Give in to your primal urges, sometimes they're there for a reason

Our bodies are pretty consistent at telling us when things are good for us. We get that innate feeling of satisfaction from things like sex, food when we're hungry and water when we're thirsty. Another thing on this list is sleep; we all know that getting an early night and having an uninterrupted 7-9 hours sleep is a great feeling. It leaves us feeling re-energised and optimistic. But the society in which we live demonises sleep as something for those who are lazy and devoid of ambition. The phrases 'sleep is for the weak' or 'you can sleep when you're dead' have been glorified in the media. But is it really a good idea to ignore the basic need for sleep in order to pursue our dreams, or is it even necessary?

It is thought that over 70% of the population do not get enough good quality sleep. Think of that as 7-9 hours uninterrupted (not even for the toilet) sleep. Some people have trouble getting to sleep, some have trouble staying asleep and some simply organise their lives so they don't stand a chance. For those who cannot stay asleep, different times of waking indicate different problems, for example waking in the first few hours indicates a mismanagement of macro-nutrients in the body. However waking prematurely indicates too much of the stress hormone cortisol.



For those who believe sleep is an option:

Sleep is a hugely underrated healing tool and the reduction of sleep leads to low testosterone, growth hormone and DHEA, vital hormones for repairing tissue. Lack of sleep also increases inflammation, insulin resistance and cortisol levels. For those who are not hormone specialists, the combined effect of these changes would result in increased fat, reduced muscle, increased risk of metabolic diseases, lack of energy and motivation and a weakened immune system. Consider this, if you went for a week without food, you would probably be fine, if you went for a week without sleep, you'd probably dead.

What about those who attempt to sleep but sleep ineffectively:

Magnesium is a wonderful mineral, or you can look at it the other way and say magnesium deficiency is very bad for you. Almost everyone can benefit from a magnesium supplement, it has great effects as an antioxidant (for those who wake up 3-7hrs into sleep), as an insulin regulator (for those who wake up 1-3hrs into sleep) and it reduces cortisol levels (those who can't fall asleep or wake prematurely). There are other specific supplements which your coach will advise you on but magnesium is a great start.

But there is so much more to this mineral. People who train often find that although their sleep was good before they actually start to struggle more and more with sleep. This is because resistance training depletes your body of magnesium, so those who work out need it even more!

Magnesium deficiency play havoc with hormones, meaning that the way you use fuel is compromised and your ability to create new muscle is also diminished.

Anyone who is undergoing physical training to improve body composition should be certain that they have optimal magnesium levels as this mineral can make all that hard work and dieting less effective than it could have been.

Lastly those who need magnesium supplementation most are vegans and vegetarians.

Get the magnesium in and after restoring your magnesium levels to where they should be, allow yourself to get the sleep and the body you deserve.