Healthy Lifestyle Tip #7: Get More Sleep

Adequate sleep is needed for healthy functioning of your body and mind and is key to a healthy lifestyle. Not only does sleep impact your mood, energy, concentration, and ability to interact with others, but it has an impact on exercise and diet as well.

Exercise and Sleep

Exercise and sleep are interrelated because daily exercise promotes better sleep and adequate sleep gives you the energy for exercise.

You need adequate sleep in order for the body to recover from exercise and prepare itself for the next day. Sleep deprivation results in the inability of the body to store glycogen which is used as a primary fuel by the body during exercise. This is why when you don’t get enough sleep you are lethargic and don’t perform as well during exercise. In addition, sleep deprivation increases the hormone cortisol in your body which impedes your body from healing and repairing after exercise.

Regular exercise also improves the quantity and quality of sleep over time because it reduces stress and anxiety, which can impede sleep. In addition, several studies have shown that exercise improves sleep for people with sleep disorders, such as insomnia and sleep apnea.

Diet and Sleep

Sleep and diet also form a cause and effect relationship that can either be beneficial or detrimental to your health.

If you don’t get enough sleep you are more likely to need caffeine, sugar or some other stimulant in order to get you through the day. In addition, lack of sleep causes an increase in leptin levels, a hormone that regulates appetite, causing an appetite increase. These two factors combined often result in poor food decisions throughout the day because you tend to crave more sugary and fatty foods in order to boost your energy and satisfy your appetite. Furthermore, eating more processed foods throughout the day, especially those high in fat, causes indigestion and heartburn which can disrupt sleep. As you can see, poor sleep and poor diet form a vicious cycle that can be hard to break.

Melatonin is a hormone that helps synchronize circadian rhythms that regulate sleep. Melatonin supplements are often given to people who suffer from sleep disorders, but this hormone can also be found in various plant foods.

Tomatoes

Grapes

Cherries

Orange bell peppers

Flaxseeds

Walnuts and Almonds

So How Much Sleep Should I Get?

The recommended amount of sleep a person should get per night is about 7-9 hours. People who consistently get 6 or less hours of sleep per night have been shown to weigh more and have poorer health. I get about 8 or 9 hours of sleep a night because I go to bed fairly early, around 9pm, and get up early to work out around 5 or 6 am. I hardly ever feel groggy in the morning because I keep my sleep schedule regular and make sure I am getting enough sleep each night, which helps me maintain and regular exercise schedule as well. I also never have an issue falling asleep at night or waking up throughout the night, which means I am getting a higher quality sleep. Adequate sleep is an extremely important factor in a healthy lifestyle because better sleep will make you feel better and give you more energy which will lead to healthier decisions throughout the day.