BY EMMET RUSHE: We have all been there…you are sitting on the sofa and your eyes are burning in your head. Every time you blink, you feel as though you are going to fall into a coma.
You get up, struggle into the bedroom and slide under the bed sheets. As you lay your head on the pillow you look forward to a great night’s sleep…….but it doesn’t come.
Instead you restlessly toss and turn all night, spending endless hours staring at the ceiling, checking the clock, looking at the time on your phone and wondering why you bothered getting into the bed in the first place.
Finally you fall asleep, only to have the alarm rudely awaken you 2 hours after you finally managed to drift off in the first place.
Welcome to bedtime……..
The recommended amount of sleep per night should be between 7-8 hours.
The average for adults today is around 6 ½ hours.
No big deal, right?
Wrong!
Sleep is the ultimate recovery tool. It is how our bodies and minds repair and recover from daily stresses and it is also how our bodies recover from our exercise and training sessions.
It is as important as a proper nutrition plan when it comes to your weight loss or muscle building goals.
Everything that you do will be affected by a lack of sleep.
- Your food choices will be poorer.
When you are tired, you will always be looking for ways to give yourself a kick start.
High sugary foods, energy drinks and high levels of caffeinated drinks are usually the first thing that people will reach for to get them through the day.
You will probably not have the time or energy prepare proper meals and may be tempted to go for the pre-packaged processed food choice, or the take away.
- Your Body will work against you.
In a sleep deprived state, our bodies wreak havoc with our hormones. Our stress hormone cortisol will be high and our hormones Leptin and Ghrelin can also be affected.If cortisol is high during sleep you can be in a heightened state of alertness, not what you want for going to sleep.
When stress is high we are more prone to retaining water and this can affect our weight also.
Ghrelin is a hunger stimulating hormone that tells us when to eat.
Leptin is an appetite suppressant hormone that tells us when to stop eating.When we are in a sleep deprived state we have higher levels of Ghrelin and lower levels of Leptin, which means we will have a false hunger and this can contribute to the poor food choices mentioned above and we won’t know when to stop eating them.
This can all lead to excess weight gain.
What can we do to help?
Here are 10 strategies that can help you to wind down and relax and may help you to get a better night’s sleep.
- Set a bedtime and stick to it.
- Turn off all technology for 2 hours before bed.
- Read a book.
- Take a bath
- Get your room to the right temperature; not too cold, not too hot.
- Invest in a good mattress and some good pillows.
- Avoid caffeine.
- Eat carbs in your last meal before bed. (They won’t make you fat)
- Once your alarm is set, don’t look at your phone and turn your clock so you can’t see it.
- Drink some chamomile tea before bed.
Sleep is underrated by a lot of people when it comes to their goals, but it could be the ace in the pack that helps you win or lose.
#TrainSmart
If you have any question on this article or for getting a tailored program based on your starting point, please contact me through the link below.
https://www.facebook.com/Rushe-Fitness-120518884715118/?ref=hl
Tags:
