5 Nasty Bedtime Habits That Are Ruining Your Gains

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Not all training routines involve weights.

It’s becoming common knowledge that sleep is the ultimate counterpart to exercise. As everything needs its yang, after a hard day of breaking down muscle and consuming nutrients, you actually need time to let things soak in, time to heal. A time where we let the body take over and do it’s thing, our part is done, or is it?

While more and more scientific studies are starting to show the night and day benefits of having a good night sleep, many bodybuilders still aren’t taking their bedtime routine seriously. Weightlifting’s quiet cousin often times get over looked because it’s not active, and can often times feel unimportant, or even…boring (obviously those people have never had 60 hour work weeks). But if you think about it should be just as important as your diet or any other part of your workout. Besides it’s testosterone building, skin elasticity having, fluid brain functioning benefits, it feels great!

So how do you start taking your bedtime routine more seriously? Well, by nature sleep is an important part of the human experience, you’re just messing with it by making stupid mistakes, over and over again. So instead of telling you what to do, we’re going to tell you what to stop doing, in the 5 bad habits that are ruining your gain.

Habit #1 Nightcap

Besides being loaded with empty calories, alcohol disrupts your sleep at night. It disrupts your brainwave patterns leading to interrupted sleep and a feeling of grogginess the next morning.

Habit # 2 Setting your alarm clock too early or too late

We get it, you want to get that extra 5 minutes of sleep, but according to the National Sleep Foundation those extra minutes are usually of poor sleep quality and could actually leave you feeling more tired when you finally get up.

Too late? Set your alarm with the exact amount of time it takes you to get from the shower to the Parkway will lead to a frazzled start to your day. It could also lead to anxiety toward waking up on time, making it harder to sleep.

Habit #3 Not checking your thermostat.

“Keeping your bedroom cool promotes a better night’s rest,” says Philip Alapat, M.D., assistant professor of sleep medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “Your body temperature decreases when you’re starting to fall asleep—and a cool room temperature helps facilitate it.”

So before you go to bed at night make sure you set the thermostat to around 60 to 67 degrees for the best sleep. A little change can make a big difference.

Habit #4 Sleeping on an old mattress

You’re sleeping on an old mattress. 10 years is the max, after that, use it as a trampoline.

Habit #5 Electronics

The blue light coming from your iphone, t.v., and computer screen can all affect your sleep cycle. Log off at least 1 hour before you plan on falling asleep for optimum rest. Can’t fall asleep without your favorite show? Set your electronics for a timed sleep mode or at least a dimmer to eliminate the blue light.

Any of these habits sound familiar?

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GI Team
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