Use exercise to improve your sleeping habits

Last week I covered the fact that our genes determine when we feel sleepy and when we are most awake. At the end of the article, I mentioned that I will be doing an experiment to see whether you can use exercise to change your natural sleeping cycle. The answer is probably not that shocking to those who know how beneficial it is: Exercise is a great way to re-configure your sleeping routine! Here's how:

How exercise can improve your sleeping routine

The more I cover different health and lifestyle topics, the more I learn about how exercise seems to solve almost everything. Read on to discover how you can change your sleep patterns with the power of exercise.

1. Exercise increases sleep need

There are two major problems with a sleeping pattern that does not match your lifestyle. One of them is the fact that your body will want to sleep when you need to be awake. The other one is that it can be hard for you to fall asleep when you need to (if you struggle to fall asleep, learn how to fall asleep faster here). By increasing sleep need, or sleep pressure, you improve your chances of falling asleep at the right time and getting a higher quality sleep.

Exercise will help you to fall asleep faster because it gives the body something that it needs to physically recover from. It also helps to deplete energy stores so that you don't have a bundle of energy when it is time to calm down and prepare for sleep. Thirdly, exercise boosts your brain's resilience to stress or anxiety. Regular exercise will reduce the negative effects of cortisol - the stress hormone. Elevated cortisol levels at night time will lead to wakefulness and worrying about everything under the sun. Lastly, hormones that are needed for a good night's sleep are stimulated as a direct result of exercise. These hormones include human growth hormone. 

Learn about how strength training affects your hormones.

Regular exercise will therefore improve your ability to sleep when you need to. It will also help the muscles in your body to be more relaxed when you aren't exercising. I think of regular exercise as giving my body a reason to sleep.

2. Exercise improves sleep quality

If part of the problem is the fact that you can't sleep when you need to, sleep quality will have a major effect on your sleeping habits. If you don't get enough high quality sleep at the right time, you will spend the rest of the following day trying to stay awake. For the same reasons listed above, exercise improves sleep quality and will therefore improve your energy levels the following day. Exercise improves sleep quality by increasing sleep need.

3. Exercising at certain times of the day will train your body to have more energy when you need it

Remember that there are two major components to correcting your sleeping habits. One of them is being able to sleep (and have high quality sleep) when you need to. The second one is being awake and energetic when you need to be. By exercising at the times when you need to have the most energy, you train your body to produce and use more energy during these times. If you exercise at the same time every day, your body will adapt by increasing its energy levels at those times. You can do this by exercising at your desired 'peak energy' times for two weeks in a row. You will notice that after the second week you don't feel that tired anymore.

I exercised in the morning to increase my energy levels

Personally, the first half of the day was the time where I had the least amount of energy. This is because I am a night owl by nature and it takes me longer to wake up than most people. Even though I repeatedly did the same tasks as everybody else, my energy levels stayed low in the mornings because I am naturally inclined to feel more awake at night. 

My experiment involved me doing an exercise as soon as I woke up. I would do push-ups, squats or planks before my eyes were fully opened. Granted, I didn't do half as much as I would if I did these exercises at a different time of the day (and it took a lot more motivation than usual to get them done in the first place), but the increased blood flow and oxygen woke me right up within a few seconds. 

The energy-boosting effects were immediate. After a few days, I now have more natural energy in the mornings than I ever had. I wish I could say that I also need less motivation to exercise first thing in the morning after a week, but I haven't got there just yet.

How to implement exercise during your peak times

My experiment was relatively easy for me. This is because mornings were my biggest issue and it is not too difficult to exercise in the morning when you are still in your room. If you have the biggest energy drop in the middle of the day, it might be more difficult. It is not so easy to drop and do 20 push-ups in the office in front of everybody. You can't exactly do that either if you're driving down the freeway. Thankfully, there are sneaky ways to boost your energy levels without looking like a chop.

How to sneak in exercise when they aren't so convenient 

I've got you covered. Try out a few of these ideas to see what works best for you:

If you need to boost your energy levels while at the office:

• Get up from your desk and take a brisk walk. This will fire up the mitochondria in your cells and get them turning calories into energy.
• Hit the gym during your lunch break.
• Drink more water and let nature remind you to get up every half an hour. Water on its own is a great energy booster, since every cell in your body needs it to function optimally. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to get some Vitamin C while you're at it.
• Exercise in the bathroom
• Choose to get up and speak to a co-worker or manager instead of simply sending an email
• Use the rest of your lunch break to walk around and listen to music

If you need to boost your energy levels while driving

What if there were exercises that you can do to correct bad posture from sitting in a car seat for too long? Raffi TopCareChiro has you covered! Check out this great way to improve your posture while driving and loosen up stiff muscles whenever you hit a traffic light:

And if you want to take it up a notch, check out this calorie burning, muscle strengthening driving workout from Ando Mierzwa:

Exercise has so many health benefits. You can reap all of these benefits while using exercise to sleep better at night and explode with energy during the day. Stay Strong!

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4 Keys to Turn 2021 into Your Healthiest Year Yet!

New Year’s resolutions are awesome, and while they’re fun to make, they're also difficult to keep. Every year, approximately 1 in 3 Americans make New Year’s resolutions. However, very few maintain their new commitment throughout the year.

It’s estimated that around 75-percent of resolution makers stick to their plans for a week. Six months later, that number drops to 50-percent.

Once the excitement of the New Year’s ends, it can be difficult to maintain enthusiasm about resolutions. Still, it’s not hopeless.

The following segments highlight 4 keys to sticking to your resolutions and making 2020 your healthiest year ever.

Key One: Focus on Mental Health

Life's responsibilities, such as family and work, can have a considerable negative impact on your mental health. Heavy workloads, long hours and ongoing chaos can create anxiety, depression and stress. Because of this, it’s essential that you find ways to find a balance between life and work. There are many resources and practices to help you accomplish this. 

Incessant work as a part of many people’s identity. In fact, many professionals are practically programmed to work nonstop. This can help people succeed in their careers, but the negative effects on one’s physical and emotional health don’t outweigh the benefits.

It’s important that you find time for yourself. By taking time to unplug and give your mind a break, you can relieve stress and find a sustainable work-life balance.

Key Two: Need an Energy Boost? Exercise

Many people go to doctors complaining of fatigue. Counterintuitively, however, the solution for fatigue is more physical activity.

Studies show that moderate physical activity creates the urge to want to do more. The more you move around, the more you will feel energized. However, there’s a limit to the amount of exercise that will make you feel rejuvenated.

Studies showed that regular, low-intensity exercise can increase energy by 20-percent and decrease fatigue by up to 65-percent. While many believe that exercise makes you tired, it actually creates energy. 

Your diet does produce some energy, but your ability to produce energy is directly affected by your daily activity. Experts recommend a 10- to 15-minute daily walk to keep your energy levels high.

Key Three: Beat Common Colds & Illnesses with Proper Hygiene

Most serious infections are spread because of people’s habits. Handwashing is an excellent way to prevent the spread of disease.

Healthcare specialists recommend that providers clean their hands as much as 100 times during each 12-hour shift. Studies show that healthcare providers clean their hands less than 50-percent than what the experts recommend. Because of this, 1 in 25 patients succumbs to illnesses every day. 

Hand sanitizer is a popular cleaning product. However, alcohol-based sanitizer does not kill clostridium difficile, which causes clostridium difficile colitis – severe inflammation of the large intestine. Still, it’s more effective and gentler on the skin than hand soap. Also, alcohol-based sanitizer does not create superbugs that are resistant to antibiotics. You can prevent the spread of disease by washing your hands often.

Key Four: Make Diet a Priority

Seemingly every year, a new diet fad hits mainstream media. More often than not, these trendy, restrictive diets are flawed. Yet that is now changing thanks to the development of eHealth devices which can improve patient awareness of their health, as well as improve the relationship between healthcare providers and the general public. 

Typically, devoted fad dieters will lose weight fast, but the regimens of most new diets are too difficult to sustain for any amount of time. Ultimately, most people who follow these diets give up on eating healthy.

The idea of losing 10 pounds in a week is appealing to many. In reality, however, losing weight that fast is unhealthy and definitely unsustainable.

Alternatively, experts recommend adopting a healthy, sustainable lifestyle based on your own needs. For starters, try to stay away from beverages that are heavy in added sugar. Sugar-laden beverages are a top contributor to heart disease, diabetes and obesity. Also, it’s an excellent idea to stay away from sugary foods while you’re at it.

No matter what resolutions you take on in 2020, the idea is to do better than you did the year before. Many people choose health-related resolutions, and it makes sense. Investing in your health is an undertaking that can provide priceless returns for years on end.

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