Trouble sleeping? Movement and routine could be your answer

Photo by Alexandra Gorn on Unsplash

Somewhere along the way, getting by on minimal sleep became a badge of honor. It was a symbol of hard work, or a show of dedication to your job and family. But research proves the opposite is actually true.

Sleep deprivation is more likely to lead to lower performance at work and in your personal life, wreaking havoc on your relationship with yourself, your immune system, and those closest to you.

And this pandemic isn’t helping. About half of Americans (46 percent) are having trouble sleeping since Covid-19, according to a study released last week by Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), a national nonprofit that specializes in mental health.

And despite knowing about the need for adequate sleep, a lot of people probably weren’t getting enough before this pandemic (basic recommendation is at least 7 hours).

Molding your sleep habits into ones that serve you better takes time, as any habit, and you are faced with obstacles to good sleep that didn’t exist even 20 years ago.

Screens are everywhere, with seemingly inescapable updates and constant input. There are blinking lights, buzzing, dinging, and more and more opportunities for entertainment and information.

Creating habits that allow you to consistently get enough quality sleep takes more thought than ever, but it is more crucial than ever that you give yourself enough sleep as you navigate this buzzing, always on world. That’s why creating a nighttime routine to cultivate positive sleep habits has become a crucial part of the Spears Strong Training Process.

Why is sleep so important?

Sleep research has revealed that enough quality sleep is a crucial aspect of good health, performance and longevity. Poor sleep has been linked to many diseases, such as alzheimers, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke, and it has been shown to increase sensitivity to pain. Poor sleep affects decision making skills, making you more likely to jump before thinking through solutions. It also diminishes your ability to have empathy, something the world desperately needs more of right now.

“Your immune system is always working for you, but when you’re sleep deprived that system is weakened.”

Deep sleep promotes tissue regeneration and healing, which is important whether you’re recovering from an injury or intense workout, fighting off an illness, or just recovering from day to day physical and mental demands. Deep sleep allows you to consolidate experiences of your day into long-term memories.

During sleep is when your body launches its immune response to infection and inflammation. This isn’t only crucial when you already know you’re sick or something is wrong. This is how you avoid getting sick. The human body is always being invaded by various pathogens, and your immune system is responsible for preventing those from taking over and making you sick. When the pathogen overpowers the immune system, that is when you actually get sick.

Your immune system is always working for you, but when you’re sleep deprived that system is weakened.

Movement and sleep

Exercise and sleep go hand-in-hand when it comes to good health. They compliment each other. Good sleep leads to more energy for quality exercise, and consistent exercise leads to better sleep.

Simply, exercise promotes good sleep because it makes you tired. It’s a form of energy expenditure that ensures you’ll be ready to sleep when bedtime rolls around.

It also helps stabilize your mood and calm your mind, which is necessary for sleep. If you’re anxious and restless at the end of the day, quality sleep is much harder to come by.

While aerobic exercise is important for producing endorphins that help with mood stabilization, those same endorphins promote a wakeful state in the brain. Lower intensity exercise has been shown to promote activity in the areas of the brain associated with cognitive processing and attention, suggesting that lower intensity exercise is best for a bedtime routine, when you’re trying to promote relaxation in your body and calm in your mind.

How does a nighttime routine help and why should it involve movement?

Many experts recommend a nighttime routine as an important aspect of good sleep hygiene. Sleep hygiene is the variety of practices that one engages in to promote a good night's sleep. Having a routine marks the point of transition from daytime and evening activities, to nighttime activities. It signals to your mind and your body that you can be done with the day and begin to ready yourself for the reset period that will carry you to the next day.

A routine, practiced nightly, that promotes good sleep will likely include all or most of the following:

Consistency

Humans are creatures of habit and rhythm. When it comes to sleep, you operate on a circadian rhythm, which is a cycle of sleep/wakefulness that determines hormone levels, brain wave patterns, behavior patterns and other biological activities throughout the day. The circadian rhythm is light activated, which is why you generally tend to be awake during the day and asleep at night.

Between all the various forms of artificial light, constant availability of food, and various substances such as caffeine, it's pretty easy for your circadian rhythm to be disrupted. Even if you don’t wake and sleep exactly with the daylight, going to sleep and waking at the same time every day (yes, even on the weekends) will help your body settle into a rhythm, so that when it’s bedtime you are able to sleep, and waking becomes easier.

Movement

Light movement before bed decreases tension that could otherwise lead to cramping, pain or discomfort in the night. It will also diminish the chances that you wake up feeling like you “slept wrong” and now can’t move your neck or other body part. Diminishing tension and restriction right before bed promotes a sense of relaxation, enabling more quality sleep.

A calm movement routine is a good time to include some deep breathing and mindfulness exercises, both of which can also promote mental and physical relaxation and a sense of calm. Doing the same routine every night will make it easier for this to become habitual, and your body and subconscious mind will start to recognize the cues that it is time to let go of the day, become calm and ready for sleep.

A screen curfew

Photo by Ales Nesetril on Unsplash

The blue light from screens (including your TV) activates the area of your brain that is in charge of regulating the circadian rhythm. It tells your brain that it’s light out and time to be awake, thus decreasing the production of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that makes you feel sleepy. Screen time should stop at least 30 minutes before bed, but an hour or more is ideal for quality sleep.

It is also beneficial to dim the rest of the lights in the house in the few hours before bedtime.

Getting enough, quality sleep is incredibly important to performance, good health and a productive and positive life.

You cannot be present for yourself or those closest to you if you are tired, sick and grumpy. With everything in the modern world that promotes constantly being on, being alert, being aware and taking in information, it is extra crucial to be intentional with your time and with your tools.

Humans are creatures of habit and everyone has nighttime routine, whether or not it’s intentional (maybe your routine is to watch tv and scroll social media to catch up on the world after work).

Now is your chance to take this unique time to create an intentional routine that will cultivate a relaxed, calm state so that you can sleep when you want to, giving your body what it needs so that you can fight illness and proactively improve your health. It’s one thing you can take control over in a time where so much else is uncertain and out of your hands.

Need help crafting not just a bedtime routine but structure and movement for your whole day? Join our Spears Strong Foundation Program.