Balancing sleep and fitness is incredibly important! Did you know that more than 35 percent of people are sleep deprived? While some of us can perform better than others on little sleep, the importance remains the same on the cellular level regardless of who you are.
When you’re active, your body needs rest more than somebody who is mainly sedentary. After all, sleep is the period where our bodies rejuvenate and rebuild cells that get damaged during workouts. When your muscles are able to fully recover, you’re that much more likely to see progress and work toward your fitness goals. Here are four tips you can follow to improve your sleep schedule so that your body can maintain balanced energy.
Keep a routine
Routine is vital when it comes to getting a good balance between sleep and fitness. For those of us who are pretty busy, sometimes it’s hard to get a work out in at all, let alone at the same time each day. However, human brains love consistency, and it’s easier to keep motivation when you have a set time for both exercise and sleep. Stick with an exercise time that isn’t going to leave you too wound up to relax into sleep at the end of the night. Remember to think long term, if it’s not something you think you can realistically commit to, you could end up losing motivation.
Be thoughtful about winding down for the night
With that being said, be careful of how you decide to wind down for the night! We know it’s pretty easy to fall into trying to catch up on your favorite binge worthy television show on your preferred streaming channel, but that artificial or “blue light” is quite exciting to our brains and can greatly reduce the quality of sleep that you get. Instead of using that 45 minutes to watch television or scroll through Instagram, try to do some gentle stretches or meditation.
Don’t overwork yourself
We live in a society that rewards the idea of having to constantly work as hard as possible in order to get where you want to be. This is the attitude most of us have for work, school, and our exercise. That’s not always the best method to take when it comes to working out, though. Make sure you stay in the mindset to give yourself the permission to get as much rest as you can, because it isn’t laziness! It is a form of self care that will help you reach your fitness goals without injuring yourself.
Don’t be scared to eat before bed
Don’t be scared to eat before bed! It’s not so much when you’re eating, but what you’re eating. While it might affect your ability to sleep if you eat a full, big meal right before you lay in bed, it’s actually beneficial to eat something that is protein rich before bed. Eating a balanced snack in the evening hours has been proven to aid in overall muscle recovery and muscle protein synthesis.
Elliot is a fitness professional currently working with Gunsmith Fitness, a supplier of Bespoke Weight Lifting Belts. They hope to pass down some of the knowledge they’ve gained in the years they’ve been active within the fitness community.
