Generally, when you ask people how they sleep, the answer is “pretty good”. When you ask them how they eat, the answer is also “pretty good”. But I can tell you from my experience as a nutrition coach that when you do a little bit of digging, you often find out that “pretty good” leaves a lot of room for improvement.
The first thing we like to dig into with our coaching is lifestyle habits; more specifically, your sleeping habits. The truth is, you can do everything right in the gym and with your nutrition, yet it’ll get you nowhere if you aren’t getting enough sleep.
If you are serious about your health, you must make sleep a priority.
I know there is a glamour in the “hustle” and many of us pride ourselves on being busy, but there is nothing healthy or glamorous about running yourself into the ground. Let’s take a look at the statistics: according to a study conducted in 2016, Canada is the third most sleep-deprived country, with nearly a third of Canadians feeling like they don’t sleep enough.
Consistently getting too little sleep (less than 7 hours) or too much sleep (more than 9 hours) is associated with poor health. Sleep helps to repair and rewire not only your muscles, but your brain as well. It also benefits your immune response. For me, if I sleep poorly a few nights in a row I immediately have a sore throat, no joke. There is also a strong connection between sleep and gut health; poor sleep affects your gut, and poor gut health puts you at risk for many autoimmune issues.
Scary stuff, but tell me more!
- Poor sleep contributes to weight gain, obesity and metabolic syndrome.
- Lack of sleep increases our cravings for highly palatable food (aka junk food). When sleep deprived, our hedonic drive for certain foods gets stronger and so does our inability to resist them. If this is a normal state for us and we repeat this behaviour often, it is easy to draw the connection to obesity.
- Not getting enough sleep increases your risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes.
- People who do not get enough sleep have higher levels of depression and anxiety.
- People who do not get enough sleep have elevated markers of inflammation in their bloodstream.
I will have none of that, please.
It is not just how long you sleep that matters, but keeping your sleep routine consistent as well. This means going to bed and waking up at generally the same time daily, including weekend, thus keeping to your circadian rhythm. Studies show that our rhythm of sleep is just as important as how long we sleep.
All of this stuff is very compelling. If you are reading this as a new parent or shift worker, you may be thinking you’re doomed. I firmly believe that good sleep hygiene can benefit us all, no matter what our personal circumstances are. We always have a choice.
Control what you can, starting with how much screen time you have! Turn off Netflix. Put your phone away. Simple lifestyle changes can have a big impact on our sleep.
Here’s a list of things you can do to improve your sleep quality:
- No caffeine in the afternoon.
- Limiting or cutting out alcohol. It may help you drift off to sleep easier, but studies all agree that alcohol will disrupt the quality of your sleep.
- No screen time in bed or a minimum of 1 hour prior to bed.
- Keep electronics out of your bedroom.
- Sleep in a cool and dark bedroom. Getting your bedroom nice and dark is key. Invest in black-out curtains, cover all of the lights or get yourself a sexy sleep mask.
- Establish a firm routine and keep your bed time and wake time as consistent as possible.
- Exercise daily, but not excessively.
There’s no need to adopt a complicated and lengthy bed time routine to get good sleep, but start thinking about how you could create your own routine. A consistent bed time routine will help you down regulate and signal to your body and mind that it is bed time.
You could write a couple of lines in your journal, read a few pages of a book. Maybe you and your spouse share the love seat and chat over sleeping time tea after the kids are in bed. Make it your own, make it fit in your lifestyle, but take some time daily to unwind before bed and prime yourself for good sleep.
If you are not seeing the results you should be seeing in the gym or on the scale, your sleep is the first thing you should look at. Interested in one on one coaching with us? We’d be happy to help you build better daily habits.
Annie 🙂
