Connection Between Fitness and Sleep (How Sleep Affects Fitness)

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Sleep and fitness both play an important role in your physical health. Lack of any of them may increase the risk of health issues.

And lack of sleep will affect your fitness and vice-versa. But why? What is the connection between them? To learn about it, read on!

This article will discuss how exercise helps you sleep better and vice -versa, what type of exercise could help you sleep better, and much more to let you understand the connection between sleep and fitness.

 

Does exercise help you sleep better?

Does exercise help you sleep better

Yes, exercise can help you get deep sleep! But, how? When you exercise, your body takes a lot of changes by increasing the adrenaline levels, widely opening the capillaries, speeding up breathing, releasing endorphins, and much more.

These changes help your brain wind down and relax to get better sleep. Even these changes may alleviate your daytime sleepiness and stop you from taking sleep medications. Exercise may make you fall asleep earlier, and you may not wake up at midnight.

As you know, regular exercise keeps you fit. And now you know that exercising can help you get sound sleep. But did you know that it can alleviate anxiety, stress, and tiredness in you? Exercise distracts you from overthinking, decreasing psychological issues, giving you a relaxing sleep. So, stay fit and sleep well!

 

Does good sleep help you work out for a longer time?

Does good sleep help you work out for a longer time

Same as exercise benefiting sleep, sleep benefits exercising. How? A good night’s sleep increases the glucose metabolism in the brain and helps in the growth and development of the body. Along with it, better sleep enables you to maintain a healthy weight, lowers health problems, improves cognitive skills, and keeps you energized all day long, increasing metabolism.

And you must be aware of the fact that you should stay healthy, energized, awake, and focused to gain benefits from workouts. Right? So, for which you need a night of proper sleep. It will help you stay fit, increase workout duration, and improve mood and vigor.

You must sleep at least seven hours to stay fit. If you are a bodybuilder or an athlete, your body will require a sleep of around nine hours. The required amount of sleep will keep you fit by improving your mental health and hormonal balance.

 

What will happen if you do not sleep? 

What will happen if you do not sleep 

Either do both exercise and sleep to stay fit or do not do any of them. Your muscles won’t be able to recover from the tiredness during workouts if you do not sleep. And you may not be able to work out for longer as you will feel fatigued, and exercise will seem tougher for you, which may ruin your fitness level.

You will face problems because of lack of sleep like daytime sleepiness, impaired memory, lack of alertness, and more. For some, lack of sleep may result in chronic health conditions like sleep deprivation, diabetes, obesity, depression, heart diseases, impairment in immunity, and many more.

Therefore sleep well to avoid gaining an unfit body that leads to various health issues. Sleep well and exercise regularly, and eat healthy to stay fit!

 

When should you exercise to get better sleep?

When should you exercise to get better sleep

The time of your workout is crucial for enough sleep. Therefore, try to schedule exercise periods in the early mornings rather than in the afternoon or evening. Why? Because morning work out gives stress and fatigue to your body at the end of the day to get you better sleep. It also gives time to your body to rest and relax for another day’s workout.

Early morning exercises may help reduce the problems of stress and depression, which are common reasons behind lack of sleep in many people. Also, it will increase your metabolism, helping you work out for a longer duration to build muscles more efficiently.

 

What are the health benefits fitness and good sleep can provide you?

What are the health benefits fitness and good sleep can provide you

As said before, sleep well to stay fit. But, to dive deeper into the connection between sleep and fitness, you must know about the various health benefits that sleep and fitness provide you.

1. Weight management

Sleeping enough and staying fit is good to include in your weight loss plan. If you are on a diet and sleep less, your body will encourage you to overeat.

 

2. Less health-related risks

Even a little exercise will help you sleep well and keep you fit by reducing the chances of health-related problems.

 

3. Longevity

As said in the above point, better sleep and a little physical activity can lessen health-related risks. Therefore, it may help increase your lifespan.

 

4. Flexibility

Regular bodily movements through exercise will increase flexibility in your body and help you stay fit.

 

5. Increased muscle mass

During workouts, your body creates small muscle tears, and these tears are repaired when you sleep, increasing the muscle mass making your muscles stronger.

 

6. Boosted immunity

Exercise boosts your immune system by increasing blood flow and flushing out toxins. Also, exercise reduces stress hormones and strengthens antibodies. And when you sleep, your body produces cytokines and T-cells, improving the immune system’s functioning.

 

7. Controlled stress level

As said before, during exercise, your body releases endorphins, which help elevate your mood, and while sleeping, your body restores and calms down, reducing stress levels.

 

8. Healthy heart

Regular exercise and enough sleep keep your heart healthy as both of them lower blood pressure. And when you sleep, your heart works slow, putting less pressure. Therefore, sleep well to prevent heart diseases.

 

Types of exercises better for sleep

Types of exercises better for sleep

If you are not an exercise person, 30 minutes of moderate exercise is enough for a good night’s sleep to maintain fitness. Also, light exercises can do the work. So, let us see the basic exercises you can perform in the morning to get a tight sleep at night!

1. Stretching

Simpler exercises could also help you get the required sleep. So, go for exercises to stretch your body like legs up the wall, low lunge, neck stretches, bear hug, etc. And try to stretch all the body parts. It is the best option for exercising for every age group.

 

2. Yoga 

Yogas like Uttanasana, Viparita Karani, Savasana, Halasana, Shishuasana, Supta Baddha Konasana are great for better sleep and overall fitness.

 

3. Meditation

Meditation is a relaxation technique that helps you keep fit by calming your body and providing enough sleep. You can meditate before sleep and at any age.

 

4. Aerobic exercises

Aerobic exercises like running, swimming, walking, rowing are good for better sleep and keep you fit and healthy.

 

5. Resistance exercises

Resistance exercise like weight lifting provides you with strength and keeps you fit. Also, these strength training exercises help sleep well because of the release of adenosine which creates a feeling of drowsiness, putting you into sleep.

 

FAQs

1. Is exercising before sleep not good for health?

As you know, when you exercise, your body releases endorphins, which may keep you awake. Therefore, if you can not schedule exercising to any other time of the day, exercise before 1 or 2 hours to sleep at night.

 

2. What is the diet to follow to maintain proper fitness and sleep?

Eat raw fruits and vegetables to maintain healthy well-being and stay active to exercise longer and sleep well. Mainly include nuts like almonds and walnuts in your diet. And also, kiwi, cherry, bananas, oatmeal, dairy products, turkey, fatty fish, and many more nutrient-rich foods are good to include in your diet.

 

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Conclusion

Sleep and fitness have a strong connection, as quality sleep keeps you fit and healthy. So, to stay fit, you need regular exercise, a healthy diet, and at least 7 to 8 hours of sleep.

Exercising in the morning will make you drowsy and stressed to sleep well at night. And a good night’s sleep will boost up energy and immunity in you to work out harder the next day. Both together will reduce the risks of various diseases and will increase your lifespan by keeping you fit for longer.

We hope you found the article helpful. Share your experience of reading the article in the comment section below.

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