What Is The Relationship Between Sleep And Fitness? Unleash All The Secrets!
Have you ever wanting to get fitter and stronger but you struggle with sleep? Your sleep cycle is on the edge of destruction. You stay up till late at night and don't get enough sleep due to a hectic schedule and heavy workload. I am sure you can relate to it. The first thing that sleep deprivation affects is your mental health which further leads to poor physical well-being. (1)
You might be curious about the relationship between fitness and sleep, right? That's what today's whole article is about. Read on to find some interesting facts about this association and ways to develop better health and sleep balance because a good laugh and a long, peaceful sleep can cure anything.
Why Sleep is so Important?
If you observe things a little deeper, you'll realize that good sleep is the most powerful tool you have been provided to help you improve your physical and mental health. While you are asleep, it will help you to fight several diseases, heal wounds, repair your body cells and cope with day to day stresses of life. Ultimately, sleep grants your body time to slow down, conserve energy, recover and build up muscles that have been exhausted due to strenuous exercise.
But what is happening? According to a recent survey by the Centers for disease control and prevention, more than 30% of people in Europe have severe insomnia, which means they are not getting the ideal 7-8 hours of sleep that is a must for adults. (2)
It means up to 108 million people are deteriorating their fitness goals just by being careless about their sleep cycle. They worry about their fitness but find it hard to prioritize sleep over work. In another survey, it has been observed that people who sleep more than 4 hours consider it an unnecessary and unproductive lifestyle that has made them lose their sleep and health somewhere to become a significant part of the competition of life.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Sleep?
The benefits of proper sleep and a balanced lifestyle are many and affects so many important key biometrics in your body. However, let's have a look at the most significant ones.
Better Performance
According to a recent survey passed by the National sleep foundation, an average adult should get sleep for 7-9 hours per night. If you keep increasing an extra hour to your sleep schedule it is like getting bonus hours of sleep over the week that will help you to stay more focused and energetic. So, whenever you plan a workout, ensure you maintain a perfect balance between sleep and diet to achieve the best performance. (3)
Rest and Recovery
Another critical point to ponder is that sleep provides your muscles time to relax, regenerate and repair themselves to do better the next day. Since the recovery time is crucial for the whole fitness procedure, getting 7-8 hours of sleep will make you feel strong, and more energized than ever before and help you build lean muscle mass more quickly than with a poor sleep schedule.
Maintain Hormonal Balance
An unhealthy sleep schedule is likely to upset the hormonal balance in your body, leading to a lot of abnormalities. For instance, if you get a good sleep every night, your body will release anabolic hormones to repair your body tissues efficiently. On the other hand, a poor sleep schedule will let catabolic hormones take control which keeps on producing extra energy constantly. Your muscles don't get time to recover from the post-workout stress and become more robust, and there will come a time when they will lose their sanity. The whole process can lead your muscles to go inflamed and sore, leading to the tearing of muscles.
Remove Unhealthy Metabolites From The Brain
A long and peaceful sleep allows your brain to process and eliminate unnecessary metabolic waste from brain cells. In addition to removing waste, sleep helps your body to enhance the blood flow to the cells and carry out glycogen and oxygen essential for optimum cognitive performance. (4)
Boost Immune System
Sleep's best thing for your body is to enhance its immune system, especially for athletes more prone to injuries. It helps boost stamina and muscle strength while creating an immune response. It does so by causing the release of a cytokines protein that then targets inflammation and infections.
Otherwise, your body will be more vulnerable to viruses, making you sick every once in a while.
Conclusion
To summarize, if you want to get fit, you must work for it. It is only possible if you balance your sleep and exercise schedule perfectly. Too little sleep and too much exercise are deadly combinations that will make the situation worse by leading your muscles to injury and causing painful inflammation.
So, make sure not to overdo anything and try to sleep up to 7 hours at least to make your muscles healthy and strong.