It’s here. That glorious day when our Z’s become plentiful, our alarms stay silent, and our heads sink deeper into our pillows for an extra sixty.
We all know the feeling of a great sleep as well as a bad one. But there is a lot going on behind the scenes that we can actually control to help us wake up on the right side of the bed, especially when that extra hour becomes commonplace.
Most of our recovery and hormone regulation (especially the ones that make our bodies adapt to all the training we do) takes place during a complete sleep.
Here’s a quick low-down on what that looks like…
Source: www.nateliason.com
This is what’s actually happening during each stage:
Non Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) Stage 1: Relaxation, drifting sensation, easy wake
NREM Stage 2: Brain waves slow down
NREM Stage 3: Heart rate & blood pressure decline
NREM Stage 4: Deep sleep, body restoration occurs
Rapid Eye Movement (REM): Vital signs increase, muscles inhibited, most dreaming occurs
In stage 4 you secrete several hormones that aid in your recovery and homeostasis, which is the state of body equilibrium, meaning balance.
REM is also important since your brain has the opportunity to sort through the activity in your life and filter out the unnecessary information. If your brain doesn’t have the opportunity to do this, the chance of mood swings and depression increases greatly.
Here’s how we can help ourselves become better sleepers:
As you approach bed time, turn the lights down. Melatonin (a hormone that makes you drowsy) is secreted when your eyes sense darkness. Light will inhibit melatonin which could decrease the ability to fall into a deep sleep. This is especially true with backlit screens, so try to give yourself 45-60 screen-free minutes before bed. Reading is a great sub and is not as bad as it sounds.
Go easy on heavy meals before bed, especially ones high in fast carbohydrates (breads, sugars, etc…).
Although it may seem like alcohol helps you sleep, it actually suppresses the REM stage which aids in our mental stability.
Everyone needs a different amount of sleep, but by now you probably know what your ideal timing is. Make sure you get it. When we’ve had the correct amount of sleep, our bodies wake up naturally, which keeps us away from using an alarm, which could potentially interrupt our normal cycles.
Settle all issues that may be on your mind prior to going to bed. Work, relationship, school, and anxiety about tomorrow’s WOD can leave us anxious and prevent a good sleep. Too much of this can lead to insomnia, which is bad news! So maybe wait until morning before you check the workout 😉
ResourcesParker, S. The Human Body Book. DK Publishing, 2007.Marieb, E.N. & Hoehn, K. Human Anatomy & Physiology – Seventh Edition. Published as Pearson Benjamin Cummings, 2007.
