10 Common Things That Ruin Your Sleep
Avoid These Habits To Sleep Better Every Night
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m talking about 10 common things that ruin your sleep.
I know, it’s not a sexy subject, but sleep is a topic that is so important to transforming your health and fitness.
The reason is simple.
Why Poor Sleep Is Ruining Your Fitness Results
When you don’t get enough quality sleep, you throw your hormones way out of whack.
This lack of sleep leads to a downward spiral of:
- Eating more high calorie, processed, fatty and sugary foods
- Moving less throughout the day, because of your low energy
Even if you complete a workout, your effort levels will suffer, thus you’ll burn less calories.
There’s no denying it.
Long-term poor sleep leads to:
Here Are 10 Common Things That Ruin Your Sleep
If you’re not getting a good quality sleep, the following may sound very familiar to you.
#1. You Drink Caffeine Too Late In The Day
What time should you stop drinking caffeine before bed?
If you find yourself laying in bed at night, anxious, with your mind racing, you may need to lay off the caffeine after 1pm.
Caffeine consumption raises the cortisol stress hormone, thus you may be overdoing it.
Stick to your morning cup of coffee, then switch to water throughout the day.
#2. You Don’t Have A Set Bedtime
When you were a kid, you had a set bedtime for a reason.
Implement a regular bedtime and wake up time even on the weekends.
What’s the best time to go to sleep for muscle growth and weight loss?
The highest quality sleep occurs when people go to bed between 9:30-11pm.
#3. Your Bedroom Is Too Hot
If you’re pumping the heater at night, turn it off.
The best sleeping environment is when your room is chilled to around 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cooler temperatures will allow you to get a deeper sleep.
#4. Your Bedroom Is Not Dark Enough
Your bedroom should be dark.
I mean real dark.
Consider getting “blackout” curtains, and removing your electronics that give off light.
Even with you’re asleep, your brain can still sense light, through your eyelids, from your alarm clock.
#5. You’re Staring At Your Smart Device Before Bed
Smart devices give off blue light, which can decrease the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin.
If for some reason you have to look at your smart device before bed, use the setting to dim the light on your screen.
#6. You’re Eating Too Late
I want you to stop eating at 8pm, for a deeper sleep.
Why do you need to feed your body energy, when it’s preparing for sleep?
Think about it the next time before you go to bed and grab a bag of Doritos.
#7. You’re Working Out Too Late
Workouts energize your body and focus your mind.
In most cases, you’re also probably taking a caffeine enhanced pre-workout drink.
This is not a good combo, 2 hours before bedtime.
If you can, try to get your workouts in, earlier in the day, or before 6pm.
#8. You’re Not Working Out At All
Being lazy all day doesn’t prepare the body for rest.
Even if you can’t make it to the gym:
- Go for a walk with the dog
- Stretch
- Do a home workout or any of my tabata workouts
Here’s a link to all of my tabata workouts.
#9. You’re Working Out Too Much
Ongoing 2-a-day workouts and long endurance cardio causes excessive stress on the body, which then creates excessive production of the stress hormone, cortisol.
Working out is like sleep, it’s about quality, not quantity.
#10. You Don’t Eat Foods That Help Promote Sleep
I filmed an episode called 4 Foods to Help You Sleep.
These foods help the body naturally produce our sleep friendly hormones.
Ask yourself, are you consuming these foods on a consistent basis?
Go watch that video to find out.
Bottom Line On Sleep
Sleep is so important to ease the mind and provide your body with the proper rest to repair, grow, and burn fat.
Remember, you don’t grow muscles in the gym, you grow muscles during the recovery process outside of the gym.
Avoid these 10 common things that ruin your sleep, to ensure you’re taking full advantage of your sleep gains.
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That’s it Live Lean Nation.
Keep Living Lean.
I love you guys and keep Living Lean.
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Question For You:
- Which of these sleep tips do you need to improve on?
- What is your best sleep tip?
Be sure to share your answers in the comment section below.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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