How Many Zzz’s Are Enough?
Happy Labor Day to those of you reading in the U.S.! Hopefully you’re out of the office today, enjoying the last of the summer sun, and squeezing in a little extra rest before the craziness of the school year officially kicks into gear. Speaking of rest, as the summer wraps up and we all get back to our normal work schedules, sleep may be one of the things we begin to sacrifice in order to keep up with our busy lives. It may seem like a necessary solution, but how is that lack of sleep really affecting us? Let’s get into it!
A sleepy Koala Bear
The National Sleep Foundation recommends that adults sleep 7 to 9 hours every night. To many of us with hefty workloads on our plates, that may seem like an impossibility. When you notice that you’re starting to sacrifice sleep for other priorities, take a look at this post as a necessary reminder of just why those 7 to 9 hours really are important…
Did you know?
Insufficient sleep puts you at risk for:
Obesity
Onset diabetes
Heart Disease
Depression
Stroke
High blood pressure
Not to mention making poor decisions, not thinking properly, and impaired driving!
If one of your current goals is to lose weight, there’s bad news on that front as well. Sleeping less than 6 hours per night could result in higher belly fat levels because of the boost in the hormones cortisol and epinephrine. It also causes an imbalance in the hormones ghrelin and leptin which tell us when we are hungry vs when we’ve had enough, leading to overeating.
An exhausted man lays head on desk
What if you just can’t sleep?
Exercise can help! Increasing activity levels to 150 minutes per week at a moderate intensity can decrease symptoms of insomnia. Resistance training in particular is shown to improve sleep, and as an added bonus: sleep apnea is also shown to improve with increased physical activity!
Your challenge for this week:
If you’re not currently getting the recommended amount of sleep, try increasing your sleep time by one hour per night this week. It will be like adding an entire extra night’s worth of sleep in just one week!
Hi, I'm Cassandra! I'm a Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, and Pre/Postnatal Fitness Specialist based in New York City where I've also been performing in theatre and film since 2015. I began studying with the National Academy of Sports Medicine so that I could help battle the harmful effects of diet culture and body shaming I was seeing online by spreading evidence-based information that will help you lead a more balanced, healthy, and mobile life!