Spending a third of our lives laying horizontal, hallucinating and paralyzed may sound like something out of a horrible sci-fi movie but these are all great things. There are so many benefits to a great night’s sleep and there are so many problems that can arise if you’re lacking in sleep. A lack of sleep can affect you physically, emotionally, socially and affect your entire lifestyle. It can cause car accidents, job loss and makes it difficult to meet your body transformation goals. Many weight loss enthusiasts spend hundreds of dollars in supplements like energy drinks, testosterone boosters and many other fat burning and muscle building supplements when most of these problems could be solved by simply spending more time in a peaceful slumber. In fact, many fitness experts refer to sleep at “The athlete’s steroid”.
How much sleep is enough.
The subject of how much sleep you should get is a tricky one. The average advice for adults is 7-9 hours of sleep per night but the National Sleep Foundation reports that the average adult only gets around 6.5 hours of sleep per night and do just find. The best advice for determining how much sleep you need depends on how you feel during the day. If you function well during the day and can’t sleep more even there’s an opportunity, you’re fine. On the other hand, if you’re often sleepy during the day and sleep late on the weekends to try and catch up, you’re in a sleep deficit and putting your health at risk.
Sleep deficits can add up during the week causing sleep depravations symptoms to slowly escalate. If you need 7 hours of sleep and only getting 6 hours of sleep per night, that adds up to an entire night of sleep lost for the full week. Sleep deprivation lowers your metabolism, hinders concentration and focus, makes it hard for you to burn fat and makes it difficult for you to make decisions.
During the night, your body goes through 5 stages of sleep. The first four stages are the non-rapid eye movement stages, or (NREM) and the final stage is the rapid eye movement stage or (REM) sleep. Stage 3 and stage 4 are the most important for physical exercise and muscle recovery. Stage 3 marks the beginning of the release of human growth hormone (HGH) and stage 4 is where your body does most of its repair work and regeneration thanks to a continual release of HGH. Stage 4 is the deepest level of slow-wave sleep and helps to replenish physical and mental energy. If your goal is to build muscle, this is a clear-cut reason why enough sleep is so important, combined with the right training and nutrition.
Here is a list of tips for getting more sleep at night.
Prepare the bedroom – There are many things you can do to make your bedroom more comfortable for sleep. Thee are only two activities you should perform in the bedroom, sleep and love making. A bedroom should not have a TV, a computer or any other distracting work materials. Distracting light should also be eliminated in the bedroom. If you have an alarm clock you could turn the digital display to face away from you. If you must use an alarm clock or have a night light, it should use red lighting which does not have the same affect in tricking your brain to thinking it’s day time. Black-out curtains are great for making the room completely dark and if you don’t have control of room lighting you could try wearing a sleeping mask.
If noise is an awakening factor, you could use devices that create continuous white noise or humming sounds, such as a fan or an air conditioning unit and there are bedroom devices that create the sound of the relaxing sea. I’ve also heard of people playing 7-hour Youtube videos that play the sound of a fan instead of using an actual fan.
Minimize late night stress – Stressful chores should be completed at least 2 hours before bed time. Late night exercise can make sleeping difficult for many people because it raises body temperature and increases adrenaline levels. If your mind is racing with late-night thoughts, keeping a note pad handy and the act of writing down those thoughts could be relieving. Caffeine, tobacco and alcohol also should not be consumed at least 3 hours before bedtime. If you remain wide away after lying in bed for 30 minutes, you should get out of bed and do something productive until your body and mind feels tired.
If you still have trouble sleeping after performing these common lifestyle factors, you could be facing an actual sleep disorder and should consult a physician. Medications, allergies, pets, sleeping partners and uncomfortable mattresses or pillows could also be a cause. If the cause is a sleeping partner, they could be having trouble sleeping, but if not, in some cases you may need to sleep in separated beds or even In separate bedrooms.
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