Snooze your way to fitness
About 2 months ago, a friend texted me this: "It's official. I've gained the Quarentwenty. Seriously, 20 lbs... wtf. Time to get movin!" I replied with "And start getting your butt to bed at a decent time, or don't bother working out!" Her following confusion was understandable, but the point that I was making is this- if you are ignoring the role that sleep plays in
your fitness journey, you will not be getting very far.
To start, know this information comes completely judgement free. It is not our fault that we do not know anything about sleep- it is the widely ignored 3rd Pillar of Health behind Diet and Exercise. We never received any "sleep education" when we were young, unlike getting Phy Ed and the Food Pyramid crammed down our throats. And now as adults, it's difficult to understand and incorporate this mysterious 8 hours a night into our daily lives. But, oh, how we need to.
By utilizing the tool of slumber, we will enable our bodies to be as healthy, happy and productive
as possible. When we think about "Fitness", most of us will have varying goals. Whether it's losing 20 lbs, getting "ripped", running a marathon, or just being able to chase your kids around the yard, your sleep will help you get there. Let's start with the most common goal- weight loss.
Every January 1st, 70% of Americans (myself included) make the New Year's Resolution to lose weight! There are 2 very important hormones that are going to contribute to this success- Ghrelin and Leptin. Ghrelin is also known as the "Hunger Hormone"- it's levels are highest right before a meal, the higher they get the hungrier we get. They are then lowered after we eat. This is historically a very important hormone, as it helped early humans regulate body fat and increase chances of survival. So if you are looking to lose a few lbs, lowering your Ghrelin levels will be beneficial. And who wants to guess when our Ghrelin production is regulated? That's
right! During our SLEEP. Getting a bad night of sleep increases our Ghrelin production by 24% each night!
Next, Leptin, which is also known as the "Satiety Hormone"- this tells our brains when we have enough fat stored so we don't need more and can burn calories at a normal rate. When you eat, your body fat goes up, leading your Leptin levels to go up. Thus you eat
less and burn more. Conversely, when you don't eat, your body fat goes down, causing your Leptin levels to drop. At this point, you eat more and burn less. Once again, guess what leads to de-regulation of Leptin? Ding Ding- poor sleep. These 2 hormones are going to be crucial in your weight loss journey, so make sure you're getting those 8 hours each night to start
with a fighting chance.
Let's say building muscle is your goal. It obviously starts with doing the work. You would be hitting the gym, lifting the weights and doing the squats. Yet after all of that is done, sleep is needed to ensure the effects of that workout stick. When we sleep, our bodies repair our muscles and cells- this is done with HGH, or Human Growth Hormone. Teenagers need HGH to grow, but adults need it to repair. And that HGH is secreted in slow wave sleep! So get those zzz's if you want those muscles.
If endurance for that marathon (or the marathon of parenthood) is your goal, fun fact- our sleep impacts all aspects contributing to endurance. What do I mean by that? All of the hormones that drive our mood, concentration and ability to focus depend on proper sleep. These factors will determine the likelihood of you continuing an exercise regime each day! So when we wake up rested after a full night of sleep, we are highly more likely to want to workout again the next day. Transversely, sleep deprivation leads to us giving up on our goals.
The bottom line is this- we cannot be "fit" without proper sleep. Even if you aren't striving towards a major goal, our sleep is needed to restore our bodies, systems and cells so we can get up each day and "adult". Start getting 7.5-8 hours each night, and your eyes will be opened to a whole new beautiful happy rested world.
Written by Sarah Moe, Sleep Expert
https://www.sleephs.com/