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Why better sleep = better workouts
A good night’s sleep has to be one of the most underrated pleasures on the planet. With business moguls and the ultra-successful promoting as little as 6 hours of sleep a night - it’s a wonder how they function, never mind thrive. But workouts are a different kettle of fish and if you’re struggling in the gym with fatigue, exhaustion and one of those ‘high gravity days’ then sleep might be the first thing to look at.
Some people, myself included, perform great on little sleep - that is when the focus is cognitive, not physical. You see sleep plays the all-important role of restoring your immune and endocrine systems in your body after a hard day of beating it up and putting it in uncomfortable situations. Sleep is key for recovery and getting enough will restore your body, fix your tired limbs and - in the non-REM sleep phase - increase protein synthesis meaning that you’ll experience more muscle gains in this period. Get me to bed ASAP!
Poor sleep = Poor Performance
Following as little of a single night of poor rest, performance can decline at a rate of knots with a lack of sleep making your body perceive that more effort is required? That means that exercise feels harder, meaning you’ll fatigue sooner, putting you in not only a poor mood - but likely in a state of sub-par progress. That’s not good for anyone.
The motivation dip responsible from poor sleep is almost as bad as the dip in performance itself with the majority of people feeling less motivated to train following poor rest. In a test of performance, the less sleep athletes were permitted, the shorter their workout was before burning out and becoming exhausted with the effort required.
When you don’t sleep, muscles cannot fully restock their energy stores in the form of muscle glycogen. Of course with glycogen being the body’s main and preferred energy source, a lack of this is not good for performance. When you run out - you’ll see a blockage in the form of hitting the wall as lactic acid builds and energy depletes.
What to do on a poor night's sleep
The advice given to those on little or a poor quality night's sleep is simple. Rest. A rest day where a training day should have taken its place is not the end of the world and can be replaced with a session later in the week, following a better sleep quality.
If training is a must, exercise intensity should be dialed down with targets reduced as you see fit - taking into account the sub-par conditions. If running is on the agenda, look for less distance and/or a slower pace whereas weights or sets should be dropped for weight training.
A good night’s sleep has to be one of the most underrated pleasures on the planet. With business moguls and the ultra-successful promoting as little as 6 hours of sleep a night - it’s a wonder how they function, never mind thrive. But workouts are a different kettle of fish and if you’re struggling in the gym with fatigue, exhaustion and one of those ‘high gravity days’ then sleep might be the first thing to look at.
Some people, myself included, perform great on little sleep - that is when the focus is cognitive, not physical. You see sleep plays the all-important role of restoring your immune and endocrine systems in your body after a hard day of beating it up and putting it in uncomfortable situations. Sleep is key for recovery and getting enough will restore your body, fix your tired limbs and - in the non-REM sleep phase - increase protein synthesis meaning that you’ll experience more muscle gains in this period. Get me to bed ASAP!
Poor sleep = Poor Performance
Following as little of a single night of poor rest, performance can decline at a rate of knots with a lack of sleep making your body perceive that more effort is required? That means that exercise feels harder, meaning you’ll fatigue sooner, putting you in not only a poor mood - but likely in a state of sub-par progress. That’s not good for anyone.
The motivation dip responsible from poor sleep is almost as bad as the dip in performance itself with the majority of people feeling less motivated to train following poor rest. In a test of performance, the less sleep athletes were permitted, the shorter their workout was before burning out and becoming exhausted with the effort required.
When you don’t sleep, muscles cannot fully restock their energy stores in the form of muscle glycogen. Of course with glycogen being the body’s main and preferred energy source, a lack of this is not good for performance. When you run out - you’ll see a blockage in the form of hitting the wall as lactic acid builds and energy depletes.
What to do on a poor night's sleep
The advice given to those on little or a poor quality night's sleep is simple. Rest. A rest day where a training day should have taken its place is not the end of the world and can be replaced with a session later in the week, following a better sleep quality.
If training is a must, exercise intensity should be dialed down with targets reduced as you see fit - taking into account the sub-par conditions. If running is on the agenda, look for less distance and/or a slower pace whereas weights or sets should be dropped for weight training.
