YOU MUST SLEEP IN ORDER FOR EXERCISE TO WORK!
Yep, without adequate sleep, progress is sloooooow, either non existent and at times counter productive. Lose fat? build muscle? feel more energized? improve fitness performance? all of these goals REQUIRE adequate sleep, and most people tend to not factor that in the formula, and I know it can be difficult to squeeze yet another "must" in our ever so busy and demanding schedule.
Fun fact: Exercise creates adenosine in the brain, adenosine makes us feel sleepy and tired, our body are innately wired to force us to sleep the more active we get so it may repair itself. Adenosine is the chemical caffeine blocks to prevent us from feeling tired.
To build lean muscle tissue YOU require one ingredient, growth hormone. fortunately you body produces it, unfortunately only during sleep, deep sleep to be exact.
To reduce your % body fat you will need low cortisol levels which build up during waking hours by exercising and day to day stress, cortisol breaks down protein into glucose (sugar), which ultimately reduces your overall lean muscle mass.
Your body clears its cortisol levels effectively during sleep, deep sleep to be exact. It is that balance between growth hormones and cortisol that constitute the majority of "body recovery" which of course has a direct impact on your fitness performance.
So how do you improve your sleep?
Plan, plan, plan, plan.
We all live super busy and active lives, it is important to plan, just like our lunch and dinner are mostly thought through. Unfortunately sleep deprivation is cumulative, for example, if you sleep 5 hours a night for 5 days as opposed to the recommended 8 hours of sleep. On day 6 you will be at a 15 hours of sleep deprivation, how do you make that up? by simply sleeping as much as possible as long as possible. Naps are your friend and going to bed early enough.
As with everything pertaining to individuals, understand there is no one size fits all, some body don't require 8 hours of sleep, but what we know for sure is that 70% of Americans are in some way sleep deprived, that most likely means me and you, and as fitness enthusiasts we must try our best to help our bodies thrive, and therefore sleep more.
Should you need help to get you started, contact us at alistaireNF@gmail.com and let's make that step towards your fitness journey TOGETHER!
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