Day 3 – Tips To Sleep and Recover Faster | 30 Fitness Challenge

Welcome back to day 3.

Today you’ll learn about the most important ritual of life — sleep.

Want to build muscle, lose weight or recover faster — you need a good sleep ritual. Research suggests that lack of sleep has negative effects on performance and recovery.

There is always an on-going debate on how long to sleep.

7 or 8 hours.

But does it matter to get 7, 8 or even 9 hours of sleep to recover faster?

It’s often said that you need long hours of sleep. But what’s the right answer. No one can say the perfect answer, but you can find one.

Start with at least 7 hours of good quality sleep. You will feel relaxed the next day, and it’s a sign that you got enough sleep.

At the beginning of the fitness routine, you will need more sleep. But within a few days, you will find 7 hours is enough.

Sleep is very important, so don’t compromise yours. In today’s time we feel 7 hours of sleep in an unproductive task. You might cut your sleep timing to get more from the day.

But compromising your sleep will do more damage to your

• recovery,
• health,
• mental performance,
• and productivity.

You might feel that you will get more done.

The truth is, you won’t be able to work at your full potential.

If you’re ready to get 7 hours of quality sleep, then the upcoming tips will prove helpful.

Quality over quantity.

Quality always matters as you can recover without the need to sleep for 8-9 hours. Let’s see what changes you can make to get the best in less time.

1. Avoid Digital Screen Before Bedtime

Digital screen of TV, Laptop or Mobile before bedtime can give you major sleep problem. The artificial lights from these devices triggers the body to produce more daytime hormones. These hormones disturb the body’s natural preparation for sleep.

The use of these devices has shown to suppress melatonin secretion. Melatonin’s main job is to regulate the sleep-wake cycle.

A bright light from the device decreases the melatonin production signalling body to stay awake.

It’s also found that long-term usage of devices can lead to chronic disruption of circadian rhythms. Circadian rhythms are a process that regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Such changes can lead to serious problem.

2. Cut Caffeine Intake After Evening (5-6 hour gap)

Caffeine is a powerful nervous system stimulant. When your nervous system is highly active, how can you relax and get quality sleep?

If you’re drinking any beverage that contains caffeine, try to limit it. Also, avoid it before the 5-6 hour gap. Limiting caffeine intake after 6 in the evening will be the best choice.

3. Set Room Cool and Dark

For a quick and deep sleep, you need to make small changes before sleep. 

A. Set your room dark — Low to no light will boost the release of melatonin. It will set you to go quickly in a deep and restful sleep.

B. Set Room cool — Trying to sleep in a hot room is a challenging task, and to get quality sleep is an impossible task.   Before sleep, there is an automatic drop in core body temperature to initiate sleep. In high temperatures, it’s challenging to get into the ideal state for restful sleep. Keep your room temperature cool and get into a deep and restful sleep quickly.

4. Limit Fluid Intake 

Don’t drink lots of water as you have to wake from a deep sleep to relieve.

5. Pre-Sleep Ritual 

You can have a pre-sleep relaxing ritual like…

1. You can go for a light walk
2. You can take bath
3. Or Try a few minute meditations
4. Maintain a journal
5. Read a paperback book
6. Go to Bed at the same time

And for the last tip…

Go to bed at the same time is often a recommendation to get enough sleep. There are many more reasons said but leave all those and try it by yourself. Try for a week. If you found helpful to get better sleep, then it’s a good change.

Sleeping is an essential ritual and can make life better. You will recover faster and have a better energy level the next day. Try to get quality sleep as you start with a fitness routine.

It’s important for a healthy lifestyle, better health, and well-being. Try for a few days and see the difference in your energy and productivity. Once you feel the difference, try to make it part of your lifestyle.

That’s all for today. Tomorrow you learn about hydration and its overall importance.

For today, you can continue with workout routine.

Workout Routine