Sleep for a Fit Body: The Benefits of Quality Sleep for Fitness
Quality sleep benefits your fitness in many ways, from increasing energy and alertness to enhancing performance and accelerating fat loss. Sleep is an essential part of a healthy lifestyle and directly impacts your ability to participate in activities such as working out and playing sports.
If you struggle with sleep, the effects can be negative. Residual effects of a sleepless night include sluggish thinking, impaired reaction time, lack of attention to detail, slower response times and delayed recall.
Whether you're in the gym or on the track, any fitness activity you do is dependent on how well you sleep. Learn how to fall asleep easier, sleep better for longer, and think more clearly.
These effects are cumulative, intensifying over time if your sleeping habits don’t change. Luckily for you, there are plenty of things you can do to get plenty of rest so that your fitness routines don’t suffer as a result. Here are some tips on how quality sleep benefits your fitness routine.
Stay Alert During Exercise
The majority of people don’t get enough sleep, but the payoff is well worth the investment.
One of the most significant benefits of a good night’s rest is improved alertness and focus during workouts. When your body is deprived of sleep, it produces a substance called cortisol. This hormone is essential for your body to perform many functions, but it also slows down your metabolism, which interferes with your ability to burn fat.
When
cortisol is circulating in your bloodstream, it becomes harder to focus on your
workout. You might find yourself feeling drowsy during your routine, which can
lead to injury. And worse yet, you might not even realize what’s happening.
When you get a good night’s sleep, cortisol levels drop and your metabolism
remains elevated, which results in more efficient fat burning.
Accelerate Fat Loss
When you’re sleeping, your body is in a restorative state, meaning it’s actively repairing and regenerating tissues, organs and cells. What’s more, your body releases Human Growth Hormone (HGH) during sleep.
HGH is a fat burning hormone and plays a crucial role in muscle repair and growth. When you’re sleeping, your body’s natural fat-burning mechanisms are working at full capacity.
This is the perfect time to go to the gym, because your body
will benefit from the extra workout while using fat stores to fuel the effort.
When you’re sleep deprived, your body can’t efficiently metabolize fat and use
it as energy. When you’re getting plenty of sleep, your body is primed to burn
fat, meaning you can lose weight more quickly.
Enhance Muscle Growth
When your body is in a restorative state, it uses all of its
resources to heal and regenerate. This means your muscles will recover faster
from strength training. Exercise is fantastic for your health, but when you
don’t get enough sleep, your muscles don’t regenerate as quickly. When you’re
well-rested, you can lift heavier weights, which stimulates your muscles more
effectively.
Increase Athletic Performance
When you’re well-rested, your body has more energy. You’ll
be able to engage in your workouts with more intensity and focus. When you’re
sleep deprived, you’ll struggle to stay on top of your game. You won’t have the
stamina or the mental clarity to push yourself to the next level. When you’re
well-rested, your body releases more Growth Hormone. HGH is ideal for athletic
performance, as it stimulates cell regeneration and muscle growth while
reducing fat.
Bottom Line
During sleep, your body effectively cleanses your system of toxins, repairs tissues and hormones, and regenerates cells. All of these benefits come together to give you more energy and alertness during the day, which makes it easier to exercise and perform at your best. After a good night’s sleep, you’ll feel more refreshed and be able to tackle your workouts with confidence.
Sleep deprivation leads to lethargy and impaired thinking.
While there’s no quick fix for a sleep disorder, there are plenty of ways to
get better sleep. From turning off your computer to avoid blue light to
reducing your caffeine intake, there are many ways to improve your sleep. A
good night’s sleep is the foundation of a healthy lifestyle.