Importance of Sleep to Recovery

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The hard work put in while rehabbing an injury or working out, in general, is not the only thing the body needs to produce meaningful change. The human body needs time to recover in order to repair the tissues in your body, replenish energy stores, etc. Luckily for us, one of the best recovery tools we have is 100% free. It’s sleep! It is vitally important to prioritize the amount of sleep that you get, and the quality of your sleep so you can take full advantage of your body’s natural ability to heal itself. 6-8 hours of quality sleep is required for optimal cognitive, motor, and physiological functions.

Here are some of the ways that sleep impacts our body:

  • Increased Growth Hormone – this hormone stimulates tissue repair and growth

  • Decrease Stress (cortisol) – sleep helps decrease levels of stress hormone (cortisol). Too much cortisol can increase anxiety, elevate blood pressure, decrease bone density, and more!

  • Increase Prolactin – this hormone helps decrease inflammation

  • Decrease Pain

  • Improve Glucose Metabolism

  • Replenishes Energy Storage – sleep allows the body time to restock on the body’s energy

These are only a few of the many benefits sleep has on the body. Make sure you always prioritize your sleep to improve recovery times and overall quality of life! Check out my next post for tips to improve sleep quality!