Do I need to sleep to get results?
😴A fundamental but seldom-mentioned factor in the process of building muscle and losing fat is SLEEP! You can have the best nutritionist… the best personal trainer… the best workout… BUT what about sleep?
Experts disagree about the ideal amount of rest… but you can’t do without a good night’s sleep: it improves your mood and performance and helps prevent illness. And everyone needs to get the right amount of sleep for them.
Sleep quality
😴The most important thing is sleep quality! A 2010 study analyzed 10 overweight people in an experiment involving two sleep conditions: 8.5 hours and 5.5 hours, respectively. The same individuals were used in both conditions and followed the same diet.
The results showed that restricting sleep time affects the body, leading to less fat oxidation, increased appetite, a lower basal metabolic rate, and loss of muscle mass. In short: Sleep well! And only stay up late if it’s really worth it…
Pay close attention to rest
Rest is simply one of the most important activities for the body to function properly. Sleeping means taking a break every 24 hours — 8 to 10 hours (which we’ll discuss in the next sections).
A good night’s sleep can improve performance at every level, including better reflexes during physical activity and mental alertness.
Mental rest is achieved by ensuring that brain processes and neural connections restore the organ’s function. The result is basically a “cleaning” of the brain, ensuring the retention of memory and learning processes while discarding information considered irrelevant.
As for resting during your workout…
First, there is no set amount of time. Using 30, 45, or 60 seconds as a guideline for the ideal rest period may not suit the goals of every person who strength trains. Remember that every body has its own biological individuality, and we should respect that.
That’s why we use the concept of an “interval,” which generally ranges from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. But, I’ll say it again: it’s not fixed!
