Sleep…. What Is That?
It’s 4:30am.
The sun has just started to rise and to be honest I feel as though I just dozed off (I vaguely remember crawling into bed at about 11:30pm). A solid five hours of sleep, with a 4 month old, I really shouldn’t complain. You see I can’t remember the last time I had the recommended 7.5–8 hrs of sleep at night, it may have been in the year 2007, the day after my final year 12 exam. With a 4 month old there is always something that needs cleaned or washed or folded. So I may not get the recommended hours of sleep every night, but it is not for lack of trying. The below points should assist you in getting a better night’s sleep and why you should be making it a priority.
Your bed is for sleeping, that is it
You heard me correctly. Don’t turn on the TV and watch an hour of your favourite trashy reality show, don’t finish the work you didn’t get through during the day, better yet try not to even open your laptop in bed. You’ll find over time it is a lot easier to drift off to sleep if your mind associates your bed with just sleeping. Better yet, you will be more rested throughout the day and manage to drift off to sleep easier.
Exercise and sleep
Can’t sleep, but you want to ?? Well, get moving!!!! Research tells us that as little as 10 minutes of aerobic activity throughout a day can dramatically improve sleep quality. When I have managed to get to any one of my fitness classes throughout a day, I find by 9:30pm I am ready for bed. So get outdoors, lift some weights, go for a run, hit some pads. You’ll be thanking yourself later when you manage to get that decent night’s sleep.
Sleep, nutrition and health go hand in hand
Sleep is just as essential as keeping fit and eating well and plays a further role in weight management. Without enough sleep the body’s hormones are “out of whack” and you tend to crave foods with a higher sugar content. Have you ever noticed if you’re up past midnight and all you feel like is a bowl of ice cream or maybe a block of cadbury’s chocolate. Well this is why. However, if you can’t avoid these late night situations, grab a large bottle of water (aim to drink it ALL) and some fruit. You’ll find it will curb those cravings.
To sleep in or not to sleep in, that is the question!
If you’re anything like me working out in the morning is the only option. I am up every morning at 4:30am to get my day started. I find I am considerably more productive in the mornings, therefore I make the conscious effort to wake up at that time. I work out, have my breakfast, go through at least 2 bottle of water and I am ready for my day, all before 6am. Of course there are days when I literally can’t be bothered and I hit snooze one too many times but that is okay. It is also important to feel rested especially if your family and work rely on you to be at the top of your game.
Track your sleep
FitBit, Garmin, Apple watches and performance monitoring systems like FitBox have been doing it for years, maybe it is time you started. These technology platforms can track and report on sleep patterns, providing insights into sleep like never before. Know how long it takes you to fall asleep and understand when you are most restless during a night. This information, will make you accountable for the amount of sleep you get every night. You will have all the information on your sleep patterns you need, it is now up to you to make the conscious effort to get a good night’s sleep.
At the end of the day sleep is undeniably important and without it we would quite literally die.
Whether you function best on 4 hours or 10 hours of sleep, make sure you aim to get a decent night’s sleep at least 5 nights a week. You can always work towards getting more as time progresses.
Naomi Wallis
Product Manager
Naomi speaks all things functional movement. She loves it so much, she adopted it into her daily fitness routine. To say sport was ingrained in Naomi is an understatement.
In fact, she loved it so much, she went on to study sports science at university and has worked for some of the best NRL teams in the country.
Her world is revolved around the sport and she brings this enthusiasm to the table every single day.
