You are getting sleepy....

Do you get enough sleep every night? If you are like many people I know your answer will be: no I don't. Sleep is an important part of a healthy lifestyle especially when you are involving any level up to strenuous exercise. The body needs time to rebuild and recover so it can come back stronger and prepared for the next challenge. Sleep not only helps to recharge your body, but more importantly, your mind.

Do you need more sleep?

For the physical benefits of sleep you may want to consult your physician. Leaving your body fatigued leads to stress, lower energy, and an all around less active day. Another negative of fatigue can lead us to putting negative substances in our bodies to offset the effect such as sugary energy drinks. From reading articles and researching sleep I have found that a good night's rest allows for muscle recovery, building of muscle and time for the immune system to fight off disease. Other benefits can be found here: Benefits of Sleep, WebMD

On the mental side, sleep can also allow the brain to recover. It allows for better focus and memory retention. I'm sure everyone would all like to remember things a little better. Sleep can also help with work productivity. If we have less to worry about at work we can enjoy our time outside work much more. Our non-commitment to taking care of sleep is addressed by James B. Maas, PhD who said, " If we treated machines like we treat the human body, we would be accused of reckless endangerment." More on the topic of sleep and the brain can be found here: APA Strengthen your brain by resting it.

But you have problems sleeping, can't get good rest, and/or always feeling tired the next day. One of the most helpful items I have found on this is turning off the t.v. It's amazing when things are quiet you can sleep better. Even with the volume down, the flashing light from the screen is picked up by your eyes causing your brain to still be active. This includes your must-have-to-live smart-phone. Turn it off, put it away, if you worry about emergencies set it on the other side of the room where you can still hear it ring. Get it away where you won't see the flashing light, check it in the middle of the night or have alerts going off all night. Go to bed at the same time every night. Or close to it. We all have changes in schedules but if you can get consistent, you're body will take the hint and know when to start shutting down. The same goes for the morning, get up at the same time everyday. I am up at 6 am, yes, even on the weekends. Your body may acclimate to it and you might not even need an alarm clock (though I wouldn't recommend that). Other sleeping tips can be found here: A Good Night's Sleep

I am not a doctor but the benefits of sleep are obvious. Consult your physician, research on your own and add making sleep important to your new lifestyle and then get out and GET SOME!