If you want to do all you can to make your body and mind healthy, regular exercise is essential. There is no other way to ensure fitness, and although you might eat well and take care of your mental health as much as possible, you will need to incorporate some form of exercise into your life as well, whether that’s a workout routine at the gym, running on a treadmill at home, or going for a brisk walk with your dog every day.
Yet even if you are doing all the right things, it might not be helping you as much as you had hoped. In fact, you might not be seeing many – or any – gains at all. This could be for a variety of reasons, but one that stands out and that is easy to fix is your sleeping habits. If you’re not sleeping properly, your body won’t be able to enjoy the benefits of the exercise you’re doing because it’s too busy trying to repair and protect itself. With that in mind, here are some of the ways that your sleeping habits affect your workout routine.
Sleep Is Needed For The Recovery Process
Have you ever woken up in the morning and felt stiff and sore? Perhaps you were even in a lot of pain. After a thorough exercise routine, it is possible that your knees, shoulders, hips, back, neck, and muscles, in general, will hurt, especially if you didn’t warm-up or cool down properly. Even if you did, if you don’t usually work those muscles, they might suffer after being used vigorously.
When you sleep well and for long enough, the body is able to repair itself. This means that you’ll be in less pain when you wake up, so you’ll be able to do more exercise (although, don’t overdo it). If you look for the best CBD gummies to try in the UK, these may help improve sore muscles after a workout too, so they could be an added benefit, along with enough quality sleep.
Sleep Helps You Feel Motivated
We know that sleep helps to repair damaged muscles and makes you hurt less after a workout and that makes more exercise much easier, but another benefit is that being in less pain – perhaps even feeling good because you slept well and you feel energized – means you’ll be more motivated to work out.
Lack of motivation is a leading cause of why people don’t exercise as much as they can. They would rather watch TV or go online because it’s easier and doesn’t require a lot of effort, and if they are tired after a poor night’s sleep, who can really blame them for wanting something easy to do? After a good night’s sleep – going to bed when you feel tired, not using any screens, sleeping through the night, and waking after seven to nine hours – people tend to feel much more motivated to exercise, and do anything else they need to do as well.
Your Circadian Rhythm Will Be Regulated
Your circadian rhythm is extremely important. It’s what tells your body and brain it’s time to sleep or wake up, and it’s crucial that you keep it on schedule, as it can become out of sync. One way to do this is to ensure you have a set sleeping pattern.
However, there are factors that can confuse your body even with this sleeping pattern in place, and exercise can help. When you exercise, you will be telling your body what schedule it should be using, as exercise is something that needs energy, and therefore you aren’t meant to be asleep. This is why it’s best not to exercise before bed.
Working out at the right time should help you fall asleep more easily and stay asleep, ensuring you feel good in the morning and are then motivated to work out – and so the cycle continues.