Diet, exercise, and sleep are three pillars of a healthy life. While improving just one of these lifestyle factors can help people lead longer lives, improving all three may be a better way to improve both physical and mental health.
Sleep offers the body and brain time to restore and recover, affecting nearly every tissue in the body.
This includes muscle as well.
Sleep gives your body time to recover, conserve energy, and repair and build up the muscles worked during exercise.
When we get enough good quality sleep, the body produces growth hormones. Growth hormone is essential for athletic recovery.
Apart from this, without enough sleep, people tend to overeat and choose unhealthy foods.
Sleep deprivation affects the body’s release of ghrelin and leptin, two neurotransmitters that tell our brain when to consume calories. People who are sleep deprived are more drawn towards high-calorie foods.
Chronic sleep loss has been linked to having a larger waist circumference, and an increased risk of obesity.
So how do we improve it?
1. GET SOME SUN IN THE MORNING! – Light is the principal control of our day-night cycle, influencing everything from body temperature to metabolism to sleep. When light enters the eye, it is sensed by a special group of cells on the retina, which is carried to the brain and interpreted as information about the time of day. The brain then sends signals throughout the body to control organs and other systems by that time of day. This sets a timer for melatonin release 16 hours later. When exposed to only natural light, a person’s circadian rhythm becomes closely synchronized with sunrise and sunset, staying awake during the day and sleeping when it’s dark.
1. MOVE MORE! -Physical activity creates more adenosine in the brain, and adenosine makes us feel sleepy. Aerobic exercise causes the body to release endorphins. These chemicals can create a level of activity in the brain that keeps some people awake. These individuals should exercise at least 1 to 2 hours before going to bed, giving endorphin levels time to wash out and “the brain time to wind down.
1. KEEP A CONSISTENT EATING SCHEDULE- Timing your food intake plays a critical role in regulating your sleep-wake cycle. Not only this, but the type of food you consume also affects your sleep. For example, foods containing tryptophan (an amino acid) can help synthesise serotonin and melatonin – and may help to promote sleep. Caffeine is a stimulant and can hurt your sleep by making it harder for you to fall asleep. This delay in getting to sleep can shorten your overall sleep time.
If you want to optimize your health or lose weight, getting a good night’s sleep is one of the most important things you can do.
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