5 Tips To Improve Your Sleep So You Wake Up Feeling Refreshed!
When we think about how best to optimize performance and recovery, we may consider exercise, weight lifting, massage, or ice packs just to name a few. One component that may be overlooked is sleep and the significant role it plays in our health and recovery.
Issues with sleep are more common than ever. In fact, studies have shown that half of the population is struggling with some type or sleep issue. Think about how many people look forward to that first cup of coffee in the morning in order to wake up and take on the day! That may be a sign that your sleep needs some work. Ideally, you should be waking up feeling refreshed, rather than relying on caffeine.
From a health perspective, the benefits of quality sleep are particularly important. One study compared two groups of people; one group slept for 5.5 hours per night, and the other slept 8.5 hours per night. The group that slept for 8.5 hours lost 55% more fat and gained 60% more muscle than the other group!
Studies also show that sleep has a huge correlation to injury risk. It’s been shown that as your sleep increases, your risk for injury decreases.
6 hrs of sleep = 75% risk of injury
7 hrs of sleep = 60% risk of injury
8 hrs of sleep = 35% risk of injury
9 hrs of sleep =18% risk of injury
Along with these benefits of body composition and injury risk, there are a host of other important benefits for your general health. So, what can you do to improve your sleep if it is a struggle for you? Here are some tips to get started.
- Follow a similar sleep schedule every day. That means waking up at the same time on the weekends as the weekdays. This will allow you to get into a rhythm with your sleeping and your body will naturally be more ready to fall asleep at night.
- Stop watching TV and working from bed. Limit your time with other activities like watching TV or using the computer in bed. This will help your mind to associate your bedroom with sleep, rather than that deadline that you have to meet for work tomorrow! Those thoughts often keep us up at night and limit our time and quality of rest.
- Keep your phone out of the bedroom. All of that surfing we do at night on Facebook may increase our stress and limit our ability to get a restful night’s sleep. It is also a source of blue-light, which can throw off our body’s circadian rhythm, or sleep cycle, and cause us to stay up later than we would like. If you use it for an alarm, try to keep it more than an arm’s length away at night, or invest in a stand-alone alarm clock.
- Exercise Try to get moving throughout the day so that you feel the need to sleep and recover late at night. Going for a walk, jog, or doing some resistance training such as lifting weights are all great ideas to mix some exercise into your daily routine.
- Find a comfortable sleeping position. If aches or pains are getting in the way of your sleep, modify how you are positioning yourself at night. If low back pain is an issue, a simple fix such as a pillow under your legs or between your knees can go a long way. And for neck pain, try using a cervical pillow or a towel roll under your neck for added support.
These are some simple tips to help you get started on your way to improved performance and faster recovery. Give them a shot and hopefully they help you wake up feeling more refreshed.
If you have a specific question about this post or would like to speak with a sports physical therapist directly about an injury, comment below, message us here, or give us a call at (978) 263-0007. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have about whether you should go to the doctor, see a PT in the office, or maybe do a video treatment (aka telehealth) so that you can get headed in the right direction.
References:
- Nedeltcheva AV, Kilkus JM, Imperial J, Schoeller DA, Penev PD. Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153(7):435‐441. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-153-7-201010050-00006
- Milewski MD, Skaggs DL, Bishop GA, et al. Chronic lack of sleep is associated with increased sports injuries in adolescent athletes. J Pediatr Orthop. 2014;34(2):129‐133. doi:10.1097/BPO.0000000000000151
If you have any questions about this post or would like to speak with a physical therapist about an injury, give us a call at (978) 263-0007 or, use the contact form on our website. We would be happy to answer any questions and discuss possible next steps.
Achieve Physical Therapy is currently open in Acton, Bedford, and Sudbury MA. We can see you in the office or by video treatment. If you choose to come into the office, we are following all CDC guidelines including the use of face coverings, cleaning, personal hygiene, and staggering patient appointments to limit how many people are in the office.
