Sleep, one of the most important things you can do for your training and health, but people still don't prioritize it. Hey, I get it. I used to be a night person. I always felt if I went to sleep early I'd miss something. Plus, I didn't have a bedtime as a child so it was never instilled in me.
That doesn't mean I wasn't getting my hours in. I would make up for deficits by sleeping in super late on the weekends and taking lots of naps on the weekdays. But ain't nothing like the real thing baby!
I used to need a solid seven hours, but now with age and calorie deficit, I would need more sleep. I'd need more sleep to feel like a functioning human as well as to aid in recovery. Guess what, when I slept more I also lost more weight.
With all the proven science on how important sleep is, it still gets sidestepped by fancier bullshit peddled to us by the fitness industry. We are barraged by special rollers, personal jackhammers, supplements, etc. When probably the most important thing you can do is get some zzzzzz's.
As I have needed more of this blessed thing we call sleep I have prioritized it in my mind. I no longer think of it as I "NEED" to go to bed. I think of it as "Getting to bed now will help me lose weight." or "Getting to bed now will help me recover so I am stronger, faster, build more muscle, and feel awesome!"
Guess what? It's worked. By reframing how I look at sleep I am actually getting more of it. Instead of sitting in my favorite recliner at 9:00 saying things to myself like "Just one more show" or "One more quarter of the game" even "After the next commercial." Now I'm thinking crap, it's 9:00 I want to be in bed. I have totally reprogrammed my brain with how I think and feel about sleep. It's pretty dope.
I have preached the benefits of sleep throughout my lifting successes and now I preach it even more for losing weight and especially for those aging athletes who want to keep kicking ass in the gym and in life.
Maybe this will change the way you think about sleep. It did for me.
