Sleep Is a Key Element of Peak Fitness

If you want to be at your peak mental and physical condition, you need lots of sleep.

This may sound obvious, but the idea really hit home for me during a recent weeklong trip to San Diego, where I had gone to teach a daily fitness class. I was surprised by how little energy I had and how much effort it took for me to get through each of those classes.

What was different about this week and my usual daily workouts? I didn’t have jet lag or the usual travel stresses. I wasn’t overdoing my workouts. And I was eating the same healthy food I usually eat.

Although I was motivated and excited to teach, I somehow felt weaker. I realized that the only change from my regular routine was that I was going to parties that kept me up later than usual. And I was getting up an hour earlier than normal. Could it be that my regular workout was tougher because I was getting a few hours less sleep each night? Apparently so.

When life gets busy, most of us think the easiest way to squeeze more into each day is to snooze less. Yet many experts say that we’ve got it all wrong. “The importance of obtaining proper rest in conjunction with your exercise program cannot be overemphasized,” sports medicine consultant James Peterson wrote in an article last year in the American College of Sports Medicine Health & Fitness Journal. “An inadequate amount of rest can prevent you from achieving the maximum benefits from your exercise regimen.”

Studies show that sleep deprivation impairs our coordination, reflexes, memory, productivity and concentration. It also makes us depressed, less alert and can weaken our immune system.

It makes sense, then, that skimping on sleep may also make our workouts harder to get through and less enjoyable.

Further, we may be more prone to injury when we don’t concentrate on our movements or when we push ourselves beyond our limits. Experts also say that the growth hormone released during the deepest stage of sleep is important for repairing tissue, cells and the general wear and tear that our bodies endure daily.

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Here are some tips, culled from sleep experts and the National Sleep Foundation, for getting a better night’s rest.

1. Exercise. Research shows that people who exercise, especially in the afternoon and early evening, generally fall asleep faster and sleep more deeply than those who don’t exercise.

2. Avoid stimulants. Caffeine and nicotine can linger in your system for hours and make it harder to fall asleep. Also, don’t drink alcohol less than two hours before bed because it can disturb and fragment your slumber.

3. Regulate your sleep. Going to bed and waking up at the same time daily, even on weekends, trains your body to know when to be drowsy and when to get up. Try not to deviate from this schedule for more than two nights in a row.

4. Create a pre-bedtime ritual: take a bath, do some stretches, listen to relaxing music, drink some herbal tea. This will also signal your body and mind that it’s time to turn in. Don’t watch television, especially the evening news or violent programs, because anything psychologically arousing can affect your sleep.

5. Get light. In the morning, take a walk around the block and eat your breakfast by a window because the light absorbed through your eyes resets your body’s internal clock and tells you it’s morning.

6. Don’t use your bed for anything but sleep and sex. If you do, you’ll associate it with wakeful activities. Also, make sure the room is dark, cool (about 65 degrees Fahrenheit) and quiet.

7. Worry less. Thinking about life’s stresses will make it more difficult for you to fall asleep. Try to set aside a half-hour or so earlier in the evening for “worry time.” Then, write down all the things you’re anxious about, and think about how to deal with them. Getting it all out will help you release these thoughts and feelings.

8. Take a nap. People think this is being lazy, but a 15- to 20-minute nap can energize you for another four hours and help make your post-nap workout more effective. Avoid naps of more than 30 minutes because they may leave you feeling groggy rather than energized.

So don’t overlook the power of your pillow. Turn off the TV, hit the lights and snuggle up. It’ll help your body restore itself for tomorrow’s demands, and it may quickly become a favorite part of your fitness regime.

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New York-based freelance writer Michele Bender contributed to this column.

* Karen Voight is a Los Angeles-based fitness expert whose column runs the first and third Mondays of each month. Her latest videos are “Ease Into Fitness” and “Yoga-Sculpt.” She can be reached by e-mail at kvoightla@aol.com.