The role of restorative sleep in your fitness results is real, and I can tell you this from personal experience.
Just as we require intense exercise routines to achieve our desired results as quickly as possible, the body also needs restorative sleep to recover and have the necessary energy for the following day.
Over time, restorative sleep has become a crucial part of fitness routines. The goal is to optimize performance and support the recovery of athletes.
Obstacles to Restorative Sleep
Many of us face challenges when it comes to achieving restorative sleep due to our daily obligations. Demanding jobs or overloaded schedules often prevent us from getting enough rest.
Leading by example is usually the best way to advocate for something. However, sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day to turn our sleep goals into reality.
Trying to go to bed at the same time and wake up at the same time is a matter of discipline. But one of the biggest challenges at night before going to bed is the pull of social media and smartphone use.
In this modern era, most of us take a glance at social media before going to bed. However, the entertainment is so captivating that minutes turn into hours on our devices, almost without us noticing.
If you don’t get enough sleep, you’ll feel exhausted the next day, experience energy slumps throughout the day, struggle to stay awake, and may even develop eating disorders.
Benefits of Restorative Sleep for Fitness Results
With restful and quality sleep, we can enhance adaptation to exercise, prevent injuries, and reduce wear and tear on the body. Inadequate sleep has been proven to negatively affect physical performance.
Therefore, optimizing sleep is an essential component of an athlete’s routine and is one of the most effective recovery strategies for people who exercise regularly.
Sleep consists of five stages, each with varying levels of consciousness and brain activity. It’s all about focusing on the ability to reduce heart rate, respiration, and eye movement.
Although some studies indicate that an athlete may have a similar quality and quantity of sleep to someone who is sedentary, it has also been shown that athletes require more sleep than non-athletes.
When you can’t have restorative sleep, various aspects of your athletic performance are affected, including speed, endurance, strength, attention, executive function, learning, and recovery.
Sleep is also closely related to pain regulation. Someone who stays awake all night may lose up to 8% of their pain tolerance.
Tips for Achieving Restorative Sleep
Reading a book, listening to relaxing music, trying to meditate, or praying, according to your beliefs, can help establish a new routine for achieving restorative sleep.
It is also recommended that the room where you sleep be as dark as possible, quiet, and at a comfortable temperature, not too hot or too cold, for a peaceful night’s sleep.
Electronic devices are the number one enemy of restorative sleep. Try to avoid them at least 30 minutes before going to bed, and avoid having a TV in your bedroom.
Another common recommendation is to avoid eating late at night. Allow at least a two-hour digestion period before going to bed for an ideal rest.
Avoiding caffeine in the evening is also not advisable. Try to relax or meditate 30 minutes before bedtime, and a shower can also be helpful.
Lastly, a good mattress, comfortable pillows, and clean sheets can be crucial in achieving restorative sleep.
