The essential role of sleep in recovery and better health

Sleep is an underrated part of health and wellness, and here’s why prioritizing restorative sleep is one of the ACE 7 Core Drivers for Healthy Living. Sleep is one of the most powerful recovery tools available for you and your customersbut also one of the most neglected.

This is why ACE is so proud to… Sleep and Recovery Coach Course, that bridges the gap between sleep science and practical application. Our goal with this course is to confirm health coaches and exercise professionalsessionals to help their clients implement personalized and evidence-based solutions strategies to improve sleep quality, recovery and overall performance.

Nick Lambe, CCSH, CPT, LMT, known as the Online Sleep Coach, has coachD individuals of all walks of lifeincluded professional and Olympic athletesand consulted with many teams and organizations. Here, Niekwho developed and leads this course, answers questions about why sleep is such an essential part of health, fitness and performance and offers some practical strategies to share with clients.

What is one thing you wish people understood about the importance of sleep?

I wish more people understood that sleep is key continued success in their health and fitness journey. Are the piece that connects everything together, as sleep affects every single physiological system. Sleep also provides the direct basis for what produces improvements in health, suitability and performance possible. When we the body along a positive stimulus or stressor, like exercise, adaptation is necessary for the body actually make improvements. This adjustment is not possible when someone cannot recover from the cumulative load on their system. And this recovery is not possible without it optimal and quality sleep.

In a more practical sense, I wish more people would understand itAndd the idea of ​​improving their relationship with sleepTI struggle so much with the struggles we face around sleep (especially long sleep).–term) is behavioral in nature and strainS of the relationship we have with sleep-TThe perceptions and beliefs we have around sleep, the confidence in our ability to sleep And the identity we have around what kind of sleeper we are. Improving your relationship with sleep is the foundation for short-term sleep success, and certainly in the longer term.

Why is it so difficult for people to adopt healthy sleep habits, even afterward? they have learned from are impact on overall quality of life and well-being?

It is important to understand that sleep is different from exercise and diet in a number of ways. It is striking that the pursuit of sleep improvement does not involve willpower, motivation or even discipline. In fact, sleep success often comes down to the opposite: letting go and ‘giving up’ some of that will. We can’t treat sleep as if it were a performance, or put too much pressure on the act itself, otherwise it creates a stress response that pulls us in the opposite direction.

This stress response and often a conditioned arousal response that people build around sleep, sleep time, and sleep expectation is part of the reason they are struggling. While health coaches and exercise professionals may have good intentions, oversharing research showing how much impact sleep has does a disservice to many clients. It causes them more stress, anxiety and struggle, especially if they have been struggling for a while. This snowball of stress and anxiety becomes one of the most important, foundational things we recommend addressing with clients. A better approach to “buy-in” is to create small wins night by night and highlight the ways these improvements make clients feel and how they improve the way they show up in other areas of life.

How can health coaches and sports professionals integrate sleep science into their coaching practices? Do you have any tips to share?

While there are many layers to fully embracing sleep coaching in your practice as a health and fitness professional, the first step is to make it more of a part of your foundation, knowing that sleep will have a direct impact on whatever goal your clients are working toward. Also make the commitment that you will forever include it as part of your process, whatever that looks like. I’ve had countless conversations with coaches who agree that sleep is fundamental, but whose “process” involves asking the client whether or not they’re getting eight hours of sleep and just stopping there (i.e., if he or she gets eight hours, no more conversation is necessary, and if not, the coach suggests making it a priority). Or they may provide a list of sleep hygiene tips or recommendations that, while they may be helpful tips, are not individually tailored to the client and where he or she is – something we would never do in the context of exercise or diet.

The most important integration is the willingness to ask more questions to understand the behavioral reasons why someone struggles with sleep on an individual level. The willingness to dig a little further and make sleep coaching more part of what you know is valuable. Also make sleep a more in-depth part of your screening and assessment. (There are many sleep disorders that we can help screen for and refer to the appropriate healthcare provider. It is important to distinguish between sleep disturbances and sleep disturbances, the latter of which can be addressed through coaching and a behavioral approach.)

As a complete and comprehensive integration, I am proud of the Sleep and Recovery Coach Coursewhich one is now one ACE Partner Course. The course lays the foundation by sleep coaching and a system to integrate it into what you do (i.e as one addition or position–only), from assessment to coaching to practice outreach to collaboration.

Provide some practical steps our readers (and their clients) can take to improve their sleep habits. [Note: Be sure to share these strategies with clients who struggle with establishing good sleep habits.]

1. Note an honest look your current one relationship with sleep. This includes all negative things perceptions and beliefs that you carry with you your sleep/situation (things like “I’m just a bad sleeper,” “I have always been a bad sleeper” or ‘I can’t function if I don’t sleep eight o’clock”). If there are rooted negative beliefs and expectations, these will always be leading sleep problems, it doesn’t matter how much sleep hygiene strategies you try.
2. Make your bed, bedroom and bedtime as powerful triggers and associations for sleep and nothing else. Too often these things are related to being awake, worrying, having trouble sleeping and more. The time you spend in bed and not actually sleeping can be problematicso identify a few rules for yourself, such as your physical bedroom around sleep time being only used for sleeping (sleep And sex) and nDon’t go to bed unless you’re sleepy and actually ready to go to sleep (you wouldn’t sit at the dinner table waiting to be hungry). If you are not being able to fall asleep consistently (or you wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep), physically getting out of bed And bedroom and come back sometime you are sleepy again.
3. Reduce the pressure and performance tension related to sleep. Are about letting go and allow what should be more natural take place. An extension of this is something called paradoxical intention, that implies go to bed, completely ready to sleep, and only focusing on staying awake (a bit of reverse psychology then often can work).
4. Connect the above of simple hygiene strategies such as dimming lights with a pre–sleep routine you want actually yes-One that is simple and repeatable.

Is there anything else on this topic? you would would you like to share?

Sleep should never be seen as a disadvantage or as something that gets in the way of your life. goals or suitability. Are the body’s beautifully designed and natural way to recover, reset and rebuild everywhere facet of our being. Make one priority for yourself (and your clients) to build a more positive and healthy relationship with sleepTo let it happen in a more natural way. When we do this, we create positive momentum that allows sleep to be the ultimate life enhancer (and the ultimate enhancer for any goal, too). were working with clients).

Sleep can and should be a fundamental part of your coaching practice by what you do.