Guess What One Of The Most Powerful Tools In Maintaining Health and Fitness? 

 (*Hint: zzzzzzzzzzzzzz)

What is one of the most POWERFUL tools in maintaining and increasing your health and fitness?  Diet, yes, is important.... activity is, too....  but....  WE NEED SLEEP!!!! (This is definitely something that I need to work on!!)  

Scientists have determined 2 main types of sleep that we go through... there is the REM, or Rapid Eye Movement, stage and a NON Rapid Eye Movement stage (NREM).  We are in the REM stage for approximately 25% of our sleep time.  The NREM is broken down into 4 types of sleep..  the first two is a lighter sleep and the last two gives us that peaceful, restorative DEEP sleep.  It's the NREM stage that mostly aids in our fitness and training routines.  The NREM occurs about 75% of the time.  

Here is a link to an interesting article that I found about sleeping "your way to better fitness": 

http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/sleep-your-way-to-better-fitness.html

**Sleep as a Tool to Maximize Fitness:

• Muscle Repair & Regeneration. Growth hormone is actually produced and secreted during the deep sleep stage of the NREM period. This is what helps our muscles to recover from hard workout sessions. It also helps with building muscle.
• Deep Sleep. For a normal, average sleep, we’ll be in deep sleep for about one tenth of the time. For those of us who are undertaking concentrated workouts or training, we can be in the deep sleep stage for approximately 30% of the time.

• Timing. Deep sleep mainly occurs at the beginning of your sleep. However, to get the full benefits from it, you must achieve constant sleep during this time. Any disturbances or delays in getting to sleep can negate the advantages you receive.

• Workout Performance. We all know how we feel the next day when we don’t get enough sleep or it’s of poor quality. It often impacts our workouts and we don’t get the full benefits. Scientists have found that not enough REM sleep causes us to feel like we’re working harder in our training sessions than we really are, greatly affecting our performance.

There’s no doubt that getting the correct amount and type of sleep 

is crucial for a good workout. But, it also helps to repair and grow 

our bodies and recover from the workout we did that day. 

A good night's sleep is vital for improving our fitness levels when working out.  Without the proper sleep, you will not be able to achieve the full benefits of exercising!

With all that said, how do we get a nice, sound sleep?  So many factors play into how WELL we sleep.  I find that when I work my hardest during fitness activities, my sleep patterns are much, much better.  Fitness releases endorphins that make us feel GREAT and ENERGIZED, but when the euphoria wears off, if we have properly pushed our bodies, we will get very tired creating a much better night's sleep.

**Thank you, PREMIUM FITNESS,  for that great information!!

****On a side note:  At night, if I have trouble falling asleep, I have been drinking Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra.  It contains chamomile and valerian, both known for their calming effects.  It seems to help, but perhaps it's all psychological...  but whatever it is, either psychological or physiological, when I take it, I tend to have a nice, deep, restorative sleep!****