The Importance Of Sleep (Are you getting Enough?)

Let me start by saying that sleeping may not feel like you are working out, but if you want to maximize your results you better be getting enough of it. It is recommended that everyone, working out or not get between 7-8 hours of sleep per night. Not only is it essential for results but sleep just leaves us feeling better in general. Below I will explain why it is so so important to get sleep while working out.

** MUSCLE REPAIR / RECOVERY ** The repair and recovery of muscles happens while the body is at rest. Each day when you lift weights or do your work out you overload your muscles. When you overload your muscles your create what are called "Micro-Tears." Micro-Tears are the reason why your body is aching/sore after every workout, and yes feeling this way is a good thing. Only when these micro-tears are repaired and built back up will you notice a difference in strength and the way you look; so you can't short side yourself when it comes to this repair process. As I said these micro-tears repair themselves while the body is at rest, and "when do you get the most rest?" That's right, while you are sleeping. So again it is very important to give your body the correct amount of sleep to repair itself. While you are sleeping the immune system is hard at work as well to repair the body from the ass kicking you just gave it from your workout. If you do not allow your body enough time to carry out this process, you will not see the results you were hoping for. Plus not allowing the body to recovery correctly will only leave you weaker and less energetic heading into your next work out, which slows down your progress. **RELEASE OF HORMONES** First your body will release a growth hormone at it's highest levels during a 24hr span, and it does this when you are at rest sleeping during the night. As we know this growth hormone is related to muscle increase so you want to maximize the release of this hormone as much as possible. Also people who are sleep deprived tend to show a higher level of cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that directly opposes the repair and rebuilding process of muscles. Instead of encouraging new muscle to be built up while at rest it actually encourages the breakdown of body tissue. So a direct result of not enough sleep is higher levels of Cortisol. Having higher levels of Cortisol adds fat around our mid section and this will only take you further from the results you are working so hard for, and wont give you maximized recovery to push harder your next workout. **METABOLISM MAINTENANCE** If you are looking to build lean muscle mass and shred body fat making sure your metabolism is firing on all cylinders is essential. When your metabolism is working properly your body will have a healthy response to carbohydrates and healthy fats you consumed and know exactly what to do with them. Well, when you are not getting enough sleep, this will alter your metabolism and hamper it's effectiveness at breaking down foods you ate. A big one is lack of sleep tends to suppress the Thyroid Hormone. This hormone is the primary engine of how many calories you burn just to breath. So if you want to build lean muscle and shred body fat it is very important that your metabolism is working correctly to give you the results you want. So know that we have covered why working out and sleep go hand in hand, here are a few tips for a better night sleep. **SLEEP TIPS**

1. Exercise: Those that work out tend to have an easier time falling to sleep at night compared to people who do not.

2. Your Bedroom: Your bedroom is for two things, sleep, and you guessed it sex. It is not for doing work or watching TV. So drown out the noises and turn off the TV. Make sure your bedroom is dark, this relaxes the body. You may also find it helpful to make sure the climate of the room is at a temperature that makes you comfortable, this will help you fall asleep. And last, calming music always help to fall asleep as well.

3. Avoid Active Evenings: If possible do not do any major activity 2 hours prior before going to bed. Instead try relaxing a few hours prior, this helps the body prepare to fall asleep.

4. Never Oversleep: It is a proven fact that you can not and will not ever get back the sleep you lost. Sleeping for more than 8hrs can change the body's pattern and make it more difficult to fall asleep in the future. So those of you that like to sleep until noon, guess what? You are doing your body any good, in fact you are working against your own results!!

So with that said, are you getting enought sleep? It's small things like sleep, well this is a rather large one that most overlook when trying to get healthier and lose weight. It's putting all the small things together that lead to the big results. Until next time, stay healthy and if you are wanting to start your own weight loss program contact me to get started today.