I, like Melissa, was having trouble sleeping last week. I don't think I can say the Olympics were my problem though. I had a very busy week and I'd have trouble falling asleep at night and sometimes I would wake up in the middle of the night wide awake. I'd be so tired in the morning that I would skip the gym. I told myself I needed that extra hour of sleep. But I gotta tell you, I didn't feel any more rested. And the cycle would start again that night. So it made total sense when I read in this month's Shape that,
"People who exercise for 50 minutes four to five hours before bedtime doze off 54 percent faster and stay asleep much longer, say researchers at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil." (10/08, pg. 117)
Duh, Meagan. That's why your sleep patterns were off! I usually work out every other morning, which clearly is more than 4 or 5 hours before bedtime, but it does energize me for the day and at the same time expends my energy by the time I go to bed. The next time I want to sleep in because of a bad night's sleep I'll have to remind myself that I'll sleep better that night if I just get up and go to the gym. And maybe I'll even start incorporating an evening stroll with the hubby after dinner to get in that "4 to 5 hours before bedtime" window. Mama needs her beauty sleep!
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