Sleep helps keep your hormones in balance
Although I have been counselling people on health and fitness matters for more than 25 years, I am far from perfect. I work out regularly, cook from scratch and I meditate. I am not a fan of anything too extreme, and I try to inject some fun into my days. The one area, however, where I know, without a doubt, that I could be better is in the area of recovery. Specifically, I don’t get enough sleep. Between business, writing, family and hobbies, it seems as if I am always trying to do “one more thing” before bed. Recently, I used a Fitbit fitness tracking device, and the findings were interesting. I exceed the recommended 10,000 steps per day by 5,000 on most days, but, my weekly average for sleep is between 5½ and 6½ hours per night when the ideal is 7 to 9 hours. The only time I got the recommended amount was last month when I had the flu and couldn’t get out of bed!
The way we get stronger, fitter and healthier is by placing controlled stress on our bodies with exercise and then providing the right nutrition and rest for recovery. Most people don’t think of it this way, but the time when you are resting between workouts is when you actually build lean muscle tissue and get stronger. Adequate sleep is also important if one is trying to lose body fat and get leaner.
Some significant things happen when you don’t sleep enough; your body slows down production of growth hormone, and it produces more of the “stress hormone” called cortisol. You start to lose lean muscle tissue, causing metabolic slowdown, and you get really good at storing fat. Two hormones called leptin and ghrelin, which stimulate hunger and feelings of fullness, are also affected negatively, which means that if you’ve ever been driven to overeat “comfort foods” after a night out, it likely wasn’t lack of willpower that did you in; it was your hormones out of whack making it nearly impossible to resist.
Aside from stalling strength gains and weight loss efforts, your immunity is stronger when you get your recommended hours per night. I rarely get sick but, when I do, it is usually accompanied by a period of poor recovery and inadequate sleep.
Last year my fitness goal was to make a complete recovery from shoulder surgery. My goal this year is to get more sleep … and to reap the rewards that come with it. Three months into the year, I can’t say that I’ve been successful, but I can say that I’m not giving up and will find a way!
Here are 5 tips from the Mayo Clinic to help you sleep better:
1. Stick to a sleep schedule. As much as possible, try to get to bed around the same time every night. As crazy as it might seem, this also means weekends and holidays. Do your best and don’t stress if it doesn’t happen. Just get back on track as soon as you can.
2. Pay attention to what you eat or drink. Don’t go to bed hungry or stuffed, and limit liquids in the hour before bed to eliminate sleep-interrupting bathroom trips during the night. Also, eliminate caffeine past midday.
3. Create a nighttime ritual. Doing the same things every night can promote the transition from wakefulness to sleep.
4. Avoid screen time right before bed. Research has shown that using electronic devices at bedtime can interrupt your sleep.
5. Get comfortable. For most people this means cool, dark and quiet. Consider whether your mattress and your pillow feel good to you or if they need to be replaced.
Finally, if you are having “one of those nights” where sleep just won’t come, get up and do something relaxing in another part of the house for a short period of time. The last thing that you want is to link feelings of anxiety and stress to your sleeping environment. It should conjure sleepy, comfortable thoughts and feelings only.