We’d all like a deep sleep like a baby right? Well here’s a bit of a rundown on why sleep is so important for our bodies and a few pointers to get a decent nights’ shut eye…

Sleep is quality recovery, whether it is from a hard gym/training session or hard days’ work. Normalising your sleep pattern is key to maximise the benefits as poor quality/quantity of sleep will compromise tissue regeneration, diminish immune and hormonal functioning, decrease effective cognitive processing and increase fatigue leading and pre- disposition to injury. Cumulative sleep deprivation results in reduced cardiovascular performance, impairment of information processing and negative effect on emotional stability. If you are struggling to get at least 8hrs sleep/night, fall asleep instantly and need that alarm to wake you up, following are some tips to get out of that cumulative sleep deprivation pattern and improve your physical and mental wellbeing.

6 tips on getting a good nights sleep:

1. The thinking/worrying we do in bed often needs to be done but not in bed! Set aside some time before bed to sit quietly and let your mind unravel
2. Before you go to sleep, tell yourself that you’re going to have a good night’s sleep and that you’ll wake just before your alarm
3. Get comfortable and focus on your breathing and relaxing your body one muscle group at a time; start with your toes and work your way up
4. Don’t stress about not being able to sleep! Tell yourself “I’ll just lie here and rest; peaceful rest is just as good”
5. Aim to go to bed at the same time each night during your working week. Between 10pm – 6am are said to be optimum hours
6. Eliminate stress and unhappiness from your life. When you are happy and stress-free, you sleep better

These are just few tips I gathered from the below article. Click on the link and check it out!

http://www.ausport.gov.au/sportscoachmag/psychology2/strategies_for_quality_sleep