Cheap, simple & effective, here’s the secret to better health and performance...

➡️ SLEEP!

💥 Did you know? Routinely getting less than 6-7 hours of sleep per night doubles your risk of cancer, impairs your immune system, disrupts your hormones, and puts you at higher risk of underperformance & injury?

☝🏻Sleep matters! Not just quantity, focus on the quality of sleep to reap the health and performance benefits.

😴 Stick to a schedule; go to bed and wake up at the same time each day of the week (you cannot make up for missed sleep by sleeping in on weekends)

🏃🏻‍♀️Avoid exercise too close to bedtime; complete training 2-3 hours prior to bed to allow core temperature to drop

☕️ Monitor caffeine intake and timing; caffeine can take as long as 8 hours to leave your system

🍷Avoid alcohol; drinks rob you of deep sleep and you tend to wake up in middle of night when alcohol wears off

🍔 Avoid large meals and excess fluids; heavy foods may cause indigestion and extra fluids lead to night wakening

😴 No naps after 3 pm; late naps make it harder to fall asleep

🛁 Take a warm bath before bed; the drop in core temperature after a bath helps induce sleepiness

😎 Dark and gadget-free; any light - from clocks, lamps or even reading on an iPad disrupts sleep quality

🥶 Keep it cold; ideal sleeping temperature is 65 degrees

☀️ Get some sun; wake up to the sun if possible and get at least 30 minutes of daily sun exposure each morning

🥺 Don’t stay in bed awake; if you find yourself unable to fall asleep after 20 minutes then get up and do a relaxing activity until you feel sleepy

📸: @emilythefry taking a well deserved nap after crushing it at IM Arizona last fall! We love this pic! 🍕 😴

📝 by @liz.waterstraat (inspired by ‘Why We Sleep’ by Matthew Walker)