Why Sleep Helps
During the night, we cycle through five stages of sleep. The stages include non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (stages1-4) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep (stage 5).
Stage 3 and stage 4 are the ones for exercise recovery. Stage 3 marks the beginning of deep sleep and is when human growth hormone (HGH) starts to be released. Stage 4, the deepest slow wave sleep, helps to replenish physical and mental energy. During this stage, the body does most of its repair and regeneration work, thanks primarily to a continual release of HGH. Because HGH is being released in stages 3 and 4, some fitness and sports performance trainers call SLEEP “the athlete’s steroid.” HGH helps maintain and repair muscles and cells, and it is key to improving athletic performance. In reality the key is finding the correct BALANCE of training, rest, nutrition and sleep!
How Much SLEEP do we need? Generally speaking, most adults need 7-9 hours of uninterrupted sleep per night. (National Sleep Foundation 2013) while most adults get 6.5 per night. Sleep loss accumulates into sleep DEBT! Over a 5-day work week, a nightly sleep loss of 90 minutes builds into a 7.5-hour sleep debt by the weekend. This equates to losing one full night of sleep during the workweek . Losing 2 hours of sleep a night (sleeping 6 hours instead of 8) significantly impairs performance, attention, working memory, long term memory and decision making.
How to get Better Sleep!
- Limit caffeine, particularly in the afternoon and evening
- Limit alcohol. Especially avoid excessive consumption before bed.
- Try to quit tobacco use. Nicotine is a stimulate!
- Don’t use a computer, cell phone, or hand held device in the 90 minutes before bedtime. LED lighting “tells” the brain to stay awake!
- Limit TV viewing before bed.
- Lower the temperature in the house or bedroom before and during sleep. The body likes cooler temps. Many sleep doctors suggest lowering the body temp 90 minutes before time!
- Take a hot bath 90-120 minutes before bedtime.
- Nap only 15-20 minutes early in the afternoon if necessary.
- Keep a sleep diary to track patterns.
- Eat 3-4 hours before bed and avoid heavy meals in the evening. Some evidence suggests that a light carb snack before bed helps sleep.
- Invest in a comfortable mattress and pillow
- Trust in God’s promise that He wants you to have “SWEET SLEEP” Psalms 4:8 “I will both lay me down to peace, and sleep; for thou oh Lord ONLY makes me dwell in Safety.” Proverbs 3:24 “When you lie down, you shall not be afraid; you shall lie down and your SLEEP shall be SWEET!”