Tips on Improving Your Sleep

Hello everyone! This week’s “Fitness Tip of the Week” is about sleeping! We work so hard, day after day, to make progress towards our fitness goals. We make a fitness plan, hire trainers, and consult nutritionists in an effort to get the results we desire. We work so hard while we are awake, but all that effort gets wasted if you don’t give your body the sleep it needs. Sleeping is your body’s time to recharge, rebuild, and repair. If you don’t get enough sleep or are chronically lacking sleep, your physical and mental performance both suffer! I know how hard it can be to prioritize sleep, but any fitness goal you have suffers without it. 

Sleeping 101

Adults need between 7 and 10 hours of sleep every night. If you skip out and get less than 8 hours, you increase your risk of injury by 1.7 times. If you try and get by with less than 6 hours of sleep, you are FOUR TIMES more likely to get sick. Your reaction time slows and motor function becomes impaired equal to that of an intoxicated person. 

So what happens if you have one or two late nights and skip a couple hours of sleep? To put it simply, you accumulate “sleep debt” that you need to pay back. What does this mean? If you need a minimum of 7 hours a sleep per night and on Saturday night you end up only getting 4 hours a sleep, Sunday night you need to sleep for 10 hours to “pay back” your sleep debt from the night before. Do that a couple days each week and you can see how the sleep you need increases. 

Tips on Improving Your Sleep

1. Stick to a routine
   • Just like you plan your workouts, you need to plan your sleep. I know it’s not always controllable, but when possible, wake up and go to sleep around the same time every night. Develop a bedtime routine so your body knows when it’s time for sleep
2. Bedroom=Sleep
   • Your bedroom should serve as your relaxation room, not your multipurpose room. By using your bedroom mainly for sleeping, your brain will then associate your bedroom with sleep. Keep it cool (between 65-67 degrees fahrenheit). Reduce light and noise pollution.
3. Reduce alcohol and caffeine consumption
   • Although you may fall asleep faster with alcohol, it disrupts your sleep cycle. You get less of that deep sleep that you need to really help your body recover.
4. Avoid that blue light
   • Cell Phones and TV’s give off blue light, which keeps our body alter and active. Turning off electronics anywhere from 30 minute to 2 hours before bedtime is recommended to help you body prep for a good night’s rest.
5. Avoid naps
   • If you are truly tired, then sleep. If you don’t really need a nap though, try to avoid it so you keep to you normal sleep routine. 

If you have any questions on this topic, please feel free to contact me at mrausch@healthworksfitness.com or leave a comment below!