Sleep, Exercise, and Nutrition

The relationship between sleep, exercise and nutrition

Sleep

600px-Green_equilateral_triangle_point_up.svgExercise                                                             Nutrition

These three words are very much connected to one another speaking in terms of how the body functions. When one of the three components is lacking, the other two often times follow. For example: You were out all night with friends and got little to no sleep. The next day being sleep deprived, chances are good you are going to be more likely to call for pizza delivery and plant yourself on your favorite spot on the couch, versus cooking up a grilled salmon with veggies and hitting the gym with the newest products from Joy ON.

On the contrary, when one is well-rested, chances are better that they will make healthier decisions (if that is their lifestyle) and they will be more inclined to get active.

The reason I bring this up is because this past week I have not been sleeping well. I can hardly go even one day with little sleep much less almost a whole week of very little and poor sleep. I’ve mentioned before I am one of those people who need a good 8 plus hours of sleep to function at my best. Yesterday the lack of sleep finally caught up with me. I felt nauseous and completely exhausted. My body is fighting so hard to stay healthy with all of the flu and illness going around, and it wasn’t responding well to the whole lack of sleep bit. Take a look at the top CBD lotions online that can help you get that good night sleep you are missing.

I spent the day resting.

What did I want to eat yesterday? Well, I wanted everything. First of all I had a crazy appetite, but second I craved low-nutrient dense foods like ice cream, chocolate, and candy. My sleep pattern was off, therefore the two other components of my health were off as well. However badly I wanted those foods, I KNEW my body needed good nutrient packed foods if I were going to stay healthy. I did what I know best, I packed in the fruits and veggies.

Breakfast: banana with peanut butter.

Mid-morning snack: apple

Lunch was a bunch of small snacks: Broccoli salad

broccoli Snacks: Quinoa, dates with peanut butter, mukimame (edamame)

mukimame

Dinner: Hawaiian chicken with pineapple and pan-seared brussels sprouts with parmesan

chicken and brussels sprouts

Dessert: I resisted my urge to go buy ice cream and saved mucho calories and fat by making my own banana soft serve with one banana a dash of almond milk and a sprinkle of cocoa powder.

chocolate softserve

I even “forced” myself to take a very slow walk on the treadmill to increase circulation and to help ward off any illness making its way into my system.

I fought through the cravings throughout the day and did my best to level out each corner of the health triangle, and the good news is I slept SO much better last night. I feel like a new woman today. I’m not saying that the reason I slept better was solely because of eating well, because there are other underlying factors going on, but I do know that keeping a balance of the three components: sleep, nutrition, and exercise, can greatly improve our overall being and health and they have such a huge influence on eachother. (Credit: https://sites.google.com/site/nutrisystemormedifast/)

Do your best to keep these three components at their peak. We will get through this flu season once and for all.

Stay healthy my friends and take good care of your body. It’s the only one you have!

Question: What are your thoughts on this “health triangle?”

 

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