Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I've done a search and don't see a question about this specific debate I have with myself sometimes

I usually wake up around 5:30 in the morning to go to the gym. I like this schedule and I go to bed around 9-9:30 in order to get a good sleep beforehand. However, some days (like today) I can't get in bed by 9:30. So, the question is, if I can't get to bed in time to get a full 8 hours sleep, should I just skip the gym the next morning? Which is more important in these times I have to stay up late, gym or sleep?

flag	asked Apr 24 2012 at 3:33 trjones 5,149●5●22

CoachCanadan · Accepted Answer · 2012-04-24 03:40:26Z UTC

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I'm going to go with sleep here. Training only works if you recover properly. Exercise is a stress on your body. Sleep is necessary. Without it, there's no recovery, AND you're adding another stressor to the equation. I'm a CF trainer, and I am always recommending this to my athletes. Get your sleep and nutrition dialed in first, and then exercise.

My two cents.

answered Apr 24 2012 at 3:40

CoachCanadan
2,220●4●12

This pretty much says it all. – April S.♦ Apr 24 2012 at 3:53

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Great to see a trainer who understand's the importance of recovery in an athletic context. See people train at my box multiple times a day, no sleep and continue to wonder why they are spinning their wheels. +1 – Aussiebloke Apr 24 2012 at 3:53

@April, I remember you having a similar question not too long ago. Hopefully you're getting better sleep and making it a priority as well:) – Sunny Beaches Apr 24 2012 at 4:08

Recovery is the hardest part of training. I am ALWAYS thinking of drilling and improving my specific skill set, it is too easy to forget about rest. – AG Apr 24 2012 at 4:22

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I would agree with sleep. Hopefully, your calories-in will automatically adjust down (i.e., less hungry due to less activity), but if that doesn't happen, I think it might be worth it to be thoughtful about eating less. Probably doesn't make a difference if this is not happening frequently, but if it's once or twice a week, I think the calories could add up. – Mike T Apr 24 2012 at 6:22

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Adam Adkins · Answer 2 · 2012-04-24 12:53:22Z UTC

There are two competing interest here; (1) the most inportant factor to overall health is sleep and (2) The most important part in overall fitness is consistency in routine.

So the OP's question is should I deviate from my routine in effort to get more sleep. The answer, as is always is with any thing health and fitness related, is, "it depends."

First, getting up at 5:30 is hard and if you start regularly skipping sessions it is just going to get harder. So maintaining that routine is critical. Part of maintaining that routine is getting to bed on time and if you can't get to bed on time regularly you need to question the whole routine. But assuming you are asking about the rare exeption of when you can't get to bed on time break it down into two catagories:

1) Minor deviation in sleep pattern. Example: It is a random wednesday night and you can't get to sleep until 11pm. Your nutrition has good and you feel great. In this case you are going to get up at 5:30. Sure sleep is important but maintaining that routine is going to trump that lost sleep.

2) Major but temporty deviation in sleep patter. Example: Something came up at work and you've been putting in late nights, eating paleo-ish fast food, and are generally stressed out. In the last 2 weeks you've had several days of getting to bed late. In this case, get some sleep.

In summary, go by how you feel and how often your sleep is getting disrupted. Try to maintain the routine unless maintaining the routine comes at the expense of your recovery. I know that's obvious but it is really no more complicated then that.

Westernrosella · Answer 3 · 2012-04-24 11:32:28Z UTC

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I agree that the sleep is more important but if you're like me you'll wake up at the normal time anyway - so I'd go do the exercise anyway :-) I'd feel energised for the day too.

answered Apr 24 2012 at 11:32

Westernrosella
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Sleep or Exercise?

3 Answers