Get Fitter in your Sleep
It’s true!
Have you ever found yourself getting stuck when learning a musical instrument, an athletic sport, to ride your bike, a dance routine or Pilates exercise….and then by the next day, all of a sudden it has become so much easier.
The reason why is all down to your sleep.
You can only learn to ride a bike by doing, by practicing, right?
And I’m sure you’ve heard the saying ‘It’s just like riding a bike. It will come back to you, it’s muscle memory!’
Well, the term muscle memory is a misnomer.
Muscles themselves have no such memory, a muscle that is not connected to a brain cannot perform any skilled actions nor does a muscle store skilled routines.
‘Muscle memory is in fact brain memory.’ (Matthew Walker)
Training and strengthening muscles can help you better execute a skilled memory routine, but the routine itself – the memory program, resides firmly and exclusively within the brain.
Practice does not make perfect….but practice, followed by a night of sleep, that leads to perfection…or as close as.
Sleep helps the brain automate the movement routines, making them second nature, effortless.
This brain activity happens in NREM sleep cycle in the late morning between 5 and 7 am, if you’ve gone to bed at 11pm.
If you have less than 8 hours and especially less than 6 hours sleep you become physically exhausted quicker, your aerobic output is reduced, rates of lactic acid build up faster, and your risk of injury increases.
Sleeping after exercise also accelerates physical recovery from common inflammation, stimulates muscle repair, and helps restock cellular energy in the form of glucose and glycogen.
Sleep is just as important as doing exercise when it comes to improving your health and fitness.
Here's to promoting better sleep: Click here to download your ‘FREE Strategies to Better Sleep'
And why not try my Pilates for Better Sleep routine on YouTube: https://youtu.be/HHLKoa8QfZg
Happy sleeping 😴
