Many of us have heard that eating nutritious food and regularly engaging in exercise and physical activity are effective strategies for encouraging good health. But there’s another pillar of wellness that doesn’t always get the same amount of attention — sleep. In fact, in our face-paced world, sometimes avoiding sleep is even seen as something to be proud of like it is proof of limitless capacity.
That’s a shame. Because in addition to simply feeling good, getting enough sleep is one of the most important actions you can take for your health, especially if you are training. Let’s take a closer look.
How Much Sleep Do We Need?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults need seven to nine hours every night. Not once in a while. Not an average for the week. Seven to nine hours of sleep each night, every night will not only replenish your energy levels, but it’s also necessary to promote normal brain function, mood, hormone levels, and just about everything else.
What Are the Risks of Not Getting Enough Sleep?
Sleep is a cornerstone of your health. So, if your sleep hygiene is bad, it is going to affect everything else in your life. The obvious acute problems will be a lack of physical energy that translates into a lack of mental energy, too. But it can go further than that. Sleep deficiency leads to chronic conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, stroke, obesity, and depression. It is also linked to a greater chance of injuries. What athlete wants that?
Sleep Is Even More Vital if You Exercise
That brings us to this next point. If you train and take part in a regular exercise program, sleep is even more vital. Athletic performance and rest are closely connected. And the time we spend asleep is the prime recovery time for the muscle tissue that got blasted during a workout. It is hard to rebuild if you are constantly in motion.
Not to mention that one of the most common reasons people skip a workout is because they are feeling too tired. That means the outcome of consistently getting seven or more hours of sleep every night is twofold. First, you are allowing your body to recover from your last training session. And, second, you are giving it the rest it needs to be ready for the next one.
And it goes both ways — exercising can prepare your body for a good night’s rest by releasing endorphins and raising body temperature. So if you want to improve your sleep quality, exercise. Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends that just 30 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise can improve sleep quality as soon as the same night.
Get Your Sleep Then Workout With Us at Rhapsody Fitness
Are you ready to wake up? Like, really wake up? Get yourself into Rhapsody Fitness for a workout. We are in the heart of historic downtown Charleston, SC, and we are raising the bar on fitness with coaching and classes at our top-of-the-line facility that is filled with a welcoming community. Our group fitness classes will educate, entertain, and inspire — and help you achieve your fitness goals.
Raise the bar on your health and fitness and schedule your first free class today.
