Does the quantity of your sleep matter?
Latest News
Is there a significant difference between quality and quantity when it comes to sleep? And if there is, does the quantity of your sleep really matter? What do you think?
Read on for more insight
The link between sleep and athletic performance
We have all heard the age old advice that 8 hours of sleep is healthy for a man. But now we have expert advice especially for those who are involved in exercise and or any activity that will raise your heart rate.
Apparently 8 hours of sleep has been reported to be crucial for recovery and regeneration of the damage that has been willingly inflicted on your muscle tissue by your training routine. By getting the recommended hours of shut eye, you improve your blood flow to damaged tissues and release overall stress to your affected muscle fibers.
It is already well known that the pump you receive from training is direct input letting you know that your muscles are ready for protein synthesis but actual results will only come from your rest and relaxation.
Workouts breakdown rest restores and rebuilds; this is and has always been the mantra of true athletes.
Sleep and its effects on workout effectiveness
We have all experienced the effects of not having enough sleep, restlessness, zombie eyes and the general feeling of lethargy and lack of enthusiasm. Yet a study on the Stanford’s men’s basketball team gives us a simple solution. Athletes experienced decreased fatigue and a marked improved reaction speed time in physical and mental well-being during practice and games due to total night sleep time and quality of sleep.
Correlation of R.E.M sleep and your mattress
It has been successfully shown that good sleep is dependent on the ratio on R.E.M. (Rapid Eye Movement) to the maximum amount of sleep. The higher the percentage, the better the muscle recall of activities in the previous 24 hours. It has also been recorded that the wrong mattress can make it harder to fall asleep, reduce the total amount of deep sleep slumber and interrupt your R.E.M. cycle hence reducing the repetition speed of actions learned the previous day.
Top sleep tips for workout effectiveness
The right amount of sleep is a major requirement for optimum muscle development and weight loss. It is also a commitment that you should oblige to just as it is getting enough and adequate exercise.
Do this daily;
- Sleep and wake up at the exact same time every day, and ensure that you exercise similarly at regular intervals
– DO NOT and I repeat do not take medicine or any medication to help you sleep. Over the counter medication may affect regular physical processes such as heart rate and breathing regularity.
– Reduce alcohol consumption to avoid sleep disruption. Also notorious for sleep deprivation is caffeine as well, so avoid drinking caffeine before going to bed.
– Stretch every night before you turn in for the night. It is a well-known fact that when we stretch whether before sleep or after workout, that we release tension that is potentially built up during an entire day of potentially unconscious muscle contractions (really think about it).
– Turn off all the unnatural late night lights, this is because the human growth hormone (H.G.H.} is naturally released in the dark due to the effect on hormone production caused by light influence of the hypothalamus.
Conclusion
In consideration of the above facts and statements, it is obvious that quantity does matter, but the quality of the sleep is far much important. So as you work towards getting better sleep, remember to use SleepJunkie as reference point on how to sleep better.
Source: http://www.smarttechtoday.com/does-the-quantity-of-your-sleep-matter/18338/
