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Experts suggest we should get 8 hours sleep per night. That is 1/3 of our day (24 hours) sleeping. So, if you live to be 75 years old you will have slept 25 of those years.
That sounds awful, spending 25 years in bed missing out on doing cool stuff. However, the truth is if you don’t take those 25 years to rest and recover you will never live to 75 anyway. Study after study has linked sleep deprivation with ill health, chronic disease, obesity, anxiety, depression, diabetes, inflammation, muscle atrophy (loss) and early death. Hence the saying “dead tired”.
In this article, we are going to look at the impact poor sleep has on the way we feel and the way we look. You will discover how you can improve the length and quality of your sleep to improve your physique, health and mental wellbeing.
What is the optimal length of sleep?
This topic has been debated for decades and still there is no conclusive answer. It seems that while quantity is important, quality is even more important. With the myriad of sleep monitoring devices being worn around the planet today there has never been more data to draw from. So, what is this data telling us?
Its telling us that the optimal length of sleep is between 6–8 hours for adults. Longer for teenagers, children and babies. In fact, participants in one study that got less than 6 hours sleep had a 246% greater gain in visceral fat (dangerous internal fat) than those who got 6-8 hours. However, subjects who slept over 8 hours also had a 169% greater gain in visceral fat.
Why is a lack of sleep making us fat?
There are many reasons but let’s look at the main culprits below…
How does a lack of sleep limit our muscle gain?
Between 40-60% of your muscle recovery and growth occurs while you are sleeping. In fact, almost all wild animals eat and then sleep. They do this to rest and digest, allowing the nutrients to help their body recover. L-leucine is a key amino acid involved in signalling muscle repair (mTOR pathway). Glycine is a key amino acid involved in reducing muscle breakdown by turning off Atrogin-1. According to Japanese researchers, Glycine not only reduces muscle breakdown but also promotes a restful sleep and reduces tiredness the next day.
How can we improve our sleep?
There are many ways to improve sleep but let’s cover a couple of easy ones below…
These are some simple tips you can follow and products you can use to improve the quality of your sleep and therefore the quality of your physique.
Disclaimer: The above article is merely a guide and is in no way a recommendation or a treatment protocol for any health conditions or diseases. You should always consult with a qualified health care provider before changing your supplement, training or nutritional strategy. Supplementation should not be attempted by pregnant or breastfeeding women, anyone on prescription medication or children under the age of 15 unless advised by your qualified health care provider.
Switch Nutrition™ Disclaimer: The above article is merely a guide and opinion. It is in no way a recommendation or a treatment protocol for any health conditions or diseases. You should always consult with a qualified health care provider before changing your supplement, training or nutritional strategy. Supplementation should only be attempted by pregnant or breastfeeding women, anyone on prescription medication or children under the age of 15 when advised and monitored by your qualified health care provider.
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