To have the energy we need to start the day, we must get a good night’s sleep.

And yet, more than 30% of us—including working professionals and students—don’t get the seven hours of sleep per night that we really need in order to keep healthy. Big deal or not? Well, if you want to make the most of your exercises (and life in general), obtaining enough sleep is important. If you don’t get enough sleep, your exercises will suffer, as will any gains you make from the effort.

In contrast, those who exercise, especially those who exercise regularly, may require more sleep than those who do not.

It seems logical that the more intense the activity, the more sleep you need since sleep’s purpose is to replenish the body’s energy supply.

The hustling culture that has contributed to significant burnout in the workplace has also entered the fitness field.

Everyone will agree that exercising is healthy for you. The advantages are numerous and without doubt.

But exercising when you’re deprived of sleep and exhausted is useless.

How Does a Lack of Sleep Affect Your Health?

If you were up in the nighttime hours last night, odds are you’re feeling it today. “Sleep is important because being awake is important, and one or two nights of bad sleep can impair your ability to function well the next day.”

Too little sleep, even for just one night, can leave you dealing with several unpleasant cognitive effects, like:

1. Irritability.
2. Daytime drowsiness.
3. Slow response time
4. Reduced focus and concentration.
5. Memory Issues.
6. Symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Those effects do more than sour your mood (and make you reach for more coffee).

Additionally, getting too little sleep may make it harder for you to stay motivated to exercise. Lack of sleep makes it more likely that you’ll wake up feeling like you’ve been struck by a truck and that you’ll dread working out and despise every minute spent in the gym. This is bad for long-term dedication to a fitness regimen.

On the other hand, obtaining sufficient sleep can increase the chance that you’ll be motivated to exercise in the morning.

Your muscles can’t recover from the strain you put them under during exercise if you don’t get enough sleep. Continued muscle breakdown without adequate rest time will not help you build stronger muscles.

To make sure that the entire workout that you are doing actually benefits your body and your health, it is really important to get a good night sleep.

What is the ideal amount of sleep we should get?

Everyone’s goal should be to get at least seven to eight hours of sleep per night. If you’re planning a high-intensity workout

“Try to optimize that eight hours.”

Think of that time as a bank of energy, which you’ll spend on your workout.

What are the benefits of a proper sleep?

There are endless benefits of getting a proper sleep and naming all of them is almost impossible but you can check some of them in the chart given below:

What to do if you don’t have enough time for a workout after getting enough sleep?

This situation can vary from person to person but a decent general rule of thumb is to move gently and enjoyably.

For me, the cure for a restless night of sleep is a 30-minute stroll in the outdoors followed by a 30-minute stretching routine. It makes you feel refreshed and also helps you to feel accomplished and proud for doing what your body was telling you.

You can also do things like going for a bike ride, dancing around in your living room to your favorite song, learning some new skills or workouts like doing a headstand or if you spend too much time on T.V. and social media, you can dedicate that time to your workout or you can binge watch your favorite show while doing a workout.

Do anything that makes your body feels refreshed.

This is about hitting the reset button for yourself, not doing some form of exercise because you feel obligated to.

Honestly, the best thing to do is to just accept it. Sometimes you will have time for both sleep and exercise, and sometimes you won’t — that’s the reality of modern society. Accept life’s phases and prioritize sleep.

Does Getting Enough Sleep Help Me Stay Fit?

The conclusion is, YES!

The better rested you are, the better your mind and body function — and that includes at the gym. Adequate sleep has been shown to help motivate people to stick to their exercise plans and work out the next day.

The more sleep time individuals in the study got, the more likely they were to complete their exercise regimen.

“Getting enough sleep can not only give you more drive and strength to maximize your workout, but its effects on concentration, mood, and focus can make you more efficient and better prepared for that workout.

When it comes to fitness, everything counts, even if all you can do today is park your car at the back of the lot so you walk further.

Instead of the pervasive, “all or nothing” mindset, try adopting something different: “always something.”

You might find yourself surprised at how easily exercise comes to you with this mindset, and your body will thank you for prioritizing sleep.

REMEMBER,

As Benjamin Franklin Once Said, “Early to bed and early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise”.