The relationship between your sleep and your physical health is complex but very connected. Your sleep has a lot to do with your ability to recover from an injury, from challenging physical exercise, and from general life stressors. Sleep lets your brain and body recover during the night. So, it’s important that you get enough sleep and high-quality sleep.
Some common issues that might impact your sleep are:
-physical pain
-stress, anxiety, and mental health disorders
-obstructive sleep apnea
-hormone changes such as during pregnancy or menopause
-children (lol)
Sleep deprivation caused by one or more of the above issues can lead to a variety of physical health issues. Check out this great graphic from The Sleep Foundation:
As shown above, sleep deprivation increases your risk of mental health disorders, diabetes, obesity, pain, immunodeficiency, cardiovascular disease, and hormone imbalances.
How much sleep do you need?
It’s typically recommended that adults get at least 7 hours of sleep each night to avoid fatigue, mood changes, irritability, anxiety, impaired thinking, decreased attention span, and more.
Here’s another great graphic from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine showing how much sleep you need at different ages.
What are some practical ways to improve your sleep?
1. Exercise consistently! Mornings are best but it’s fine to work out in the evenings as long as it’s not within ~2 hours of bedtime.
2. Try to go to bed and wake up at the same times every day.
3. Avoid blue lights at night. Limit your phone and computer for at least 30-60 minutes before sleeping is generally recommended.
4. Keep your bedroom dark, cool, and only for sleeping. Black out curtains and mattresses/mattress toppers that help regulate your temperature and keep you cool could be especially helpful. Try not to work in your bedroom.
5. Set a bedtime routine that limits your use of technology and helps you wind down. For example, this could be gentle stretching, showering, reading, and then sleeping.
6. Try to eat stop eating at least 2 hours before bedtime.
7. Consider limiting your alcohol intake. While it can feel like it helps you fall asleep initially, research shows that it really impacts the quality of your sleep and can make you wake up more times during the night. Alcohol makes you have more deep sleep (this is just a phase of our sleep cycle), but less REM sleep. Then later in the night when your body has metabolized the alcohol, it’s common to see an increase in N1 sleep (the lightest stage of sleep). All of this means a low-quality night's sleep. Read more here.
8. Think about when you drink caffeine. Best recommendations are typically to stop drinking all caffeine by 2-3pm. Some folks who are sensitive may need to stop earlier in the day.
I hope this helps you find an area of your life that could use some improvement so that you're able to sleep better and longer.
At Outshine Physical Therapy and Fitness in Asheville, NC, we believe in helping our patients heal with a comprehensive approach. In order to make a long-term improvement in how you feel and move, we must address the other "low hanging fruit" such as your sleep, nutrition, and hydration.
Click below to set up your free intake call so we can talk about how we can help you achieve your goals.
Sincerely,
Dr. Sieara Hinshaw
Book your FREE consult call here!
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