Supplements for a Better Night’s Sleep

Three factors go into a healthy lifestyle--exercise, diet, and sleep. Fitness experts agree that rest is equally essential in the fitness equation as training. Talk to a fitness trainer, and they’ll tell you that you should take your rest days, get adequate sleep, and don’t work out while you’re sick. If you push your body too hard, you risk slowed, or worse, no results in the gym.

So why is it that sleep always gets sacrificed? Why are one in three Canadians age 35-64 falling short on their sleep requirements when they know they should be getting seven to nine hours a night? Well:

• One in two adults has trouble falling asleep.
• One in five adults does not wake up feeling well-rested.
• One in three adults has trouble making it through the day without a nap.

Why Can’t We Sleep?

It seems that adults can’t sleep for a variety of reasons. Take a look at this list, and I’m sure you’ll relate to at least one.

1. People are sedentary for significant periods of the day.

We live in increasingly sedentary times. While, if you’re on our site, you probably dabble in the health and fitness world, you also very likely work a desk job, or are otherwise sitting for a period of four hours or more. Adults with poor sleep habits reported that they were sedentary for approximately four hours a day.

2. Adults’ stress levels are off the charts.

Stress has tons of well-documented adverse effects on a person’s health. Among a bunch of scary symptoms, sleep suffers greatly in adults who consider themselves to be chronically stressed.

3. Mental health disorders negatively affect sleep.

12.3% of adults that report getting poor sleep struggle with poor mental health. The vicious cycle continues; as people become increasingly sleep-deprived, their mental health deteriorates at an alarming rate.

4. We are busy all the time.

People often complain that there are just not enough hours in the day. Usually, this is to excuse their lack of exercise, but if you’re squeezing in your workout after a crazy day of work and your kid’s extracurricular activities, you may find that the lack of hours in the day comes from those sleeping hours.

How Bad is Sleep Deprivation for Your Health?

There’s no way to sugar coat it, sleep deprivation is bad. We’ve all experienced the occasional poor night’s rest, especially if you’re a parent. You’ve likely felt the irritability and fatigue that follow. A poor night’s rest here or there won’t cause any long term effects to your health but stack several sleepless nights on top of each other, and you experience some pretty serious mental effects, like:

• Brain fogginess
• Inability to concentrate
• Depression
• An increased risk of accidents at home, work, or on the road

Chronic sleep deprivation is even worse and puts you at risk for:

• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Obesity

How Can I Improve My Sleep?

First, don’t panic. No matter how bad your sleep and sleep habits are currently, it’s never too late to make improvements. It’s like the gym. You’re never too old to start making changes to improve your health. Start here: 

1. Stick to a schedule. Weekdays and weekends shouldn’t vary. Go to bed and wake up at similar times each day.
2. Start a sleep ritual that does not include the use of bright lights or electronics. Try reading, yoga, or meditating.
3. Avoid day time naps if you typically find it difficult to fall asleep.
4. Exercise daily. Move your body! Exercise tends to fix a lot of health issues.
5. Check your environment. Ditch lights of any kind, and rid your room of noises that disturb your sleep regularly.
6. Make sure you’re comfortable. Hint: your mattress’ life expectancy is only about ten years.
7. Avoid alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine in the evenings. All of these substances can disturb your natural sleep rhythms.
8. Try sleep aid supplements.

Sleep Aid Supplements Can Help

We’re Supplement Superstore, so of course, we believe in the power of sleep aids and supplements to do lots of beneficial things for your health and fitness. Sleep is no different. Sleep aid supplements can help you get better quality sleep regularly so that you can complete the triangle equation of fitness: sleep, exercise, and diet. Check out these natural sleep aid ingredients and look for them in your sleep aid supplements.

• Vitamin B6

A lack of vitamin B6 can cause both insomnia and depression. Give your body a boost with a sleep aid or supplement that contains vitamin B6 to produce more serotonin and melatonin naturally. These hormones are vital to quality sleep and mood.

Check out: Allmax ZMA Sleep Aid Supplement

• GABA

GABA, or gamma-aminobutyric, is a naturally occurring amino acid found in the brain. GABA reduces the activity of neurons in the brain to promote relaxation, improve mood, and improve sleep. Use a sleep aid supplement with GABA to ease anxiety and to sleep more peacefully.

          Check out: 5% Nutrition Knocked the F*ck Out Sleep Aid Supplement

• Melatonin

Like GABA, melatonin is another hormone found in the brain. As changes in light throughout the day occur, the brain releases melatonin, signaling that it’s time to sleep. Supplements that contain melatonin are excellent sleep aids because they can trick the brain into feeling tired, especially in individuals who do not produce enough melatonin on their own.

          Check out: Allmax Lights Out Sleep Aid Supplement

Sleep Your Way to Better Health

Sleep should be the most natural part of the fitness equation. You don’t have to exercise, and you don’t have to resist the twinkies. You just have to sleep. If only it were that simple. Supplement Superstore knows that while sleep is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, it’s also very delicate and disturbed by a variety of factors you face in your everyday life.

Some factors you can take care of with some minor adjustments. Skip endlessly scrolling your phone in bed before you eventually drift off. Other factors, like the stress from your job and everyday life, may not be as easy to remedy. Not everyone can just up and quit their nine to five. No matter how bad you might want to. Also, consider how much sleep you need. Sleep aids from Supplement Superstore are for you. Get more, better quality sleep to fuel your healthy lifestyle.