Do you ever have to choose between sleep and exercise?

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midlomel1971
midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I often have this dilemma. Do I sleep the recommended 6-8 hours? Or do I exercise and get less than 6 hours? How do you choose? Every time I turn on the news I hear experts say, "You have to get more than 6 hours of sleep!" and "You have to get your exercise!" and then recently something came out saying you shouldn't work out within 3 hours of going to bed.
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Replies

  • happysherri
    happysherri Posts: 1,360 Member
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    Sorry, I'm just never that busy. But, I'm guessing sleep would definitely win with me.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
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    Exercise right before bedtime and you'll get better sleep, so you don't need as many hours of sleep.
  • joshuak30
    joshuak30 Posts: 110 Member
    edited April 2017
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    I made that exact choice this morning. My twin baby girls were awake a lot during the night, which meant I got 4-5 hours of sleep, and that was poor quality. I woke up and decided it was too nice to drive to work, I really needed to exercise and stuck to my plan to bike to work. Do I do this often? Definitely not; that would be counter productive. However, once in a while it won't hurt you.

    As to your dilemma..."chronically over-tired or over-weight" is not a good way to look at it. You don't need exercise to be a healthy weight. Exercise to be healthy; the weight comes off through cutting calories.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Well you DON'T need exercise to lose weight. But you do need rest to EFFECTIVELY lose stored body fat. Body fat is burned EXCLUSIVELY at rest and you lose weight as long as your on a calorie deficit. So if it really came down to it, I'd make sure I got enough rest first. Gym time doesn't have to be more than 30 minutes too. Some people think that one has to stay in the gym for an hour or more for benefits.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png

    thank you, that makes me feel better...I have it ingrained in my brain that I have to go to the gym every night
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    Between work and family obligations, I have to choose between sleep and exercise several times per week. So at 4:20am I am getting up and going to the gym and sacrificing sleep. I also have to choose between lunch/ socializing at work and exercise, and always choose to workout during lunch and eat by myself while working afterwards. Both sacrifices are worthwhile and aligned with my fitness priorities.
  • Bry_Fitness70
    Bry_Fitness70 Posts: 2,480 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Between work and family obligations, I have to choose between sleep and exercise several times per week. So at 4:20am I am getting up and going to the gym and sacrificing sleep. I also have to choose between lunch/ socializing at work and exercise, and always choose to workout during lunch and eat by myself while working afterwards. Both sacrifices are worthwhile and aligned with my fitness priorities.
    Just a quick note: All that exercising may not be doing as good as you think if you don't get enough sleep. Lack of sleep is definitely linked to higher risk of heart disease and hypertension. Usually because of hormonal imbalances due to not getting enough rest. So higher cortisol, adrenaline, etc.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


    I am not losing tremendous amounts of sleep, just a few hours 2-3 times per week. I've been doing early workouts for 6-7 years and all of my health stats continue to look good.
  • midlomel1971
    midlomel1971 Posts: 1,283 Member
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    ninerbuff wrote: »
    Bry_Lander wrote: »
    Between work and family obligations, I have to choose between sleep and exercise several times per week. So at 4:20am I am getting up and going to the gym and sacrificing sleep. I also have to choose between lunch/ socializing at work and exercise, and always choose to workout during lunch and eat by myself while working afterwards. Both sacrifices are worthwhile and aligned with my fitness priorities.
    Just a quick note: All that exercising may not be doing as good as you think if you don't get enough sleep. Lack of sleep is definitely linked to higher risk of heart disease and hypertension. Usually because of hormonal imbalances due to not getting enough rest. So higher cortisol, adrenaline, etc.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


    This is absolutely true! I think it's why my stress level has been higher and my blood pressure a bit higher. I know it makes me much grumpier and short-tempered. And I think it's made my weight gain worse (Although i mostly blame bad eating and entering my 40s for that.)
  • ronjsteele1
    ronjsteele1 Posts: 1,064 Member
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    All.the.time. I average 4-4.5hrs of sleep a night. On Friday nights I can usually get 6hrs. I know that my body needs more sleep, but I do better losing if I can exercise because it helps me stay in a deficit. Exercise also helps me feel better, I make better food choices overall, and I know I'm at least holding what muscle I do have and not losing muscle mass as I lose weight. So for me, the sacrifice helps me in the long run. That said, if I had a different personality or mentality (like exercise really didn't help me feel that much better, etc) then I would choose just to hold the line on my calories and call it good. I'd add in walking extra distances when it's feasible, move when I can on weekends, and get the sleep I need. Don't get me wrong, I'm exhausted 90% of the time, and I'd choose differently if exercise weren't so important for me mentally. About once a week, I can manage to get an hour or so nap in the afternoon and I take advantage of that when I can. Otherwise, I tell myself that the kids are almost grown, I'm almost done teaching them, and then I can rest. It's a season of life.....
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    I don't sleep very much. Maybe 5-6 hours on a good night (my baby prefers to party all night lol).. mind you it hasn't affected my ability to reach my goals...lose weight, gain muscle etc. However if I could choose more sleep, I would definitely sleep more. It also depends how you feel with less vs more sleep, everyone is different.
  • AmyOutOfControl
    AmyOutOfControl Posts: 1,425 Member
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    Can you go to bed earlier? Or, are you up late every night with your kids? My daughter is 20 but I remember the craziness of small school age kids - those dinner time homework battles!

    I sometimes miss out on sleep but most of the time I just make sure I am in bed really early (like 9pm). I work 2 jobs (one full time) and work-out 6-7 days a week. My social life suffers -- I skip out on friend invitations during the week.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,877 Member
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    I fit full-time work, part-time university, and training for cycling events into my day and still have time for 6 hours of sleep a night. :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,877 Member
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    midlomel1971 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No. Because I ensure I get the sleep I need and workout when I'm wide awake. If you aren't getting enough sleep, why is that? Is it because you stay up too late? Would rather watch TV than sleep? Work overtime to make extra cash? You need to choose what's important to you.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


    I work full-time and I have 2 children (one with special needs who needs a lot of help with schoolwork at night), a husband who works evenings many nights, a house, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. You know - normal stuff (I am by no means unique.) I rarely watch TV. I know it's about choosing what's important and obviously that choice is my kids and family. So, I do what I can. Many nights I'm going on 5 hours of sleep a night and I go to the gym and feel like I might drop dead from exhaustion. I find myself wandering if it's worse to be chronically over-tired or over-weight.

    You don't have to go to the gym ... incorporate exercise throughout your day. Walk up and down the stairs at work, walk as part of your commute, walk at lunch.

    Cycle with the kids to the park and play tag with them or toss the ball around.

    Just generally be active when you can.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
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    midlomel1971 wrote: »
    I often have this dilemma. Do I sleep the recommended 6-8 hours? Or do I exercise and get less than 6 hours?

    yup. i just play it by ear. i think at first you're worried about slipping up so those recommendations haunt you a lot, but after a while i just decided i know more about me than any damn fool on the news, so it gets to be less of a thing.

  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
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    I side with more sleep, and fitting my workout into my usual awake hours if I can. If I can't, I need to just eat less. As a work-at-home mom of 3, I've had to figure out ways to fit in the workouts, which pretty much means doing them at home. We have a treadmill for running and another for walking (my treadmill desk for working from home), and I do weights in my living room. I've been known to do workout DVDs or YouTube workouts right alongside my kids. Even running or walking in place for 20 minutes can burn some calories. When I can, I get outside to run or walk, which sometimes means bringing the kids on foot or on their bikes. It has gotten a bit easier as they get older (they're 10, 8, and 6).

    So my overall answer to the question is that since I already only get 5-6 hrs of sleep, I can't sacrifice any more, and must make time for exercise during the day.
  • lightenup2016
    lightenup2016 Posts: 1,055 Member
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    midlomel1971 wrote: »
    ninerbuff wrote: »
    No. Because I ensure I get the sleep I need and workout when I'm wide awake. If you aren't getting enough sleep, why is that? Is it because you stay up too late? Would rather watch TV than sleep? Work overtime to make extra cash? You need to choose what's important to you.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
    9285851.png


    I work full-time and I have 2 children (one with special needs who needs a lot of help with schoolwork at night), a husband who works evenings many nights, a house, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. You know - normal stuff (I am by no means unique.) I rarely watch TV. I know it's about choosing what's important and obviously that choice is my kids and family. So, I do what I can. Many nights I'm going on 5 hours of sleep a night and I go to the gym and feel like I might drop dead from exhaustion. I find myself wandering if it's worse to be chronically over-tired or over-weight.

    I just wanted to add that if you're that exhausted and trying to still get to the gym, I would say skip that workout and eat 200-300 less calories for that day or the next. Not eating those calories takes a lot less of your time!

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