Sleep isn’t always the first thing that comes to mind when planning out a fitness routine, but getting adequate sleep creates the foundation for a fitness plan to be successful. If you’ve dialed in your workout, you’re tracking your macros, but you’re not seeing the results you’ve hoped for, it might be time to focus on your sleep. The time you spend in bed at night can be just as important as leg day.
Adults need at least 7 hours of sleep at night to repair, recover, and perform at a high level. For those that have high activity levels and recovery needs, that number can be even higher.
There are many benefits to getting enough sleep, including improved energy levels, increased alertness, better muscle recovery, and improved coordination. Whatever your goals in the gym, getting enough sleep will help.
Health If you are in the gym to improve your health, it makes sense to make sleep a priority. Sleep has a huge impact on our overall health, and insufficient sleep on an ongoing basis is linked to a greater risk of diabetes, stroke, heart disease, and depression. People report feeling more stressed when they get less sleep. Researchers measure higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol in study participants after they experienced a single night of poor sleep.
Weight loss
Getting sufficient sleep can help you meet your calorie and macro targets, and make it easier to maintain a lower weight. Poor sleep is associated with weight gain. Studies have linked lack of sleep to changes in levels of the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which affect feelings of hunger and fullness and your body’s ability to maintain its energy balance. Being low on sleep can make you continue to feel hungry, even after you’ve had enough to meet your caloric needs. It can also lead to food cravings, specifically of high-carbohydrate, high-fat foods.
Muscle gain
Lifting weights builds muscle by causing small tears in muscle tissue. When your body repairs these damaged tissues, it builds new muscle fibers, making you stronger than before. It’s a process of rebuilding. Sleep is an important part of supporting the rebuilding process.
While you sleep, your body releases growth hormones, which helps build muscle mass. Being sleep deprived not only slows down this process, it can lead to a loss of muscle mass and overtraining, with ongoing muscle and joint soreness.
Improving Sleep
To get in a full 7–8 hours of quality sleep, one of the best things you can do is exercise! Being active helps fall asleep more quickly at night and get better quality sleep.
If you’re already being active, but you’re still having trouble getting enough sleep, consider your pre-bedtime routine:
Avoid screens, which emit light with blue wavelengths, and can disrupt sleep. You can also try a program that shifts the light from your device to a warmer tone in order to reduce the effects of screens.
Wake up and go to sleep at the same time every day—even on the weekends.
Create a pleasant sleep environment. Think dark, quiet, and cool.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can interfere with quality sleep.
Avoid large meals late in the evening.
Wearable fitness devices, such as an apple watch 8 and Whoop, can also help you track your sleep and REM cycles. Data can be a great way to create an overall fitness picture and consistently make adjustments to achieve observable results—something we love to do at Body By Ford! Set up a free consultation to talk about your health and fitness goals and a 360° view of how to reach them!
