Being "Fit" consists of 3 components. Eating right, exercising and getting plenty of rest. Rest means sleep :) Something most of us don't get enough of and take the benefits for granted. Sleep is important to your overall health and plays a huge role in your fitness regiment.
Sleep allows the muscles to repair and rebuild. When you work out, the muscles are breaking down - this is not a bad thing but these muscles need rest to recover properly. While sleeping, your muscles get more blood and oxygen to help in the rebuilding process. Continuing to work out and not get the proper rest could result in injury.
Some recent studies have shown that lack of sleep can cause weight gain. GASP! Exactly. There are two hormones that are at the source of this study, ghrelin and leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that tells your body when to eat. When you are sleep deprived, you have more ghrelin. Leptin is the hormone that tells your body to stop eating. When you are sleep deprived, you have less Leptin. So....more ghrelin plus less leptin equals weight gain.This is bad because you are eating more and your metabolism is slower when you are sleep deprived. In turn, good sleeping habits (7.5 hours of quality sleep a night) can help you in your weight loss efforts. YAY!
Bottome line: If you want to get your body in fit and healthy shape, get in bed at a decent hour and get your Z's :)
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