Trust me, there are a lot of important elements to a successful fitness routine. Timing, precision, diet and hydration are a few. But one that is often overlooked, but super crucial to your fitness regime is your sleep schedule. The exercise you undertake – both weights and cardio – are going to help your fitness levels, but your sleep schedule is going to help you to get the energy you need to even get up and go to the gym in the first place. Plus that sleep is going to help your muscles repair, preparing you for the next time you hit the gym. Unlocking your fitness goals takes a lot of effort and concentration and a good night’s rest is an component not to forget.

Sleep is vital in the sports and fitness world, and any good trainer and nutritionist helping someone reach their fitness goals will tell you the same. You can warm up, cool down and ice any muscular and joint injuries, but without a good sleep through the night, your body can’t put in the time to repair itself before it’s on the move again. It’s so easy to deprive yourself of a good night of sleep, though. Between putting in the hours at the office, corralling the children to and from activities and even debating over mattress pros and cons when you are deciding how to reinvent your bedroom, there is just never any time to get into bed and sleep the requisite eight hours. Robbing yourself of the appropriate amount of sleep is only going to do you harm in the long term. Our bodies use sleep as a way to be healthier and disrupting the natural rhythm of the body is not the way to improve upon your fitness levels.

The magic number of hours you should be getting per night for sleep is usually eight. Often people say, the rule is eight hours of play, eight hours of work and eight hours of sleep for a balanced day. The problem with that is that it’s not always possible to have eight hours of straight sleep: life gets in the way! However, if you care about your fitness, you should be considering the ways that you can balance your life a little more so that you can get those eight hours.

I made this a priority at the beginning of this year when I found myself constantly tired and therefore not able to get in the workouts I wanted to do. A few things that help me get the hours I need:

• Go to sleep and wake up around the same time every day. It’s good for your body and your normal routines to have this pattern - weekdays and weekends.
• Set an alarm for your bedtime. I know, that sounds silly or juvenile, but I use an alarm on my phone to remind me I need to be in bed in 30 minutes in order to get the sleep I need.
• Stop using devices at least 2 hours before you go to bed. That means smart phones, tablets, computers. Step away from the blue screen so that your body can get to producing that natural melatonin it needs to get you to sleep and sleep deeply.
• Don’t sleep with your smartphone near your bed. There is no need to have it right next to you, even if you use it as an alarm clock. And the temptation to check it or lose hours scrolling through Instagram rather than sleeping can be too strong.
• Set aside coffee in the afternoon. If you are having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, it might be because you still have too much caffeine in your system. Set a time in which you will switch to decaf or non-caffeinated drinks and stick to it.
• Calming essential oils. On nights when I am more wound up thanks to work or stress or something, I will diffuse some peppermint or lavendar in the air, or use a little oil on my temples and the back of my neck to help me relax and fall asleep.
• Make the room dark. Black out shades or heavy blinds will help keep the light out no matter what time you go to bed or wake up in the morning, helping to ensure you sleep the entire time you are supposed to.
• Schedule things with your sleep in mind. It can be tempting to think you’ll catch-up on sleep later or just sleep in and therefore the time you go to bed doesn’t matter. But it does. Make plans around your sleep time instead of fitting sleep in around the other events of your day.

If your body isn’t recovering properly, you will find it much harder to reach those fitness goals that you covet so much. Sleep helps you to focus better, repair your body better and gives you far more energy for your day. Performance – both in life and in your healthy routines – is important. You can’t perform to your best if you are dead on your feet. Make the time to get the right sleep, and you can watch your fitness levels improve dramatically. Your body needs time to recover and re-energise for the day ahead; give your body that luxury is so desperately wants.

What suggestions do you have for getting in the sleep you need??