Do you get enough of this?

Training hard is extremely important if you want to experience incredible gains. But if your recovery doesn’t match the efforts of your training you won’t see the gains you should.  I’ve already written an article outlining different ways to help you recover from your training, you can read it here.

Today’s post is going to focus on the # 1 way to best recover from rigorous training…

…..SLEEP!

Sleep is by far the best way to allow your tissues to rebuild and give you the strength and energy you need to continue to train as hard as you do.

To learn more about the importance of sleep and what it can do for your training and the longevity of your career make sure to read “Rest is a Weapon”.

Below I’m going to share some strategies to help you fall asleep faster at night, and hopefully keep you asleep longer.

I’m sure at some point you’ve heard that our bodies work on a schedule (known as the circadian rhythm). The closer we can fall asleep each night and wake up at the same time each morning (as much as possible) the more efficient our circadian rhythm becomes and this will promote a higher quality of sleep each night.

You’ll want to avoid any and all electronics in bed like your tv, laptop, cell phone, tablet, and gaming system. The light these electronics emit causes a reduction in melatonin (sleepy-time hormone). This reduction will make it hard to fall asleep, and once you are asleep your quality of sleep goes way down. Another reason to avoid electronics in bed as well any other activities other than sleeping (do your Netflix binging in the living room) is so that you make the mental association that your bed is only for sleeping.

A few other things you might want to avoid before going to bed are caffeinated beverages, such as pop, coffee, black tea, chocolate, etc. Caffeine has a half-life of 6 hours, so your afternoon coffee could still be in your system come bedtime. Try and avoid alcohol before bed. Yes you might feel like that glass of wine or that beer helps you sleep better at night but your body actually doesn’t get the same restful sleep. (If you’re currently under the legal drinking age then you won’t have to worry)

If you constantly find yourself having trouble falling asleep at night you need to ask yourself, what are the distractions that are keeping me from falling asleep and getting a good quality sleep?

Go through this sample checklist:

• Is it too light in my room?
• Is there too much noise?
• Did I watch TV right before bed?
• Was I on my computer/phone/tablet while lying in bed?
• Is my room temperature is too warm or too cold?

If you answered yes to any of those then it’s time to make some adjustments. Put your phone away and out of your room. Yes, I know you use it for your alarm clock, but stop it. It’s the worst thing for you. As you’re trying to fall asleep you’ll continue to look at it and get distracted by someone’s message or a stupid game notification. Go down to the dollar store and buy yourself a cheap alarm clock. It’ll do the job waking you up! Get the TV out of your room.

Remember, your room is only for sleeping, not gaming, not binge watching Netflix in your bed, nothing, but sleep!

Try and keep your room nice and dark and the temperature between 17-20 degrees Celsius. This will help cool your core temperature slightly (ever so slightly) thus promoting a deeper sleep. Reducing the noise in your room will help you fall asleep faster and keep you asleep longer. If you can’t make your room quieter for whatever reason (maybe you live near the highway or a busy city center) then invest in some 50 cent ear plugs.

If you need to calm yourself down and wind down before bed, try performing some breathing exercises. This will help bring down the excitement of the central nervous system (CNS). While lying in bed with your eyes closed, inhale for 7 seconds, hold this breath for 4 seconds, and then exhale on an 8-second count. Repeat this a few times and it should help you relax and fall asleep.

Establishing a sleep routine will help train the mind and body to prepare for sleep and you’ll start to notice you’ll automatically want to go to bed at the same time each night. Keep your routine consistent and simple and you’ll start to get better sleeps each night.