FFFC Challenge #14: 7-8 Hours of Sleep a Night

This can’t be stressed enough, our muscles grow while we sleep. All of the hard work performed to tear, lift and go heavy really goes to work as our bodies rest and rejuvenate. That happens when we sleep. short-changing your necessary hours of quiet rest is doing a disservice to you, your body and frame of mind. Sleep is not for the weak-hearted but the strong ones who want to become stronger.

We tend to take sleep for granted, thinking we are super people and can operate effectively on 3 or 4 hours of sleep! Would you try to drive cross-country with a 1/2 tank of gas with no stops for refills? Of course not, so why would you try to do that to your body? So this week’s challenge is to challenge ALL OF US to unplug, take a break from the ra-ra of this fast-paced and activity-filled life and just CHILLLLLLL!

A minimum of 7 to 8 hours of sleep daily

To read a great article on the benefits of sleep click HERE.

Also check out this mention of sleep in this Coach Calorie article:

Get Enough Sleep

What does sleeping have to do with boosting your metabolism? Chronic sleep loss can affect many metabolic functions. It can affect blood glucose metabolism, thyroid function, and many other hormones. Going from 8 hours of sleep down to just 4 can make profound changes in glucose tolerance (resembling type II diabetes), and other endocrine functions after less than one week. (1) That’s right, just one week of not getting enough sleep can slash your metabolic rate and make it that much harder to lose weight. Rest, recovery, and sleep are the most overlooked aspects of fitness programs, yet they are not only important, but necessary if you want results.

Coachcalorie.com