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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

3 to 6 Hours of Sleep A Night? Psh Your Muscles Will Never Grow


There are two huge factors that take precedence on how well your muscles recover. One that we all know and hear constantly is of course your nutrition. What you eat and when you eat it. But time and time again we overlook the second crucial part of the formula; the amount of sleep you get.

Man sleeping on the job | The Fittest Blogger
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Listen up, I am about to jump on my internet soapbox and tell you something that you might already know. 

But for those who do not know nor care about their sleep. Here is a secret (not really a secret). You need sleep to properly repair and rejuvenate the mind and the body.


And I am not talking about 3-6 hours of light sleep. I’m talking about deep and REM sleep. 8-10 hours every night. Nothing more, nothing less!



What is Deep and REM sleep 

In deep sleep, the body repairs itself and builds up energy for the day ahead. It plays a major role in stimulating growth and development.

Rem sleep or Rapid Eye movement occurs about 70-90 minutes after you have fallen asleep. This is where crazy dreams birth from. Your eyeballs move rapidly. While your heart rate and blood pressure increase. 


REM plays a key role in memory, renewing the mind and replenishing a supply of neurotransmitters including feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine to boost your mood.

A good night’s rest will allow your body to conduct protein metabolism at a much faster rate than when awake creating hypertrophy (Muscle growth). 



Sufficient sleep reduces stress and the oh-so infamous cortisol 

What is Cortisol? Cortisol, AKA the “Stress Fat”, is a hormone that counteracts testosterone breaking down muscle tissue and inhibiting muscle growth. And essentially the main cause for the most hated belly fat.


Sleep deprivation is directly linked to overeating and weight gain

There are two hormones in your body that regulate normal feelings of hunger and fullness.
Ghrelin which stimulates appetite.
Leptin which sends signals to the brain when you are full.
So when you your body does not get enough sleep, your Ghrelin levels spike up. Causing your appetite to increase and making you want to eat more food than normal. And your leptin levels go down, so you don’t feel satisfied prompting you to you keep eating. The more sleep you lose, the more food your body will desire.


You may be sleep deprived if

Feel lethargic in the afternoon
You need an alarm clock in order to wake up on time
Need to take a nap to get through the day 
Feel the need to sleep in every weekend
Find it hard  getting out of bed in the morning
Get sleepy in when sitting meetings, lectures, etc.
Get drowsy after heavy meals or when driving
Rely on the snooze button  to wake up
Fall asleep while watching TV 

The effects of sleep deprivation 

While to some, losing sleep isn't such a big deal. But sleep deprivation has a breadth of negative effects that go way beyond napping at your desk. Lack of sleep affects your judgment, reaction times, and cognitive thinking. The effects include:
Fatigue, lethargy, and lack of motivation
Concentration and memory problems
Weight gain!!!
Reduced creativity and problem-solving skills
Reduced immunity i.e. frequent colds and infections
Increased risk of diabetes, heart disease, and other cardiovascular problems
Impaired motor skills and increased risk of accidents happening
Moodiness and irritability
Difficulty making decisions
Stressed out and the inability to cope with stress
If you answered yes to more than two of the examples above, you are indeed sleep deprived. And you must take the right course of action to fixing your sleep pattern.

You need to reprogram your circadian clock and have your body falling asleep at a time of night that allows you to get that 8-10 hours.


So its sacrifice time. Sacrifice the Late Show with Jimmy Fallon, sacrifice your favorite shows that come on at 10 or 11, sacrifice some cash to get the DVR function on your TV, sacrifice video games, and sacrifice late nights out.


I hope you see the recurring trend; hint it's sacrifice in order to get the sleep you need to work for the body you want.


Are you sleep deprived? how have you handled your lack of sleep? Comment below and like and share this week's post. See you all next Wednesday.



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