Eat & Move Series | May 2016 Goal

Time for a good night's sleep!

Following my dietary enlightenment I'm both apprehensive and interested to embark on this month's goal of Sleep.  I already know I don't get enough sleep, but how much of not enough is probably going to be scary to find out.

Sleep is very important for many reasons, I don't have to tell you I'm sure.  And who among us doesn't like to sleep in on weekends?  But that's about the only time I maybe get the amount of sleep I should be per night - when you total the entire weekend, right?!

On this particular journey of mine, sleep is necessary for some not so known reasons.  Let me share those with you.

"Sleep is the primary time where the body works to repair all the damage that has take place in the body." "Your muscles don't grow in the gym, they grow only when you are resting in the hours and days following a workout. So you need to make sure you give your body plenty of good, high-quality sleep to maximize recovery and repair."

Lacking in sleep will have a negative impact on muscle growth and ability to put your best effort forth in workouts and at the gym

• Your mental focus will decrease
  hard to focus on completing some tasks
  lack of focus and mental strength to push through a workout 
• Physical performance will decrease
  tired due to sleeping habits resulting in being weaker and won't be able to summon as much energy during your workouts
• Muscle repair and recovery will slow down
  muscles grow whilst you are resting and sleeping
• Important muscle building hormones will be negatively affected
  hormones play a major part in your body's ability to build muscle and burn fat

For these reasons, apart from all other important ones for general health I have included sleep as a mini goal in this series.  

The quantity of sleep requires differs by individual, of course, and is determined by a few factors including gender, age, activity level etc.  The known average requirement is listed as 7-8hrs.  However up to 9-10hrs may be required if you're really killing it and pumping that iron!  I don't yet know how much sleep I require, so my mini goal is set at the average.  It will be interesting to learn exactly how much my personal recommendation is, and then to have my average sleep per night revealed. Hopefully it's not too far off from what is needed and I can quickly work my way up to it.

Sources 

BodyBuilding.com

Building Muscle & Weight Gain Guide 

~ Josie Jo ~

How much sleep do you currently get?  Is it enough???