Tuesday Tip: You snooze, you win! 😴
Whilst fat/weight loss always comes down to maintaining a calorie deficit there are things which help make this easier – sleep being one of the biggest ones.
Sleep is one of the most underrated contributors to overall health and body composition. Chronic lack of sleep has negative effects on the immune, endocrine, nervous and cardiovascular systems and increases risk of illness and injury. Studies have shown an association between increased BMI and those with a chronic lack of sleep (under 7hrs a night). Studies also show that reduced sleep is associated with an increased energy intake – sleeping under 5.5 hrs a night was linked to an average increase of almost 250 cals per day. A further study investigated the impact of improving sleep length on energy intake and found that extending it to 8 hrs a night led to a decrease in energy intake of 270 cals per day. There was also a link to weight loss in this group (unsurprisingly given the reduced calorie intake). For each extra hour of sleep energy intake decreased by 162 cals per day.
Lack of sleep also impacts your exercise resulting in reduced reaction times, accuracy, strength and endurance. It also results in longer recovery times.
So how can you improve your sleep?
⁃ Aim to set aside approx 30 mins before bed to wind down and destress.
⁃ Aim for consistent sleep and waking times – so try to avoid the pattern of early wake ups during the week and very late wake ups at the weekend.
⁃ Reduce consumption of caffeine, alcohol and nicotine in the 2-3 hours before bed
⁃ Studies have also shown that reducing screen time before bed leads to improved sleep quality, falling asleep faster and waking up less during the night. So aim to put your phone away 30 mins before bed, and avoid viewing potentially stimulating content like social media/news as it can impact your mood/anxiety levels which will result in less sleep.
So put the same effort you do into your diet into your sleep to maximise results!
Happy Tuesday 🤗xx
Every Step Fitness 