Recovering from the stresses of working out and life is often the most forgotten part of making progress in the gym and on the field.

Working daily with my college athletes reminds me that quality of sleep is virtually obsolete these days. Whether it comes from staying up late drinking, doing homework, or just hanging with friends, it often leads to under 5 hours of sleep a night… which is about half of the recommended 9.

While my first recommendation in regards to sleep is to find time to take naps throughout the day to make up for lost sleep, but most of these young adults don’t have time for this option either.

Fortunately for them I am often in the same situation working crazy hours, taking graduate classes, coaching a baseball team, and training myself. To optimize my sleep, I have been using Sleepytime Tea by Celestial Seasonings for the past year. I use it with a teaspoon of honey right before bed to help me unwind from the, and it works amazingly.

Last week I was visiting a friend at a local natural foods store he owns and I stumbled across Sleepytime Extra tea. I bought it and used it that night. The only thing I can remember is laying on my bed about to turn on the TV and I was out cold before I could hit the power button. I had probably the deepest sleep of my life and woke up with zero grogginess, even with the added valerian root.

Celestial Seasonings has a wide variety of teas, all of which are all natural, quality products. I highly recommend anyone whom wishes to increase the quality of their sleep to give both of these products a try for added recovery. Let me know how it goes!