If it just so happens that you’re somebody who manages to function on a daily basis with very little sleep then I have two things to say to you. One, please share your secret – if I don’t get my sleep I am a force to be reckoned with. Two, please read this blog, we’re going to give a whole new meaning to the term “beauty sleep”!
Our sleep is regulated through two body systems; the sleep/wake homeostasis and the circadian biological clock (aka circadian rhythm).
Well our Sleep:wake homeostasis is what allows us to maintain sleep through the night to make up for the hours we are awake. It also tells us that it’s time to sleep when we’ve been up for long hours. If this system existed on it’s own, we would be most energetic in the morning, and we would feel more like sleeping the longer we were awake.
The circadian rhythm is what gives us our dips and rises in energy throughout the day. It can also cause us to feel more alert at certain times in the day, even if we’ve been awake for hours. Think of it as our internal clock – it provides strong signals for sleep or waking throughout the day. This mechanism is controlled by a part of the brain that responds to light and dark signals (Suprachiasmatic Nucleus). Light signals the internal clock that it’s time to be awake, to raise body temperature, and to produce energy hormones like cortisol. Light also causes a delay in the release hormones like melatonin, which tell us it’s time to go to sleep.
Ever wondering what tips to make you wake up in the morning?
It’s our energy hormones (especially cortisol). They’re meant to peak right before we wake up, allowing us enough energy to open our eyes, get out of bed and start our day.
How about what makes you fall asleep at night?
Well, at the end of the day, darkness stimulates the release of melatonin and makes us fall asleep. If your body’s circadian rhythm is working properly, the pineal gland (a small gland in your head) starts to secrete melatonin mid evening – peaking between 2 and 4 AM. Many important processes take place during our sleep including:
- Secretion of growth hormone for bone and muscle growth. This hormone also play a role in metabolism, burning fat, and strengthening bones. This is why we always tell our training clients that if you don’t rest and allow your internal environment to recover you likely won’t see the results you’re looking for.
- Tissue growth and repair
- Energy restoration
- Regulation of hunger hormones. Sleep deprivation causes the need to eat more through the day
- Consolidation of memories. The information we’ve taken in during the day is moved from short-term memory to long- term memory while we sleep
- A study in 2013 found that during sleep cerebral spinal fluid is circulated around the brain and removes all of the waste chemicals produced during everyday cell activity
If your coffees once helped to wake you up and no longer do, or if your melatonin once helped you sleep and doesn’t anymore, your circadian rhythm may be “flipped” (aka ‘reverse’ circadian rhythm, common with shift workers). Our fast paced lifestyles leave us little time for rest, and each hour of our day is typically accounted for by work, family, school, or social commitments. These time demands can often cause us to ignore our body’s sleep signals. The body will fight this process for as long as it can, but over time there will be a shift in our internal clocks. If our rest and recovery hormones don’t come into play when they’re supposed to, our sleep quality is impacted (not to mention our ‘wake’ quality). Many of us may feel drowsy through the day and have a spike of energy in the evening when our recovery hormones are meant to be released.
Although they are important for many many reasons, our circadian rhythms are imperative to our fitness/training goals. You can do everything right but if your body doesn’t get the chance to recover then all of your hard work could be for nothing…
If this sounds like you, there are some things you can do to improve your circadian rhythm and sleep:
- When we sleep our blood temperature drops. If you can lower the temperature in your house at night it will help your internal cooling process and encourage sleep
- Don’t have any stimulants late in the afternoon or before bed. This is an obvious one but there’s a lot of after dinner coffee drinkers out there! Caffeine causes a spike in cortisol will delay the release of our rest and recovery hormones
- Turn off your all electronics 30-45 minutes before you want to fall asleep. EMF (electro-magnetic frequencies are stimulatory, not good for your sleep! Plus your body interprets the blue light that comes off of your screens the same way it sees a bright sunny day. It’s energizing, not good… besides, those emails will still be there in the morning ;)
- Allow as little light as possible into your room at night, consider ‘black out blinds’ and covering up any light coming from things like alarm clocks
- Practice explosive mornings. Get out of bed as soon as your alarm wakes goes off and open your blinds to let the light into your room. If you drink coffee, this is the time
- Research shows that cortisol starts to spike after about 60 minutes of physical activity due to the decrease in glycogen(sugar) levels. Try to keep your workouts between 45-55 minutes and remember that aerobic exercise(such as jogging) causes a much larger spike in cortisol than weight training does. If you love to run and you’re someone who typically works out in the evening, know that this is something that’ll start to mess with your circadian rhythm. It doesn’t mean don’t exercise, it just means exercise is most ‘hormonally ideal’ before 4pm
If you have a hard time sleeping at night, try to implement some of these things into your routine. If you’re still having a hard time getting back into a regular sleeping routine, come chat with one of our personal trainers, there’s a lot more you can do to get your beauty sleep!
Resources:
Why do we sleep? Aamna Mohdin. October 9.2015. Accessed April, 2016.
http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/why-do-we-sleep
What Happens When you Sleep? National Sleep Foundation. Accessed April, 2016.
https://sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/what-happens-when-you-sleep
