The Importance of Sleep
Sleep is a vital part of every day life for humans to be able to function. Not only does sleep impact on our body’s ability to recover and repair, there is also a positive effect on mental and physical health and, perhaps more importantly on prevention of disease.
Top ten reasons why we should incorporate sleep as part of our exercise routine:
Sleep is crucial for recovery from the daily stresses of life and work
Quality sleep plays a critical role in enabling the body to respond to the training stimulus and make physiological adaptations
It supports restorative functions like muscle growth, tissue repair, protein synthesis and growth hormone release which occur mostly during sleep
Inadequate sleep has negative effects on cognitive function, mood and motivation
People with poor and short sleep duration tend to weigh significantly more than those who get adequate sleep
Poor sleep can affect training and competition directly, through fatigue
Or indirectly, through increased performance anxiety
Sleep disturbances can increase the risk for sickness and exercise-induced injuries
Risk of increased inflammation due to a surge in your body’s production of inflammatory cytokines, alongside a reduction in inflammation-fighting proteins
And research shows that sleeping 7-8 hours a night of good quality sleep will help you live longer!