The Intimate Relationship Between Fitness And Sleep

Getting enough sleep is often overlooked as part of a balanced training program but it’s one of the most important factors in a client’s success. Here’s a few jaw dropping facts I picked up from Dr Matthew Walker, 43, a native of Liverpool and an eminent neuroscientist specializing in sleep at UC Berkeley. 

Men who consistently sleep less than 6 hours a night have smaller testicles, the testosterone of a man 10 years their senior and produce less fertile sperm! Wow. 

It’s not good for women either, women sleeping 5-6 hours/night show a 20% reduction in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) – a critical  hormone for getting pregnant. 

People who are sleep deprived tend to eat more junk food.  One study found that for people who were under slept (<6 hours/night of sleep) on a weight loss diet, 70% of the weight loss came from lean muscle mass and not fat.

“Your body will ruthlessly hold onto its fat when you have under slept”.

The Benefits Of Getting Enough Sleep

Naps have been found to benefit learning & memory, immune function, improve heart rate variability, and lower systolic blood pressure.

You can nap for as few as 20 minutes and still see some mental benefits

But the ideal nap length is about 90 minutes – this gives the brain the ability to go through the full 90-minute sleep cycle. 

How To Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Here are Dr Matthew’s top sleep tips :

• Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, even after a bad night’s sleep or on the weekend.

• Keep your bedroom temperature cool; about 65 degrees Fahrenheit is optimal for cooling your body towards sleep. Wear socks if your feet are cold.

• An hour before bedtime, dim the lights and turn off all screens.

• Blackout curtains are helpful.

• If you can’t sleep, get out of bed and do something quiet and relaxing until the urge to sleep returns. Then go back to bed.

• Avoid caffeine after 1 p.m. and never go to bed tipsy.

• Alcohol is a sedative and sedation is not sleep. It also blocks your REM dream sleep, an important part of the sleep cycle.

Getting the proper amount of sleep is essential. Strive for seven to eight hours of sleep a night. Finally without the proper amount of sleep, a training program designed will yield little or no results.’ With enough sleep, you can be more productive, feel better all day long and put more intensity in your workouts.

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Written by Alexandra.
Edited by Deepa