Good quality sleep is the foundation upon which exercise and a good diet are built upon to create optimal health. That’s quite a statement, but there’s so much research on the subject now that it’s difficult to ignore.

Here’s a few ‘did you knows…’

Did you know: if you’re sleep deprived when you’re trying to lose weight, 70% of all weight loss will come from lean muscle mass, not fat, as the body will guard its fat stores jealously, believing that troubled times are a-coming…

Did you know: if you’re consistently not getting enough sleep, the functionality of two critical hormones misfires. Leptin (the satiety signal that tells you you’re full) drops, and ghrelin (the ‘I’m not satisfied’ signaller) rises. Therefore, the appetite suppressor is silenced, and the appetite increaser is on high volume! Sleep deprivation can cause us to eat 2-300kcals extra a day…

Did you know: when you’re in need of the zzzzs your motivation to be physically active plummets, plus the intensity when you’re training also plummets. Breathing is shallower, body is more tense and less relaxed, and headspace is, to be blunt, not quite on the task at hand…

Did you know: good sleep is the tide that raises everything else and balances it, from brain function to hormones, immunity to metabolism…

Did you know: over the last century our sleep average has gone from 8+ hours a night to 6.5, around a 20% reduction…

Did you know: a 5 hour a night sleeper is 4 times more likely to catch a cold than a 7-8 hourer…

Did you know: deep sleep applies the brake to our autonomic nervous system, enabling cortisol levels to drop and allowing the body to go into parasympathetic mode. Our immune system is stimulated and refreshed, and blood pressure is naturally reduced.

Did you know: the immune system stimulates the sleep system (that’s why we experience fatigue when we’re ill – the immune system wants the kettle off the boil so it can get on with its own natural killer cell activity), improving recovery times and reducing the risk of getting ill in the future.

 

OK, if you’re sold on the idea of getting a bit more shuteye, here’s how to do it:

1. Regular as clockwork. Go to bed and get up at the same time. Don’t do the social jetlag oversleep at the weekend. It confuses the brain and throws your sleep into disarray for days.
2. Keep the bedroom cool (18’ is optimal), which will put the body into the correct thermal space for sleep. And for heaven’s sake don’t have a hot bath just before bedtime.
3. Our sleep hormone, melatonin, is stimulated by darkness. So, an hour before climbing the rickety steps to Bedfordshire switch off blue light emitting devices and all overhead lights. Be guided by the candlelight dancing in your partner’s eyes…
4. Get up! If you’ve been tossing and turning put a stop to it by walking it out, getting a drink, perhaps listening to the radio downstairs. Only go to bed again once you feel very sleepy. The brain needs to associate bed with sleep, not restlessness.
5. Decaffeinate! Don’t drink coffee past noon. Even then a full 25% of the caffeine will still be buzzing round your system at midnight.
6. Cut the high intensity exercise. If we exercise vigorously close to bedtime, the increase in endorphins, heart rate, circulation can be disruptive to a good night’s kip. Stick with moderate intensity to induce an appropriately sleepy response.
7. Throwing a meditative inner eye over your day can calm the nervous system, and even allowing yourself to get bored can have the desired switch-off effect.
8. To a story, a calming app, even the Shipping forecast. Snoozing guaranteed…