Why sleep is your superpower

The importance of good sleep can get lost in all the messages of ‘you can sleep when you’re dead’ or ‘you can’t achieve your dreams whilst you’re asleep’. Working hard and getting minimal sleep is often seen as a badge of honour and a sign that you’re doing everything you can to achieve your goals and make things happen. There’s plenty of influencers, business guru’s and celebrities sprouting the get up at 3am and go to bed at 11pm lifestyle to make sure you can fit everything in and while this is one way to go about it, its arguable if it’s the best way and it’s definitely not the healthiest way.

This way of living ignores a few key aspects that we’ll go over below:

• Productivity is as important as any other aspect of achievement

It’s not necessarily about how many hours in the day you’ve got to get things done but more about how productive you are in the hours that you set for yourself. Being a highly productive and organised individual means you can get more done in less time and dedicate more time to getting adequate sleep.

• Being tired, unproductive, disorganised or getting in over your head is not a recipe for long term success.

Adequate sleep makes a big difference to how you feel each day, how you come across to others, how much you can get done and the quality of the work you get done. Managing your schedule so that you achieve maximum productivity in the shortest amount of time and being in a healthy enough state to achieve this is the best way to get to where you want to be.

• Lack of sleep can lead to all kinds of long and short term physical and mental issues.

So much healing, recovery and adaptation occurs during sleep that it’s only common sense to realise that you will pay the price for restricting sleep eventually.

We’ll go over the scientifically proven benefits of sleep later in the blog but first, let’s hear from professional surf ironman Ali Day (6 x Coolangatta Gold Champion and 2 x Nutri-Grain Ironman Series Champion) about what sleep means to him as a professional athlete:

“Being a professional surf ironman for the past decade, I’ve realised that recovery is the key in order for me to be at my best. When I’m asked what recovery I do daily or what tips I have for someone trying to improve their recovery I always refer to sleep. It’s still the most important thing an athlete can do to recover. I feel like the last few years of racing have been my best and I put this down to a good night’s rest.

Here’s a few things that help me get the best nights sleep and in turn, recover well so I’m ready to go again.

1. Sleep in a cold, dark room
2. Use an eye mask and even ear plugs
3. Create a routine each night so your body knows it’s almost time to go to sleep. Our bodies love routine. I’ll often have a warm shower and read in bed.
4. Turn your phone off or on silent. I like to turn my phone off 1 hour before bed if I can.
5. Try to limit TV or screens close to bedtime so you can give yourself time to wind down appropriately.
6. Use blue blocker glasses. These are great if you need to be on your phone or a screen close to bedtime.
7. Limit food too close to bedtime
8. Practice self-compassion

I hope this helps with your sleep. There is tonnes of information out there these days on podcasts that you can listen to. A good night’s sleep can make the world of difference to anyone, especially a professional athlete like myself. I feel like we all sometimes look for the fancy or flashy things to do for recovery but sleep is free and the number one thing we need to function at our best in all aspects of life”

- Ali Day

Now we move on to some scientifically proven benefits of sleep and risks of lack of sleep.

• Sleep can help strengthen your immune system

Immune cells and proteins that your body uses to fight off illnesses get vital rest and recovery during sleep.

• Sleep can help you lose or maintain your weight

This can be put down to two hormones called Ghrelin and Leptin. Ghrelin is the hormone that makes us feel hungry and Leptin is the hormone that makes us feel full. Lack of sleep increases levels or Ghrelin and decreases levels of Leptin in our bodies. This is supported in several studies showing that sleep deprived individuals have bigger appetites and tend to eat more calories daily.

• Lack of sleep increases risk of Heart disease and Type 2 Diabetes

Working down from 7 hours, every less hour slept increased heart disease risk by 6%. Lack of sleep also increased risk of high blood pressure, one of the leading indicators of heart disease.  The same applies for developing type 2 diabetes with an 18% and 48% increase in risk with 5 hours and 6 hours sleep per night respectively.

• Sleep improves mood, emotions and memory

People who report healthy sleep patterns are less likely to suffer from mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Lack of sleep makes it more difficult to regulate your emotions, affecting your mood and making social interactions more difficult.

So there you have it. Plenty of reasons to factor in a proper night’s sleep into your daily routine. Just like you would focus on your diet, work and exercise, sleep needs to factored in to your routine so that you’re healthy, performing at your best and generally a pleasure to be around.

Happy sleeping!