SLEEP YOUR WAY TO FIT

Today we are focusing in on sleep, which is a super important part of our daily routine (since we spend about 1/3 of our time doing it)! Quality sleep- and getting enough of it at the right times- is as essential to survival as food and water. Without sleep we can’t form or maintain the pathways in our brains that let us learn and create new memories, and it’s harder to concentrate and respond quickly.

WHY IS SLEEP IMPORTANT

Sleep can literally make or break a day! You know how it is, when we don’t sleep well we can turn into these half-versions of ourselves, cranky, slow, easily agitated. Getting enough sleep is just as important as eating healthy and exercising.

• Brain Function – Productivity and Concentration

Sleep is important to a number of brain functions, including how nerve cells (neurons) communicate with each other. In fact, your brain and body stay remarkably active while you sleep. Recent findings suggest that sleep plays a housekeeping role that removes toxins in your brain that build up while you are awake. A good night sleep influences cognition, concentration, productivity and performance.

• Immune and Muscular Health

Sleep affects almost every type of tissue and system in the body – from the brain, heart, and lungs to metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease resistance. Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep, or getting poor quality sleep, increases the risk of disorders including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.

• Weight

Poor sleep is strongly linked to weight gain. People with short sleep duration tend to weigh significantly more than those who get adequate sleep. In fact, short sleep duration is one of the strongest risk factors for obesity! The effect of sleep on weight gain is believed to be mediated by a number of factors, including hormones and motivation to exercise. When we wake up tired, we don’t want to hop up and move!

• Appetite

Poor sleepers have bigger appetites and tend to eat more calories. This is because sleep deprivation disrupts the daily fluctuations in appetite hormones and is believed to cause poor appetite regulation

• Physical Performance

Sleep has been shown to enhance athletic performance. In a study of over 2800 women, poor sleep was linked to slower walking, lower grip strength and greater difficulty performing independent activities.

• Heart Disease, Diabetes, Depression, Inflammation…

The list goes on! Sleep impacts all of the above, with studies showing links to a consistently poor sleep linking to higher risk of all of them. Those sleeping less than 6 hours per night have been repeatedly shown to be at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. While another study found that less than 7-8 hours sleep a night is linked to increased risk of heart disease and stroke.

HOW TO GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

1. Establish a routine

A consistent sleep schedule is super important in developing good sleep hygiene. Frequently changing the time you go to bed and wake up confuses your body’s biological clock. A regular schedule, even on the weekends and in holidays, can help you get the rest you need.
Prepare your mind and body for sleep by developing a relaxing bedtime routine. For example, take a warm bath, listen to soothing music, read a book or do other activities that help you wind down. All of these things signal to your body that bedtime is coming and help you fall asleep more quickly and easily!

2. Keep the phone and electronics out of bed

The presence of things in your life that cause stress, tension or stimulation in the bedroom can make it harder to fall asleep. The blue light from electronic screens suppresses your body’s production of melatonin, an important hormone for sleep. Plus, if you associate your bed with activities other than sleep or sex, that can also make it harder to calm your mind.

So, avoid watching tv, using a laptop, or checking/ scrolling the phone in bed! Other things to avoid include working, eating or having a heated discussion in your sleeping environment.

Things you could do instead: read a book, listen to a meditation (I love this one) or have sex; or, if you have no one to provide the other half necessary tonight, then fly solo and have a good time alone ;).

3. Mind what you drink

Caffeine and alcohol are two common sleep-disrupting culprits. As a stimulant, caffeine can keep you awake, and since it can take six to eight hours to wear off, we recommend stopping the caffeine intake at 3pm latest.
Alcohol is a sedative, so although it makes you feel sleepy, it also disrupts the quality. So even though you fall asleep faster, you may sleep lighter and in less restorative stages of sleep, leaving you groggy the next day.
We love a small cup of herbal tea before bed though- anything calming :).

4. Review your sleeping arrangements

What does a perfect slumber look like to you? How is the room set up, and how does this visual compare to your current set up? Improving your sleep environment may improve your sleep.
What about the bed – is it large enough?
Do you wake up with a sore neck? Check out the pillow – personally, I’m a sucker for the Koala pillow. Every opportunity I can I steal it from my boyfriend and use it (but that has only happened once because he is so attuned to the pillow and his sleep with it- LOL).
How’s the light, sound and temperature? Try to find ways to moderate these factors to create a consistently cool, quiet and dark room.

5. Get up and try again

While a schedule is important, forcing yourself to sleep rarely works. If you’re still awake after 15minutes then get up and do something else like take a bath, read or listen to soothing music or a meditation. Then try to sleep again once the anxiety of not sleeping wears off. Whatever you do though, do not turn on the tv, laptop or phone. Remember they're stimulants and are not sleep's friend!

SLEEP AND EXERCISE

Not only does exercising improve your sleep but sleeping well also improves your exercising!

Sleep More = Exercise Better

Sleep gives your body time to recover, conserve energy and repair and build up the muscles worked during exercise. When we get enough sleep, the body produces the growth hormone, which helps build lean muscle and repair after we have torn ourselves up after a big session! Not getting enough sleep makes exercise feel harder because you fatigue faster on less sleep, making it feel harder to work to your max capacity.

Exercise More = Sleep Better

Working out has been scientifically proven to improve sleep. It actually has a chemical effect on the brain, producing a chemical which makes us feel sleepy. So the harder we work out, the more we are driven by this chemical to sleep. Exercise also helps you maintain your circadian rhythm (your body’s internal clock). Exercise helps your body understand the schedule it’s on, and morning exercise primes your body to sleep better at night. If you’re an afternoon exerciser, then as long as you don’t leave it too late, this exertion creates efficient sleepers.

This week, we want you to focus on your sleep and sleeping patterns. Try becoming more conscious of your bed time, and what you are doing before bed each night. Start to notice the days that you feel better or worse, and think about the sleep schedule the night before.

If you can fit in one of our recommendations like reading or a warm bath before bed then go for it and see if you can fall asleep more easily. Most importantly, and probably most relevant for most of us - try putting the phone down at least half an hour before you snooze! I am going to give this one a real go this week, and instead I will read my book which I have been avoiding in favour of an instagram scroll...!

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