How Nutrition Affects Our Sleep

The relationship between nutrition and sleep

People will go to great lengths to have a well structured strength and nutritional plan. Yet they often forget about how important sleep can be. This week, we look at our sleep habits and how we can optimize them to support healthy nutrition.

Our sleep plays a fundamental role in our overall physical and mental health.

Immune function, memory, hormone regulation and muscle recovery are all impacted by sleep.

There is also supporting evidence that insufficient sleep can alter our hunger and fullness signaling, leading to overeating.

Personally, after a night of crummy sleep, I notice that I crave sweets and carb-heavy foods as a means to summon energy.

And while we cannot always control ALL of the aspects of our sleep, let’s focus on the habits we CAN control.

While work can make it hard to shut our brains off at night, one of the most common reasons for lack of sleep isn’t work related at all- rather, most people lose sleep due to voluntary bedtime delay. We are simply prioritizing other things over going to bed. We catch up on our favorite TV show. We browse social media. We stay out late with friends.

This voluntary delay is something found only in modern society. 100 years ago, the average American slept nearly 9 hours each night. Today it’s usually at 7.

Tips to become well rested

Going forward, we’re going to encourage the following habits for a better night’s sleep:

Remove forms of artificial stimulation right before bed, and set boundaries around media consumption leading up to bedtime.

Ensure that your temperature and bedding promote cool, restful sleep. Most people sleep best in a cool room, typically between 60-67°F.

Consider black-out curtains or an eye mask to block any residual light that might be keeping you from reaching deep sleep. Or remove light sources all together.

Having electronic devices in arms reach could be creating FOMO or the inability to detach mentally. Charge your device across the room. You can still hear your alarm, but you won’t be tempted to grab your device in the middle of the night and introduce mental stimulation.

We love that you’ve been shoring up your hydration, but if you find that you’re waking a lot during the night for urination, consider front- loading your fluids early in the day. And consider cutting off caffeine 5-6 hours before bedtime.

Lastly, for those with plenty of household and work stressors swirling around in your head, we encourage you to do a brain-dump before bed. Write it out and let it go until tomorrow.

We’re going to ask that you input your total hours of sleep each night in the app, with 8 hours being the target.

This week, let’s optimize our sleep environment, take a good look at our pre-bedtime routine, and budgeting enough time to clock enough shut-eye.

Cheers to some rest and recovery!