Why Sleep is Important From a Training and Nutrition Standpoint
Why is sleep important?
Sleep plays several roles in achieving a great performance and composition, all of which are crucial components. The following discussion is based on solid scientific findings, as is the case with everything else discussed in this handbook.
Firstly, sleep is a central component of recovery and repair. With just two hours less sleep, the chances of injury are increased by 60% due to both psychological and physiological factors. This is based on a large study of athletes over time, with one subset achieving 8 hours of sleep a night on average, and the other subset achieving 6 hours or less a night on average. The reduced cognitive ability resulting from lack of sleep meant that reduced focus impacted form, increased errors such as misplacing a step in a sport and rolling an ankle for example, and other physiological factors such as overall muscle recruitment and muscle fibre twitch speed. Then there was the aspect of under-recovery. It should be obvious that a muscle that still has damage from a previous workout will be more likely to be injured in a subsequent workout, and sleep is where the majority of muscle repair happens! A lack of sleep lowers testosterone, meaning that you perform poorly in the gym, the bedroom, and at work. It also increases the stress hormone cortisol, affects hormone regulation, and saps your energy, leaving you leaving you tired, stressed out, and irritable, which is never fun.
Sleep also helps to regulate appetite. If one is getting less than 8 hours sleep, the levels of the hormone leptin go down and the levels of the hormone ghrelin go up. Leptin is informally known as the satiety hormone, and ghrelin is known as the hunger hormone. Therefore, when ghrelin goes up and leptin goes down, one is left less satiated and generally hungrier, increasing the chances of overeating. Studies also show that the food choices people make with less sleep are worse as their inhibition is decreased, and they are more likely to reach for highly calorific and perhaps less nutritious foods due to increased levels of ghrelin. So, ask yourself, do you want better results? Do you want to make better food choices and control your appetite? Do you want to have better performance in the gym? Do you want to recover more efficiently so you can train more frequently? Do you want to just have all round more energy and less stress?
Well, take hold of your length and quality of sleep! Make it a priority! It will make a huge impact not only on your results, but on your overall happiness. Sign up for a free membership to the Fine Tune Fitness website and check out our article on the exact steps to make that are supported by science to drastically improve sleep!