One of the undervalued aspects of a good workout program is your sleep habits. At rest, our bodies work very to repair all the damage we do during the course of the day. It is also when we burn through fat (or muscle depending on how well you are eating), so it is vital that you establish healthy sleep habits along with a solid nutrition and exercise program. Shoot for seven hours to nine hours sleep each night. That’s the “sweet” spot for good rest and muscle repair.
Here are the things I like to do to get a good night’s sleep:
1. I try to go bed at the same time every night. My body naturally gets sleepy at 10:30 p.m. By this time I have everything wrapped up for the day and can be comfortable in the bed when I naturally get tired.
2. Throughout the day, write down or email yourself anything that you need to do, good ideas you don’t want to forget about or don’t have time to act on now, and appointments you have. Often, at night is when you will start to remember these things and it can cause you to sleep restlessly. Designing an orginizational system for your thoughts and appointments might just make you rest easier. When you have made note of important tasks and ideas it frees your brain to think of other things, or to get rest when it’s time to rest. (I read the book Getting Things Done and got this idea.)
3. Don’t try to play catch up on your sleep. On the weekends I might sleep in an extra hour, but I try to continue waking at around the same time as I do on the weekends. This keeps my body’s natural sleep/wake cycle on time.
4. Invest in good sheets and pillows. Make your bed comfortable. If you are fighting your bedding, your bedding will win everytime.
5. If you need to go to the bathroom in the night, just GO! So many times I’ve wasted thirty to forty minutes of sleep needing to potty but refusing to get up. Once I do I always go back to sleep soundly.