Over the last few months, I have been working with Mountain Air Cardio, the makers of industry-leading altitude tents for endurance athletes.
I personally have been sleeping in their MountainAir® system for a few months now, and have compiled some useful information regarding my personal acclimatization adaptation, and my sleep quality while using the system.
A common notion about sleeping in altitude tents is that they greatly disturb users’ sleep and more specifically recovery during sleep. Mountain Air Cardio has improved upon the traditional altitude tent and created a system that is more comfortable for the users because it is significantly quieter, has improved ventilation, and has precise and accurate altitude measuring and adjusting. This leads to consistent and predictable sleep so that the only hurdle in beginning to use the system is the acclimatization itself.
In the two graphs below, I compare two different three-week periods in which I was training at comparable intensity and accumulating relatively similar scaled training stress. This means that while my body was adapting to my training, my sleep quality and recovery as noted by Heart Rate Variability (HRV) would show consistent data, that is comparable month to month.
In the graphs below, I show some trends with my HRV and my HRV balance (a metric given by Oura) – which are two useful metrics to track sleep and recovery. I track these using an Oura ring and compare the two to give insight into what really happens to my body (and recovery) while sleeping at altitude.
Chart 1:
Chart 2:
Using the first chart (sea level) as a baseline, it can be seen that by the 8th day of sleeping at altitude (chart 2) I have acclimated to sleeping at 2000 meters and am within 4% of my average HRV balance. Using this data I am able to understand that after the 8th day of sleeping in the tent at altitude, I recover the same as I would at sea level given the standard deviation of ± 4.1% of a 86.1 HRV balance score.
Let’s talk about my sleep
Beyond the data, how was I really sleeping? Metrics such as HRV and HRV balance can be incredibly useful for tracking recovery quality and sleep quality, but they can fall short when it comes to how you feel when you wake up. Do you feel well-rested? Do you feel recovered?
In my experience the sensations I have when I wake up impact the first ¼ or ⅓ of my day- meaning that even if my HRV indicates I recovered and slept well- I may feel as though I didn’t.
While sleeping in the MountainAir®, it did take a few days for me to adjust to zipping myself into a tent at night- although after the third day, it felt like second nature. I had anticipated a system that was much more disturbing to sleep in and to my surprise I actually feel like I’ve slept better when I have the system on and running. The MountainAir® system has a proprietary silencer on the end of the hose that goes into the tent, meaning that as the air unit is cycling air through the tent the only noise heard inside the tent is a gentle whoosh that acts more as white noise than a bothersome machine. Given my preconceived notions of noisy and stuffy altitude tents, I am surprised and glad to report that my perceived sleep quality while in the tent is equivalent to my sleep quality while not in the tent.
Why is this beneficial?
In short, if I am able to sleep and recover at the same altitude as I am at sea level, my body creates adaptations to that altitude that it then is able to use when I am awake and training or going about my day-to-day life. These adaptations and benefits can range from higher levels of natural EPO production, improved blood oxygen carrying capacity, improved basal metabolic rate, and improved recovery while at sea level.
I can see these benefits on the bike in improved effort repeatability due to shorter recovery time, as well as improved higher-end power (measured in watts per kg of body mass) and improved recovery off the bike.
My first few months of sleeping in the MountainAir® system have been insightful and I’m excited to track my progression as my racing season begins. You can expect another few articles about other progressions and my honest experiences with these powerful training tools.
Have any questions about my experiences so far using Mountain Air Cardio?
Want to learn more about how sleeping at altitude may benefit you?
Feel free to drop any questions or comments below and stay tuned through my season as I will be providing more insight and information on the gains from altitude training!
Also, cheeky self-promo: if you liked this article and want to stay updated with my race season progression, learn more about Mountain Air Cardio, learn more about my other supporters, or simply get some more insights on what it’s like for me to build cycling into my career. Go ahead and connect with me on LinkedIn or follow me on Instagram @andy.lydic
Shop Altitude Tents for Cardio Improvement or Weight Loss from Mountain Air Cardio Today!
Ready to buy or rent an elevation tent from MountainAir®? Head to our website to explore our products. You’ll find cooling pads, tents, and complete all-in-one systems. You can also give us a call at 720-432-6305 to discuss your needs with one of our friendly team members, who will be more than happy to answer all your questions.
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