It’s a bit of a nobrainer this one, and something I’ve spent a ridiculous amount of time doing in the last 11months, whether I’d like to or not. PVF/CFS is a little special in this case, but regardless of injury or illness, if your body is fighting something or working to repair something, it’s going to require more sleep time – end of story.
Sleep is when your body does its house cleaning, and repair work. As simple as it seems to just ‘get sleep’ every night, theres actually a heap of ways we can get the most out of that time on the pillow, which in turn can help with your mental and physical performance.
Sleep consistency (ie. Having the same sleep and wake times every day) fine tunes our circadian rhythm so that the body is prepped to do what it needs to do when the time comes. It also improves the amount of time we spend in slow wave sleep (which helps physical restoration) and REM sleep (which helps with mental restoration), therefore increasing sleep efficiency so you get more bang for your buck.
Having a bed time routine helps build melatonin levels at the right time, so you can drift off sooner. And ensuring a conducive sleeping environment like a cool temp, no light, and no use of blue lights before bed, all help minimize disturbances during the night.
By building good sleeping habits, I hope that it equates to one more brick in the looong path towards my ‘re-build’ to a fitter, healthier me …and also just really beneficial to anyone wanting to look after their body and improve their output 🤙