Koko Fit on the Importance of Catching Some ZZZ’s

So, I got back from my trip to California last night at 7pm, and I was exhausted—I couldn't get to sleep to save my life though. When I woke up at 5:30am this morning for work, I was instantly mad at myself for only getting a few precious hours of sleep. I know that sleep is an integral part of health and fitness, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way. 

Basically, sleep is essential for healthy functioning. A lack of sleep can result in unhealthy insulin and glucose levels, poor hormone regulation (causing increased appetite and slower metabolism), inability to regulate mood, as well as impaired learning and memory problems.

It may seem obvious, but a large part of getting a good night's rest is coming up with a bedtime routine. Setting up a specific bedtime and creating a low-energy atmosphere by turning off the television and lights, will help set the scene for a restful night. Having a specific wake-up time (and not pressing "snooze" a million times) and napping when sleep is missed are also ways to keep your sleep cycle regular.

If you're having trouble sleeping for whatever reason, you might want to consider some of the following common fixes:

• Exercise regularly! Make sure that you don't work out right before bed though! It's best if you have at least 3 hours between the time you exercise and when you go to bed, it might be surprising, but the issue of core temperature is behind this recommendation.
• Keep it cool. Turn down the thermostat and you'll actually sleep better – after all nothing is worse than waking up at 3am thinking that you're in a sauna!
• Consume plenty of foods containing antioxidants such as blueberries and apples.
• Forget the alcohol and try having tart cherry juice (I'd never heard this before I came back but this seems to be a common suggestion).
• Get up and do something else for 15 minutes. Staying in bed and thinking about how you wish you can sleep can actually make you stay up longer than if you get up and focus on something else for a bit.
• Turn off the eReader! I'm so guilty of this, but the backlighting on eReaders is disruptive to a calm environment and makes it harder to sleep.

Here's to having a good night's sleep tonight! Hope this helps others out there having trouble catching up on their beauty rest!

Koko FitClub is located at 88 Danbury Road in Ridgefield.