Why Sleep Helps You Reach Your Fitness Goals (and tips for better night's rest)

While you push yourself in the gym and eat right, rest and recovery are just as important for improving your fitness and body composition. And what’s the best way to help your body recover? Sleep! It might sound counterproductive to prioritize sleep instead of working out or eating healthy when trying to achieve your fitness goals, but we promise you it’s not! Here’s why:

Better Workouts

Sleep has a huge impact on how you perform in the gym. When you have a good night’s sleep and feel well rested, you will be able to perform your best during workouts. You will feel more energized, and motivated and will be able to push yourself harder.

Better Recovery

Working out when you are sore is no fun. One of the best ways to help your body recover after an intense workout is to get adequate sleep. When you exercise, you damage and tear your muscles. While this is normal, sufficient rest is needed to help your muscles heal and become stronger and bigger. 

Better Body Composition

Inadequate sleep is a stressor for the body. When your body is stressed, it releases a hormone called cortisol. Excess cortisol in the body can lead to weight gain, especially around the belly area. Sleep also affects our eating habits. When we are tired, we crave more sugar and comfort foods and will find it more challenging to make healthy food choices. So if you are trying to eat better, you most definitely want to get in those ZZZ’s!

These are our top tips to improve your sleep:

Optimize Your Bedroom

Your bedroom is the sanctuary for good sleep. You don’t need a complete bedroom makeover but there are some simple changes you can make to your bedroom to help you sleep better:

• Your bedroom should only be used for sleep.
• Make sure that your bedroom is completely dark. If it isn’t, consider blackout curtains or using nightshades.
• Your body needs a cool environment to fall and stay asleep. Keep the temperature of your bedroom slightly cool and use blankets to keep you warm. 
• Lastly, avoid having any electronics in your bedroom. 

Wind Down

You wouldn’t expect your body to jump straight into a workout without a warm-up right? It’s the same with sleep. You need to help your body relax after a day full of stress and excitement in order to get restful sleep. Around here, we are SERIOUS with our bedtime routine. Some of our regular pre-bedtime practices include taking a warm bath, meditating, light reading, and journaling. All of these activities help to slowly calm your nervous system and prepare your body for rest.

Regulate Your Circadian Rhythm

Put simply, your circadian rhythm is your internal clock system that controls everything from your sleep-wake pattern to your hunger levels and even your hormones. If you want to sleep well, your circadian rhythm has to match the natural day and night cycles. Here’s exactly how you can do that: Here are some daily habits to help you do that:

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. 
• Avoid using electronics at least 2 hours before bedtime. If you are using electronics, consider blue-light-blocking glasses or using the “Night” mode on your phone or laptop. electronics.
• View natural sunlight for at least 30 minutes a day. It is best to do this in the morning and again in the late afternoon, before sunset. 
• Avoid viewing bright lights once the sun sets. Instead, dim your lights and avoid bright overhead lights. Candlelight and moonlight are fine. 

In conclusion, don’t neglect your sleep! It’s important for your wellbeing, performance in the gym and body composition. Give these tips a try and let us know what you think! 

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