Sleep is essential and one of the biggest components of recovery.

During sleep, the immune system ramps up, physical breakdown and damage is repaired, and thoughts and memories are processed. In short, sleep helps us recover from the demands of a busy day and refreshes us so that we’re ready for the next day.

Anyone who deprives themselves of adequate sleep is painfully reminded of it when they wake up the following morning. The fatigue, soreness, and irritability that often results can last the entire day, and sometimes longer. If this happens on a consistent basis, as it does for many people, the effects can last for weeks.

With the fast pace of modern life, many people take sleep for granted and sacrifice it to have more time in their day. This is a big problem because the additional amount of time spent awake puts more burden on the body and increases the need for recovery. However, because this extra time is made possible at the expense of sleep, less recovery will occur despite the increased need for it.

Getting more sleep is one of the easiest and least expensive ways to improve your health and vitality. All you have to do is commit to developing good sleep habits.

Risks associated with sleep deprivation:

• Increased rates of depression
• Weakened immune system
• Weight gain
• Increased blood pressure
• Increase in the risk of Type 2 Diabetes
• Cognitive Dysfunction

Habits for Better Sleep:

1. Power down. Ideally 2 hours before bed start to dial down the intensity of your evening activities- this means planning your workout earlier and avoiding stressful situations (maybe not the best time to go over your credit card bills!) An hour before bed avoid screen time, the lights emitted by tablets and phones can also disrupt your hormone levels making it more difficult to fall asleep.
2. Create psychological cues. Create nightly habits that signal your body it’s time to go to sleep, this could mean taking a hot shower or bath before bed or reading a book.
3. Create a sleep environment. Make sure your room is as dark as possible- light signals the brain that it’s time to wake up so invest in curtains or blinds. Also keep your room’s temperature a couple degrees cooler than what’s comfortable during the day. 
4. Keep a regular sleep routine. Try not to greatly vary the times in which you wake and go to bed each night, this gives your body the chance to create a natural rhythm and sets your body clock.
5. Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep. Everybody has a sweet spot when it comes to the actual amount of time needed for sleep but it’s somewhere between 7-9 hours. If you get short changed one night turn in a couple hours earlier the next night.