Sleep as important as Diet/Exercise?

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2004
Sleep as important as Diet/Exercise?
9
Tue, 07-27-2004 - 9:39pm
Hey everyone,

Just wondering what you think. My trainer said that sleep was just as important as eating healthy and exercising, in fact, he said, that if you do everything right, and then, do not get enough sleep, your efforts are for pot.

I used to not buy into this, but now, I am beginning to wonder. When I was the least stressed, I seemed to have the best body! But at the same time, I do not know what to do. My early mornings and late nights, are really the ONLY time I have to quiet time to get things done. (during the day is all client calls and meetings)

I can not imagine living a life, and getting eight hours of sleep a day. (4 or 5 hours in normal for me) but the trainer, as well as others, have said, that I am putting my body at risk. In fact, not getting more than 4 hours a sleep, is like a .05 alchohol level, (or worse)

I know we took a poll some time ago on sleep, but does everyone here get eight hours?

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-17-2004
Tue, 07-27-2004 - 10:40pm

Heya:
I get at least 8 hours, sometimes more if I can get it in. But I am always in bed between 9 & 10 and out between 5 & 6.

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Fear

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-30-2003
Wed, 07-28-2004 - 8:37am
I think sleep is very important. I know when I get a long (8 hour)restful sleep I am much better to be around. I think the amount of sleep varies from person to person. Sleep time is when your body regenerates itself.

Robyn

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-18-2003
Wed, 07-28-2004 - 8:42am

I'm weighing in my vote for MORE sleep also.

~~ Steffy ~~
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-04-2003
Wed, 07-28-2004 - 11:18am

First of all, generally I don't get 8 hours, but I do try to get between 7 and 9 when I can.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Wed, 07-28-2004 - 11:52am

Personally I think sleep is an important factor in a healthy life, as for it being just as beneficial to losing weight- who knows...but someone did point out that a good nights sleep ensures a good workout the following day, and I'd have to agree there!


For me, when on a regular schedule, I get about 6-7hrs sleep. Any more than that and I feel 'overtired'- you know, when you've had too much sleep (and I'm sure that being the opposite of sleep deprivation this has it's own side affects!).


During the summer my internal clock gets a good old jolt- with no early mornings and late nights here and there it's hard to stay on any kind of schedule (however I'm still getting between 6-7 hrs each night) but I think this plays a part in having a harder time losing weight in the summer for me!


~Miranda, that was a GREAT article- I especially liked the *reminders* it gave on pg2. Thanks for sharing!

~-~ Moderation is Key ~-~

cl-vi_islandgirl
Getting Fit in Your 30's

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-30-2003
Wed, 07-28-2004 - 1:40pm

Eight hours? What's that? lol. J/k. Also realize, some ppl can't function on 8 hours, meaning they need less. My bf, after 8 hours of sleep, he's more tired, headache, grouchy, etc. and grouchy is not a term he understands. lol. His average is 4-6.


Me. I crawl into bed at 10, get up at 6. But I don't normally fall asleep until 11-12. Most of my life, at my thinnest, I was stressed and got about 4-6 hours. I think I was burning it all off stressing.


This is me. With 6 hours, I can function fine, but get tired earlier in the night. With 7, I'm good to go. With 8, I feel great and can stay up all night.


I'm also a night owl, so it's REALLY hard for me to get to bed before midnight. Trust me when I say, I LOVED working at 10am-7pm. I could go to bed past midnight, still get a chunck of sleep and be up all night. lol.


Sleep. As I got older, I realized I REALLY need more of it. When I'm busy during the weekend, like I was this weekend. I see myself on Monday going to bed at 6pm. This MOnday, I crashed around 7:30.

~Cher




my pet!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-06-2003
Thu, 07-29-2004 - 10:32pm
Sediqua

I've been thinking that I should be getting more sleep. I do everything at night. It's when I'm straightening up around the house, doing odds and ends that need to get done and lots of times I'm exercising starting at 10pm and when I'm finished, I'm tired enough to go to bed. The information you're trainer gave you is very sobering. We're investing so much time and effort and energy into diet and exercise and being fit, but the info you provide as well as other info on the benefits of sleep indicate that we're undermining our efforts at acheiving health and wellness by not getting adequate amounts of sleep.

I'm really going to make an effort to get eight hours of sleep, but I'll settle for seven. There was a time when I thought I'd never be able to find the time to exercise. But when I started having health issues and increased stress, I started exercising and making it a priority. Now I cannot imagine going back to never exercising and the sedentary lifestyle that used to be mine. I recognize how good exercise makes me feel and how important it is for my health. I think I need to espouse the same attitude I have about exercising and apply it to sleep. I'm really going to work on this. It's funny that sometimes when I'm tired, I wonder whether it's related to my insulin levels spiking and dropping, but the truth is, I'm probably just tired because I don't get enough sleep!!! Hmmm. Exercise and eating healthier has definitely improved my energy level. I'm now imaging how much better that would be if I got enough sleep on a consistent basis. Starting tonight's out of the question because I'm going out of town for the weekend and I'm scheduled on an early morning flight tomorrow, but I'm not packed yet. However, starting Sunday night, I'm going to set my goal to get at least seven hours of sleep every day for a week and see how I feel.

Debbie

smile siggie
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-19-2003
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 8:14am
Have a fun weekend Debbie- don't party too much ;-)
See you when you get back ~IG

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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-02-2004
Fri, 07-30-2004 - 9:36am
I hear ya. I am trying to get more sleep too. I will go back and try to find the sleep recovering guidlines he sited. It as something like, if you go under 6 hours for 6 months, it will take you this long to recover, etc... I have to go back and find it, now that I actually beleive what he is saying.

(and by the way, since I've started to get more sleep this week, I've lost three pounds, weird huh?)