If you have been reading along, you may remember a post “How to Drag Your Ass Out of Bed”. If not, that link will take you to it. That post was dedicated to finding ways to get up early and get out of bed to get your run in. So, this post may sound counterintuitive, but bear with me. (Pun intended.)
I was having a discussion with a colleague who is trying to revive her running and exercise habit and basically concluded that the only time she had to exercise was before work in the early morning. She said that she absolutely knew that if she planned to exercise in the evening, life would get in the way and she would skip it. I applaud her for being so honest with herself and because she is so honest, there is a good chance she will come up with a plan that will work for her.
At this point I asked, “What prevents you from getting it done each morning then?” She replied, “I’m so tired when the alarm goes off, I usually get to bed around 11:30 or midnight and then to exercise I need to set the clock for 5 am.” This got me thinking. I know that it’s ideal to try and get 7 or 8 hours of sleep, but it is probably not realistic for normal people with jobs and families. We are not professional athletes that can focus on eating, sleeping, and training. But, it highlighted a part of the equation that I missed for the first post.
To get out of bed, you need to get IN to bed. What I mean by this is, you need to have the discipline to turn off the TV, stop surfing the web, or put down that book. Once the kids are in bed and things have started to quiet down around the house, you need to shut it down too. Now I understand that this is “me” time, and you look forward to it all day, but working out is “me” time as well. And getting sleep is important, not just for your health, but in order to drag you ass out of bed when the alarm goes off.
If you can get to bed by 10:30 instead of midnight, you just increased your sleep time from 5 hours to 6.5 hours, that’s 30%! That is a pretty darn good payoff for a little effort. And that 30% increase in sleep should pay dividends in a huge way when you get up and go for a run or hit the gym. Not only will your fitness improve, you’ll be getting more rest, and more energy from the workout! That’s exponential gains that will make a huge improvement in how you feel throughout the day.
Study after study concludes, that when you go to bed at the same time every day, the quality of your sleep improves due to your bodies adaptation to the consistency. When you look at sleep as part of the process, it changes the way you think about it. We get to be lazy to be supercharged! So, what are you waiting for? Get your ass IN to bed!
I hope that this post and this blog helps you achieve your dreams! To receive new post notifications, newsletters, and post previews, please SUBSCRIBE!
For behind the scenes photos and comments on my training and personal life, follow me on Instagram: joe_the_runner Strava: Joe Randene
Questions, comments, feedback? Please leave them in the comments section BELOW and we can have a discussion!