Unlock Your Fitness Goals with the Power of Sleep – Here's How to Get the Rest You Need!
Exhaustion, low energy and low motivation and extra hunger are four components that will rapidly diminish our drive to reach our fitness goals and who in our “always on” culture in 2020 has not felt these effects?
Whether you're working with a personal trainer or doing classes or a programme in the gym, sleep can be the missing link to getting you into the best shape, energising you and improving your overall fitness and health.
WHAT DOES BAD SLEEP MEAN FOR HEALTH, FITNESS AND TRAINING?
Rest and Recovery
Sleep is vital for recovery, particularly after exercise. When you work out, you tear muscles fibres and it’s during sleep they grow and repair so missing the sleep component will only have negative effects on your fitness journey and the extent of your gains.
Weight Gain / Fat Loss
Lack of sleep is also linked with weight gain and obesity. Being sleep-deprived can affect your weight gain and body fat in a number of ways. Not only that when you sleep less you are typically awake for longer periods of time and have more opportunity to overeat calories during the day.
When you are tired, your body craves high-energy food and we work out less because we are tired so therefore the weight goes on. Hormones can be thrown off including the hormones that control appetite and hunger (leptin and ghrelin)
Sleep is also essential for energy metabolism- your body can become more insulin resistant with less sleep. When sleep deprived typically have higher levels of cortisol (stress hormone) in the body which is known to lead to an increase in blood sugar, weight gain and even type 2 diabetes.
FAST FORWARD TO YOUR FITNESS GOALS WITH A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP…
Here our 5 tips for a better nights sleep;
Go to bed at the same time every night. This will create a routine and help to regulate your body clock.
If you are aiming for 8 hours of sleep, factor in the time it takes you to sleep (9 hours in the bed).
Keep it cool, ensure the room is a not-too-hot, A well-ventilated room between 18 - 21 degrees Celsius (65 - 70 Fahrenheit) is ideal for the perfect sleep.
Have your room dark to help you naturally ease into slumber
The biggest gain can come from limiting blue light from your phone and screens before bed. Light inhibits the production of melatonin which is essential to help you to drift off to sleep.
If you are serious about staying healthy and keeping fit, you are much better off making sleep a priority in your life.
We’ll take that!
