If you often find yourself struggling to get through your workouts the problem could lie in the quantity and quality of sleep you’re getting.
Sleep plays a crucial role in restoring your immune and endocrine systems – the latter which is responsible for regulating key performance hormones like testosterone and human growth hormone and regulating brain function. Poor quality and quantity of sleep that causes imbalances in these areas can sabotage an otherwise effective workout.
Sleep not only impacts your physical efforts, it can negatively affect your nutrition plan as well. Two hormonal processes that are affected by sleep deprivation are ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin basically tells you when to eat and leptin tells you when to stop eating. Lack of quality sleep can cause your body to produce more ghrelin and less leptin, wreaking havoc with your diet overall.
While sleep requirements differ from person to person, a good rule of thumb is to strive for 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Set yourself up for better quality sleep with a few success strategies like these:
Try to stick to a sleep schedule. Going to bed and rising at approximately the same time each day will help reinforce your body’s sleep-wake cycle, keeping hormonal processes in balance.
Create a restful environent. In general, cool, dark and quiet are the keys to overall better sleep. Using relaxation techniques, like a warm bath or yoga breathing can also contribute to better quality sleep.
Include physical activity every day. While you may not do a two hour workout every day of the week, incorporating some form of physical activity into your everyday has been shown to promote better sleep. Just avoid active exercise too close to your desired bedtime.
Time eating and drinking to complement your sleep schedule. Strive not to go to bed hungry or stuffed by planning your meals and snacks around the time you’ll be settling in for the night. As a rule, eating 2 hours before bed should be avoided so your digestive process has adequate time to do it’s work before you’re trying to sleep.
Finally, keeping a sleep journal can be very helpful in figuring out strategies that improve your sleep. Over time you should be able to identify patterns that might be impacting your fitness and your life, and make changes that can fast track your success.
