collective. The way things work is that the three-person team collaborates on all projects — with one person taking lead and the others assuming supporting roles, depending on the film.
“We have been able to become a safety net for each other and for the films and the filmmakers,” explained Gus Deardoff, who runs the company along with Lizzie Shapiro and Lexi Tannenholtz. “It means there’s always someone available, which helps because filmmakers really need instantaneous contact with their producers at all times, and sometimes you get spread very thin. This way, we have several lines of defense.”
The company, which has worked on the feature debuts of Boots Riley (“Sorry to Bother You”) and Emma Seligman (“Shiva Baby”), takes a particular interest in first-time filmmakers.
“We love working with people that we want to be able to grow with,” said Tannenholtz. “We pick directors who we know are going to be making a lot of movies over the course of their careers.”
One such filmmaker is Charlie Polinger, whose first film, “The Plague,” will premiere in Un Certain Regard at Cannes this year. It tells the story of a group of preadolescent boys who bully and torment each other at a water polo camp.
“It’s a violent sport,” said Shapiro. “The above-water game, you need to follow the rules, but the below- water game, you can scratch and kick and pull at each other. Charlie thought that was a perfect metaphor for the way boys can behave.”
The eerie film, which the Space Program team liken to the work of Todd Field, but required a global search to find the right setting and the necessary incentives.
“I budgeted that movie in New York, New Jersey, Vancouver, Toronto, Ireland, Budapest, Sophia, Bulgaria and Bucharest,” said Shapiro. “We were on the hunt for a big pool.”
They ultimately landed in Romania. Early buzz on the film is strong and Polinger has already lined up a new project, A24’s “The Masque of the Red Death” with Sydney Sweeney tapped for the lead role. As for the Space Program, they have a busy dance card. Up next is “Pure,” the latest film from writer and director Catherine Schetina (“The Bear”), which will star Zoey Deutch. It’s about a young woman who begins to rot from the inside out as her life threatens to unravel at her sister’s wedding. It’s just the kind of quirky, unique, out-of-the-box story that the Space Program was formed to support.
“Maybe we are not the people who do your ‘Star Wars’ with you, but after you’ve made your ‘Star Wars’ and you’d like to make a more personal movie again, we are the people that you really want to collaborate with,” said Deardoff.
Part of that means that the Space Program will keep rolling the money it makes on different productions into the next one, hustling to keep projects moving forward in a business where films frequently fall apart at the last minute.
“Every movie is different, and every movie needs something different,” said Tannenholtz. “And what success means for each movie is different across the board. So we have to approach everything with an individualized strategy. For indie movies, it’s not one size fits all.”
Sports
High school volleyball: City Section boys’ playoff results and pairings
CITY SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS FRIDAY’S RESULTS FINALS At Birmingham DIVISION I #1 Taft d. #2 Carson, 25-10, 25-20, 25-17 DIVISION III #1 East Valley d. #7 Maywood CES, 3-0 SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE FINALS At Birmingham OPEN DIVISION #3 El Camino Real vs. #1 Venice, 6 p.m. DIVISION II #1 Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences […]
CITY SECTION BOYS VOLLEYBALL PLAYOFFS
FRIDAY’S RESULTS
FINALS
At Birmingham
DIVISION I
#1 Taft d. #2 Carson, 25-10, 25-20, 25-17
DIVISION III
#1 East Valley d. #7 Maywood CES, 3-0
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
FINALS
At Birmingham
OPEN DIVISION
#3 El Camino Real vs. #1 Venice, 6 p.m.
DIVISION II
#1 Valley Academy of Arts & Sciences vs. #2 Mendez, 3:15 p.m.
DIVISION IV
#10 Port of Los Angeles vs. #8 Hamilton, 12:30 p.m.
DIVISION V
#3 Harbor Teacher vs. #1 Wilson, 10 a.m.
Sports
Azusa Pacific Women’s Volleyball Releases 2025 Season Schedule
Story Links AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific University’s women’s volleyball team has officially released its 2025 schedule, featuring 27 regular season matches, a pair of high-profile tournaments, and 14 contests at the Felix Event Center. The Cougars will look to build on a strong tradition of competitiveness in the PacWest Conference as […]
AZUSA, Calif. — Azusa Pacific University’s women’s volleyball team has officially released its 2025 schedule, featuring 27 regular season matches, a pair of high-profile tournaments, and 14 contests at the Felix Event Center. The Cougars will look to build on a strong tradition of competitiveness in the PacWest Conference as they begin their campaign on September 4th.
The season kicks off with the APU/CUI Tournament, hosted at home in Azusa, where the Cougars will face Montana State Billings, Texas Woman’s, Regis, and Western Oregon. Following that, the squad heads into a tough Biola-hosted tournament featuring top regional opponents like Cal State Dominguez Hills and Texas Permian Basin.
“This year’s schedule gives us a great mix of early challenges and key home matches,” said Head Coach Chris Keife. “We’re excited to compete in front of our fans and take our program to new heights.”
A key stretch includes the team’s annual trip to Hawai’i in early October and pivotal conference battles against rivals Biola, Point Loma, and Concordia. The season wraps up at home on November 15 against Dominican.
Below is the complete schedule for the 2025 season:
2025 APU Women’s Volleyball Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept. 4 (Thu) | 6:00 PM | Montana State Billings | Azusa, CA | APU/CUI Tournament |
| Sept. 5 (Fri) | 10:00 AM | Texas Woman’s | Azusa, CA | APU/CUI Tournament |
| Sept. 5 (Fri) | 2:00 PM | Regis | Azusa, CA | APU/CUI Tournament |
| Sept. 6 (Sat) | 11:00 AM | Western Oregon | Azusa, CA | APU/CUI Tournament |
| Sept. 11 (Thu) | 6:00 PM | Cal State Dominguez Hills | La Mirada, CA | Biola Tournament |
| Sept. 12 (Fri) | 10:00 AM | Stanislaus State | Costa Mesa, CA | Biola Tournament |
| Sept. 12 (Fri) | 4:00 PM | Texas Permian Basin | La Mirada, CA | Biola Tournament |
| Sept. 13 (Sat) | 10:00 AM | Cal State Monterey Bay | La Mirada, CA | Biola Tournament |
| Sept. 17 (Wed) | 6:00 PM | Menlo | Azusa, CA | — |
| Sept. 20 (Sat) | 1:00 PM | Point Loma | Azusa, CA | — |
| Sept. 24 (Wed) | 6:00 PM | Hawai’i Hilo | Azusa, CA | — |
| Sept. 26 (Fri) | 1:00 PM | Chaminade | Azusa, CA | — |
| Oct. 2 (Thu) | TBA | Biola | La Mirada, CA | — |
| Oct. 3 (Fri) | 6:00 PM | Vanguard | Azusa, CA | — |
| Oct. 8 (Wed) | TBA | Hawai’i Hilo | Hilo, HI | — |
| Oct. 9 (Thu) | TBA | Hawaii Pacific | Honolulu, HI | — |
| Oct. 14 (Tue) | TBA | Point Loma | San Diego, CA | — |
| Oct. 16 (Thu) | 6:00 PM | Fresno Pacific | Azusa, CA | — |
| Oct. 23 (Thu) | TBA | Dominican | San Rafael, CA | — |
| Oct. 24 (Fri) | TBA | Jessup | Rocklin, CA | — |
| Oct. 29 (Wed) | 6:00 PM | Westmont | Azusa, CA | — |
| Oct. 31 (Fri) | TBA | Concordia | Irvine, CA | — |
| Nov. 1 (Sat) | TBA | Vanguard | Costa Mesa, CA | — |
| Nov. 5 (Wed) | TBA | Westmont | Santa Barbara, CA | — |
| Nov. 7 (Fri) | 6:00 PM | Biola | Azusa, CA | — |
| Nov. 12 (Wed) | 6:00 PM | Concordia | Azusa, CA | — |
| Nov. 15 (Sat) | 1:00 PM | Dominican | Azusa, CA | — |
Sports
VOLLEYBALL: Four years – Yale Daily News
Yale Athletics The Yale women’s volleyball team won their third straight Ivy League title this season. They cruised past their conference opponents during the regular season, only falling to Princeton in four sets and Cornell in five — both teams that they later crushed in the Ivy League Tournament. In the past four years, the […]
Yale Athletics
The Yale women’s volleyball team won their third straight Ivy League title this season. They cruised past their conference opponents during the regular season, only falling to Princeton in four sets and Cornell in five — both teams that they later crushed in the Ivy League Tournament.
In the past four years, the squad has accumulated an impressive 48–8 Ivy League record and three NCAA Tournament appearances under Head Coach Erin Appleman, who was named the Ivy League Coach of the Year in 2022 and 2023.
This season, the Bulldogs fell to North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Although they won the first set 25-18 with contributions from all hitters and a great service run from senior Cara Shultz ’25, known for her unique serve, they dropped the next three sets to the talented Tar Heels.
The five players in the class of 2025 — Shultz, Fatima Samb ’25, Bella Chan ’25, Mila Yarich ’25 and Carly Diehl ’25 — have earned American Volleyball Coaches Association All-Region, All-Ivy and All-Eastern College Athletic Conference accolades between them.
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