WATCH: Pete Carroll On Why Sleep Is Important For Recovery

The connection between sleep and high performance

Seattle Seahawks head coach and co-founder of Win Forever Consulting Pete Carroll recently spoke with HuffPost about the importance of prioritizing sleep in order to achieve high performance.

"At times we get so wound up that we have to get good, we have to get skilled at sleeping," he told HuffPost sports columnist Jordan Schultz on HuffPost Rise. "So we have to work at some of the coaching points here and try to make sure that we can maximize our opportunities to be rested so that we can be at our best."

Carroll and Win Forever co-founder Dr. Michael Gervais, a high-performance psychologist, place sleep as an important factor for optimal recovery, which they say is a critical element in high performance for individuals regardless of their industry.

"The science is really clear," he told Schultz. "We've got five cycles of sleep, each one being 90 minutes. And it's not until that last cycle [the REM cycle], that we get the deepest recovery."

There are many ways to help your body recover, Gervais added, but sleep is a key component. "[It] is a wonderful investment."

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