The importance of SLEEP!

Sleep is incredibly important to anyone that is interested in getting their fitness in order. Though we all seem to be alarmed that we sleep quite a portion of our lives it is actually needed. A car cannot move if it is not fuelled correctly, in terms of the human body this is sleep and the right food.

We see a lot of people preach on how little sleep they are survive on and get the most out of their days, which is brilliant, for them. But sleep is a necessity in life and some people require more than others, especially ones who are undertaking physical activity during the day.

Even though it is known that ‘ultra-successful’ people are getting up at 4am every day, lack of sleep can lead to a variety of issues in your life. Such as weight gain, memory loss and general forgetfulness, some of these things are even recognizable until they become a much bigger issue.

Good sleep = good self-love. When you decide to run off 3-4 hours sleep for an extended period of time you are literally putting your life at risk. Though we see people doing it and praise them for that sort of dedication, it is actually really bad for you, and turning to caffeine to keep you awake is not the answer to it. Your health is number one priority and having a good amount of sleep will lead to you feeling more energised in the day time and overall more productive though you are losing more hours as you snooze.

It also doesn’t mean that we are suggesting you stay in bed for hours and hours also. Over sleeping also has some downsides to your health but more in your general function for the day. Over sleeping causing your brain to go into more of a deeper rest mode, so you won’t want to get out of it. Easiest way around this is to get up (easier said than done) and get moving, even if it is just a simple walk around the block out in the sunshine. Get some food into you as it will get your metabolism going and in turn waking up your body.

The suggested amount of time that we should sleep is apparently 7 hours, now as much as you want to agree with people who have researched this, I think sleep differs from one person to the other. Some people cannot go to bed at 10pm and wake up at 6am. Some people feel a lot more refreshed if they go to bed earlier and wake up earlier, or vice versa.

People usually have different periods in their day where they feel more productive and will be able to achieve more without thinking about it too much. Some people can get up at 9am in the morning and be really dull for the first few hours, but at 11pm they could be on a roll with work. Go with what works for you, find out when your body feels at its best, I’ve seen that most people feel the best after working out as it fuels you with a lot of good endorphins, some get straight out of bed and can bash out a good 5 hours work without feeling the effects too much.

At the end of the day, sleep is still something that we should not take for granted and ensure that we get a good amount off, instead of relying on other man-made products (caffeine) try and let your body work for you instead.

If you need any help with optomising your sleep, recovery and then body! Drop me a messabe on cjcoaching@icloud.com or use the link here to checkout my coaching programs