Sleep: its effects on our fitness, diet, and health
When it comes to making progress in the gym, few people include sleep as a crucial component. What if I told you that it could be the missing link to unlocking a great deal of progress for you? You are doing a great disservice to your health and your body by not prioritizing your sleep. From a training standpoint, sleep deprivation will lower the rate of muscle protein synthesis in males and females. This means that even if you are consistently and intensely training, your ability to recover and build new muscle tissue will be greatly hindered. For males, there is a direct correlation between lack of sleep and lower testosterone levels. A study on sleep from Harvard University showed that getting six or less hours of sleep per night impaired cognitive function in the subjects, and reduced their ability to recall events. Chronic lack of sleep causes the build up of a plaque in the brain called amyloid beta, which disrupts neurons and can lead to Alzheimer’s disease. From a dietary perspective, not getting enough sleep completely puts your hunger hormones out of control. Ghrelin, a hormone which is released to induce hunger, will be disproportionately raised and cause you to have abnormal cravings, usually for carbs and sugars. Leptin, a hormone responsible for signaling satiety, is down regulated when one is sleep deprived. These hormones being unbalanced makes it very easy to over consume food and have cravings which seem almost uncontrollable. Truly, sleep deprivation impacts all areas of health negatively. It’s in your best interest to address this issue and correct it as soon as possible. I’ll now lay out some strategies which will help you get better sleep tonight, so you can feel refreshed, energized, and maximize your training sessions!
-Stop watching TV, looking at phone screens, and turn off artificial lights at least 1 hour prior to bedtime. Substitute lamps with candles if possible.
-Try not to consume a meal within 2 hours of going to bed. Eating too close to bed can alter your circadian rhythm and make it difficult to fall asleep. Furthermore, lying down when you’re still digesting food can trigger heartburn, which will likely disrupt sleep.
-Because our body temperature drops at night, lowering the temperature in your room by just a few degrees can help send a signal to the body that it’s time to sleep. Melatonin, a hormone responsible for inducing sleep is produced at greater levels in a cooler environment.
I hope this helps you get more restful, restorative sleep!
