Training Day Gym Educational Article - Improve your sleep

IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP

You’ve likely been told that a good night’s rest equals eight hours of sleep. But research shows it’s not the number of hours you sleep that matters the most – it’s the quality of the hours you are getting.

If you want to be stronger, happier, and more productive, focus on improving your sleep. Good sleep is a pillar of high performance.

High-quality, restorative sleep carries a number of benefits, including:

  • Improves brain function

  • Aids in muscle recovery

  • Boosts longevity

  • Balances your hormones

  • Protects your heart

  • Fights fat


Below are some simple hacks/tips to improve your quality of sleep:

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM JUNK LIGHT
If you try just one sleep hack, make it this one. Junk light — the blue light that emits from your smartphone, laptop, and tablet screens — is wrecking your sleep. Too much blue light messes with your brain’s production of melatonin — the hormone that tells your body when it’s time to snooze.

HOW YOU SLEEP MATTERS
You probably don’t lose any sleep thinking about the best sleeping position. But how you sleep can have a surprisingly big impact on your performance. Learn more about the pros and cons of the back, side, and stomach sleeping, and how best to optimize your favoured sleep position.

FILL YOUR PLATE WITH THE RIGHT FATS
Your brain is the fattiest organ in the body. High-quality fats like grass-fed butter and wild-caught fish nourish your brain so it can do its job — repair itself while you sleep.

CONSIDER THESE SUPPLEMENTS

  1. Vitamin D: Low levels of vitamin D are linked with poor quality sleep. There’s a strong chance you’re deficient in it — more than half the world’s population isn’t getting enough of this vital nutrient. (Take in the morning)

  2. Magnesium: Supplementing with magnesium can help you nod off and sleep more deeply. It does this by lowering stress and regulating melatonin. (Take Before bed)

  3. Krill Oil: Oily fish like sardines, krill, and salmon are full of brain-boosting omega-3 fatty acids, which research shows improve sleep and help you fall asleep faster.

  4. 5-HTP: is a precursor to serotonin and melatonin, the neurohormones that make you happy and sleep, respectively. 5-HTP is converted from the amino acid tryptophan, then converted into those helpful neurotransmitters.

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