We all know that exercise that can help you lose weight and get more energy, but what about helping you sleep? Studies have shown that people, particularly women, who regularly exercise during the day, sleep longer and better at night. So, before you reach for the sleeping pills why not try going for a run, taking a trip to the gym, or signing up for a yoga class.
Many people have trouble sleeping because they are overly stressed. The worst part about this is that sleep deprivation can increase your cortisol levels, which makes you feel more stressed. It can also make you irritable and less able to deal with stressful situations. This is why most insomniacs have increased levels of stress hormones. While exercise makes these hormones rise initially, after several hours the levels fall. These hormones levels actually become lower than before you exercised and lower than they would be if you hadn’t worked out. Regular exercise can end the vicious sleep-stress cycle once and for all.
Most insomniacs simply can’t clear their mind of their problems when they lay down to bed. The stresses of the day run repeatedly through their minds instead of relaxing. Exercise can be a time to escape the stressors around you and figure out solutions to your problems. If you figured out what to do about your latest work crisis during your morning run, you don’t have to stress over it at bedtime. This leaves your brain free to sleep.
Exercising also makes you need sleep more. The more you work your muscles, the more they need to regenerate through sleep. While you may think this just going to make you more tired when you can’t sleep, it will probably actually help you have a deeper, more restful sleep. Even if you can’t sleep more, you’ll sleep better and be more rested and energized in the morning.
An important part of using exercise to cure insomnia is timing. As I already mentioned, exercise produces chemicals in your brain that make you feel more awake and energized. This is why it’s not a good idea to exercise before bedtime, but how close is too close? It is generally recommended that you exercise more than four hours before you sleep; however, you may find you need a longer rest period. If you find you’re not sleepy, start pushing your exercise earlier gradually till you find a good time. Obviously, the best time to exercise is in the morning, and this will make you feel more energized all day long.
If you absolutely can’t exercise during the day, there are things you can do at night instead (or in addition) to help you get to sleep. Studies have shown that exercises as simple as stretching can help improve insomnia symptoms. You can try doing stretches or yoga closer to bedtime to help you relax. You can find books or join a class to learn specific positions and more to promote relaxation and sleep.
While exercise helps you sleep more, it has other wonderful benefits. Exercise helps you lose weight, feel great, and have more energy during the day (and so will sleep). Before you try supplements, pills, or other crazy sleep solutions, try working out first. It will cure your insomnia along with some great positive side effects.
Filed under Exercise by on Jun 3rd, 2010. 
Before starting to work out make sure you get a full physical from your doctor and a letter stating it is ok for you to do physical activity. Many gym and aerobic centers will require this before letting you start.
Depending on how long it has been since you last did regular exercise it is recommended that you start off slow and gradually build up your workout to harder levels.
It is generally recommended to start off at the gym with just the treadmill and the lifecycle for the first week or 2. This is to wake the muscles up and to slowly get you prepared for a harder workout.
You will generally want to find a speed on the treadmill that is a pace you can keep up with little discomfort and do it for 20 minutes. After this take a 5 minute break, stretch a little and have a drink of water, then go back and increase the speed just a bit then do another 20.
Remember that pushing yourself too far is taking a gamble that you may not be able to live with. In a casino you can put everything you have on the roulette table and maybe you win and maybe you lose, but in the gym if you push too hard you can die, so take things slowly.
Many people make the mistake of getting back into an exercise program and going all gung ho an trying to get back in shape in just one hour, well let me tell you this will not work. The only thing this will do is make you very sore the next day and you will not be able to workout that day, and it will make you lose interest fast in the gym. Discomfort in ok pain is not.
Depending on how long it has been since you last worked out, I recommend working out 4 or 5 days a week. This may seem like a lot but if you were trying to win a poker tournament you would go to a casino or an online casino and poker room to practice almost every day right? So you will have to do the same with the gym.
Working out 5 days a week does not necessarily mean you have to go to the gym every day. I recommend the gym 3 times a week and the other day or 2 you can just go for a long fast paced walk around your neighborhood. Try to vary the things you do so that you do not work out the same parts of your body 2 days in a row.
Most professionals will tell you that if you work out your arms and chest on a Monday do not exercise those muscles again for at least 48 hours. This is to give the muscles time to heal and grow. It is this straining and resting of the muscle that makes it grow not just the working it out. If all you did every day was work the same muscle group in a few days the muscle would be more likely to tear in a painful experience and the only thing you will be able to do for several months will be playing in an online casino from your laptop in bed.
Filed under Exercise by on Nov 3rd, 2009.
Everyone has heard about the physical benefits of exercise: weight loss, improved stamina, increased lifespan, and much more. But did you know that it can have as much benefit to your mental health as well? Not only does exercise make your body work better, it makes you feel better too. These are just a few ways exercise can help you live a happier life.
Boosts your energy. A sedentary lifestyle can make you feel fatigued. When you work your muscles with regular exercise, you feel more energized and ready to face the day. Exercising also helps you have a more restful sleep and fall asleep faster. This will leave you feeling rested when you wake up in the morning. Regularly working your muscles also makes them less likely to fatigue with normal activity.
Helps relieve stress. Many people know the endorphins from exercise make you feel better and have a better outlook on life, but exercise can also provide a time for reflection; further easing a stressful life. Many of us don’t have time alone without thoughts to contemplate our problems. Some types of exercise, such as running, can provide time to think about the day and sort out problems.
Improves self esteem. After a workout, most people feel that they’ve accomplished something. This makes you feel that you’re worth something and improves how you feel about yourself. In return, feeling like you can accomplish things makes you more likely to work out again, this is one great cycle to get into.
Increased social interaction. Being social and having friends is an important part of leading a happy life. Exercise can be used to stay in touch with old friends by scheduling regular walks or runs. It can be also used to meet new friends at the gym or through sports. These kinds of activities can make you feel accepted and loved; making you feel much better.
If you’re wondering if the effects of exercise will change the way you feel, consider this: many doctors and therapists recommend exercise as part of their treatment for anxiety or depression. If exercise is powerful enough to combat depression, think what it can do to improve your life.
Filed under Exercise by on Sep 5th, 2009.
Are late night snacks keeping you from losing weight? Some studies have shown that healthy and overweight individuals tend to eat the same number of calories during the day. At night, however, overweight individuals tend to eat a lot more calories. Eating at night is just easier to do; we feel less inhibited because we tend to be alone. We are also less busy than other times of day. If you want to lose weight, you need to find ways to curb late night hunger. Here are a few suggestions.
Do something else. Unless you’re starving, you probably eat at night because you’re bored. If you feel the need to snack, try doing something else to occupy your mind. Go for a walk or read a book; you’ll soon forget that you were ever hungry
Eat more calories during the day. Even if you’re trying to cut calories, eating too little during the day will make you more likely to binge at night. Eating 1500 calories during the day and being satisfied at night is better than eating 1300 calories during the day and munching down on a 500 calorie snack at night. Try to eat the bulk of your calories earlier in the day and have a light dinner and maybe a fruit for an evening snack.
Go to bed. If you get the urge to eat shortly before you go to bed, just go to bed early. Not only will this keep you from snacking; people who get enough sleep at night tend to eat less calories during the day.
Eat at a table. No matter what you eat during the day, treat all eating events like meals. We tend to eat while we’re doing other things like watching TV or sitting at the computer. Eat all your food sitting at your kitchen or dining room table and don’t distract yourself. You’ll likely eat less.
Snack healthy. If you must snack late at night, think about what you eat. Instead of grabbing a bag of chips, get out some carrots or yogurt. Go for high fiber and protein which take longer to digest and keep you feeling full longer. It’s also important to eat portioned snacks. This way you probably won’t eat several portions at a time.
These are just a few tips to get you started. Just remember if you make a decision to eat less at night and stick to it you will see results.
Filed under Healthy Eating by on Apr 21st, 2008.
There are a lot of fad exercise programs out there. They show up, get really popular, and then you never hear about them again. But one plan that keeps showing up over and over again is walking. The reason? It’s easy to do and it actually works. The key is knowing how to do it right.
The first step is to walk long enough; about an hour a day, 5 to 6 days a week. If this is too much for you, start walking less and work your way up. If you can only make it 15 minutes, then walk 15 minutes. If you stick with it, you’ll soon find that you can walk 30 or 40 minutes. Just walk every day and you’ll reach that hour mark in no time
The second step to getting a good workout from walking is to get walk fast enough to keep your heart rate up. Once you’ve hit your goal of walking an hour, try increasing how far you walk. Aim to walk a little farther than you did the day before, while still walking for only an hour. Another great way to keep up your heart rate is to alter how fast you go within your walk. For example, start at a normal pace for a minute or two; then walk as fast as you can for a minute. After that minute just repeat the process for your whole walk. This will maintain a good heart rate without wearing you out.
The last step is to build muscle mass so you keep burning calories even when you’re not working out. If you’re just starting out, you will probably build muscles just by walking. Once you’re more accomplished, you can do this by adding hills or steep slopes to your route. You can also build muscles by having a proper walking posture, holding in your stomach, and flexing your leg muscles as you walk. If you’re a serious walker, you can learn to race walk to further build muscle mass.
Now that you’ve gotten started on your walking workout, remember to keep going. If you start to get bored, listen to your favorite tunes on an ipod or invite a friend to come along. Try altering your route and explore a new area. Just don’t give up and you’ll do great!
Filed under Weight Loss by on Feb 25th, 2008. 1 Comment.