Sleep: why it matters, and what we can do about it

Let’s talk about sleep - and why it matters so much when we’re talking about health, wellness, and fitness.

What does sleep have to do with nutrition anyway?

Sleep is an incredibly important part of combating soreness and fatigue for proper recovery. The quantity and quality of our sleep affects our hormone levels - leptin and ghrelin (which regulate hunger/satiety), and cortisol (stress). When we don’t sleep well or enough, especially over an extended period of time, leptin (which inhibits hunger, or makes us feel satiated) tends to go down; while ghrelin (which stimulates hunger) tends to go up. And inadequate sleep also doesn’t allow our bodies to naturally decrease cortisol levels as much as we need.

And not to overstate it, but the impact all this has on other aspects of our health and wellness can be severe. The physical impacts of not getting enough sleep long-term may include:

• Unhealthy cravings

• Inflammation

• Decreased cognitive function

• Digestive/gut dysfunction

• Decreased carb tolerance (i.e., body doesn’t use them as effectively)

• Weakened immune system

• Weight gain (related to the above)

So… yeah. Sleep and nutrition are closely connected.

It’s also important to note that getting “adequate” sleep is about quantity (how much we sleep) and quality (how well we sleep).

Can you “catch up” on sleep?

Yes - well, to some extent. You can make up for some of your sleep debt, and sleeping in for a morning or two might help. Unfortunately, it's not usually enough to fully catch up. That’s because it can take up to four days to recover from one hour of lost sleep, and up to nine days (!!) to entirely eliminate sleep debt. 

And while you can make up (at least somewhat) for lost sleep, you can’t create a sleep surplus (meaning, you can’t “stock up” on sleep for future nights). 

So in an ideal world, we’re not counting on our weekends to make up for lost time; and instead, we’re focusing on getting the best sleep we can each night.

How do I get more/better sleep?

If you aren’t happy with the quantity and/or quality of your sleep and want to make a change, we’ve got great news! fuelED is now offering sleep audits from our certified Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Coach.

We’ll help you assess your current sleep and recovery practices and give you ideas for practices you can implement to improve the quality and/or quantity of your sleep - catered specifically for you and your lifestyle. Reach out today for more information!

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