This Badass blogger is beat!
I'm blessed with that genetic coding that makes me feel just fine on 6.5 to 7 hours of sleep. Sure, eight is nice, yet I don't need it every night to feel good. But this week, thanks to long hours, stressful deadlines and a high-octane pace at work, I've been getting more like 5 to 6 hours - some of it fitful.
As I feel my energy dragging, my exercise performance more Lame-Ass than Badass, I am reminded that sleep is one of the most important elements of our health.
Sleep does much more than just leave you feeling rested and energized and ready to take on the gym and the world.
It reduces stress levels, it bolsters memory, it provides time for your cells and muscles to recover. It even helps you maintain a healthy weight.
Ever notice you crave junk and sugary carbs more when you're overtired? Well, Researchers have found that people who sleep less than seven hours a night are more likely to be overweight or obese. They think lack of sleep messes with the balance of the hormones ghrelin and leptin that affect appetite.
I know I've been feeling all out of sorts and way less than Badass this week. A cookie here, lame excuses for dinner, too much coffee, not enough water. I know my body well enough to know I need more sleep!
You probably do, too. Plenty of studies have found the average American gets less than the recommended 7 to 8 hours, or whatever number of hours their body really requires. So we drag ourselves out of bed, try to revive with a danish and a Coke, and thus begins a day of poor eating and sluggishness that probably does NOT end with an exercise session.
The weekend is so close I can smell it, Badasses. I plan to get plenty of sleep, and hope you do, too. Otherwise, Badass leads to Sleepy-Ass leads to Lazy-Ass leads to Blob-Ass.
And that's not what we're working toward, right? Nope. We're Badasses. So we'd better sleep like it...
Coming up: Tick tock...How long until you see results?
