Improve Your Sleep, Improve Your Workout Recovery.
Improve Your Sleep, Improve Your Workout Recovery.
Sleep is a vital, yet often neglected, element of everyone’s health and wellbeing. Without enough sleep, everything from your mood to your appetite gets thrown off. In addition to typical symptoms of sleep deprivation — like crankiness and cravings — you may also experience a decline in workout recovery.
The quality of your sleep governs the quality of your life. There is no way to skirt that. High-quality sleep dictates whether you’re able to navigate mental and physical challenges the next day, and chronic sleep deprivation can lead to a host of emotional and physiological problems.
During sleep, your body doesn’t just go dormant — it spends those seven to nine hours performing all sorts of critical bodily functions to prepare your body for the next day. Muscle repair and a boosted immune system are just a couple ways sleep supports fitness recovery.
The quality of your sleep governs the quality of your life. There is no way to skirt that. High-quality sleep dictates whether you’re able to navigate mental and physical challenges the next day, and chronic sleep deprivation can lead to a host of emotional and physiological problems.
During sleep, your body doesn’t just go dormant — it spends those seven to nine hours performing all sorts of critical bodily functions to prepare your body for the next day. Here are four ways sleep supports fitness recovery.
Your body is always hard at work repairing the microtraumas your muscles endure from intense exercise. However, it works hardest at this process while you’re fast asleep. Studies show that the bulk of muscle protein synthesis — the process of taking available protein and using it to build or repair muscle tissue — happens during sleep.
Insulin is responsible for taking sugar from your blood and moving it into body cells. Poor insulin sensitivity can interfere with glycogen replenishment (the process of replenishing the stored carbohydrates in your muscles that your body uses up during exercise). And with low glycogen stores, your body won’t recover as well or have as much available energy to use during your next workout.
Researchers believe that sleep positively affect muscle recovery and athletic performance largely due to the fact that growth hormone is produced and circulated at night. This typically happens during deep sleep, so if you don’t get enough slow-wave sleep, you may find yourself battling chronic soreness and muscle fatigue.
Your body can’t focus on muscle recovery when it’s sick. If you get enough sleep every night, you shouldn’t have to worry about that, because your immune system will be humming along smoothly. During sleep, your body releases cytokines that help your body fight off infections and keep inflammation at bay.
Your body is always hard at work repairing the microtraumas your muscles endure from intense exercise. However, it works hardest at this process while you’re fast asleep. Studies show that the bulk of muscle protein synthesis — the process of taking available protein and using it to build or repair muscle tissue — happens during sleep.
Researchers believe that sleep positively affect muscle recovery and athletic performance largely due to the fact that growth hormone is produced and circulated at night. This typically happens during deep sleep, so if you don’t get enough slow-wave sleep, you may find yourself battling chronic soreness and muscle fatigue.
Insulin is responsible for taking sugar from your blood and moving it into body cells. Poor insulin sensitivity can interfere with glycogen replenishment (the process of replenishing the stored carbohydrates in your muscles that your body uses up during exercise). And with low glycogen stores, your body won’t recover as well or have as much available energy to use during your next workout.
Your body can’t focus on muscle recovery when it’s sick. If you get enough sleep every night, you shouldn’t have to worry about that, because your immune system will be humming along smoothly. During sleep, your body releases cytokines that help your body fight off infections and keep inflammation at bay.
While sleep is clearly indispensable, you shouldn’t try to force it. Everyone experiences sleeplessness from time to time, and you could make it worse by attempting to sleep when your body just isn’t ready. If you find yourself restless, get out of bed and try calming activities like stretching or reading a book (an actual book — not on a device!).
