One of the unforgotten elements of a compelling fat loss journey is sleep. People go on and on about calories, training 6x per week and taking the best fat loss supplements, but when you tell them to go to bed 30-60 mins earlier, they suddenly don’t understand what language you are speaking
Poor sleep leads to
- Increased cortisol leading to increased insulin sensitivity and fat storage
- Lowers testosterone and growth hormone levels, making it harder to recover from sessions
- Lowered energy and motivation levels leading to a lack of productivity
- Poor performance in your training sessions
It is difficult for the body to get rid of its fat storage if your sleep is something you have compromised. Even if your nutrition is on point and you are training hard in the gym, it may not be enough.
This is why you need to prioritize your sleep. However, its not just the quantity of sleep, but the quality of sleep
You can try these 3 ways to improve it
1. Turn off gadgets 30-60 mins before bed
It is essential that we minimize electromagnetic field exposure around your bedtime. You’ll be surprised at your sleep quality once you stop using phones or laptops 60 mins prior to bedtime. Keeping it on airplane mode throughout the night and away from your bed will also help the prospect of sleeping through the night without any disturbance
2. Establish a circadian rhythm
Sleeping between 10 pm to 6 am are magical hours for your body to go through repair. Our body goes through physical repairing from 10 – 2 am and psychogenic repairing from 2 – 6 am. This circadian rhythm can only be established if you go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Also, repeated exposure to sunlight and greenery can create a strong ability for your body to maintain the rhythm.
3. Supplement with magnesium and carbs.
Magnesium is one of those magical supplements that help us lower our stress levels, create a sense of calm in our body and knock us out to sleep. Especially for someone who has a highly stressful lifestyle or a woman who is nearing her period cycle, it is important they supplement with more magnesium to help calm their body down. Carbs tends to bring a similar feeling if you have a balanced meal of carbs + protein + veggies for dinner. The spike in insulin from the carbs will help put you to sleep. This is why you feel sleepy and lethargic after your lunch when you go out to eat with your colleagues, only to return to the desk feeling like you need 3 cups of coffee to get you through the day
Try out these 3 tips to improve the quality of sleep. Once you fix your sleep, you will feel the difference in your energy levels, your mental focus and your ability to lose fat/weight.