Whats more important Sleep or Exercise?

mrs_lanza

I have run into several days where I have to chose between either sleep or the gym. If I am allotted 8 hours to sleep before having to report back to duty, should I take 2 hours out of that time to go to the gym/shower/and such or should I just get the sleep?

iplayoutside19

Is this tempory situation? If it is, for how long? You should probably focus on your nutrition while sleep is at a premium, and worry about exercise when you have more time. I assume 8 hours between shifts means you're getting less than 7 hours of sleep as it is.

Been many a time I've felt an extra hour of sleep was more beneficial than an hour of running.

thepetiterunner

Well, if I HAD to choose, I'd probably say sleep. When I'm exhausted, there's no point in me working out. There have been plenty of times where sleeping an extra hour or two and foregoing my planned workout has yielded much better results than pushing myself into a half-*kitten* attempt at the gym.

quara

Agreed, if it's for a short amount of time, focus on eating right and sleeping. But I don't think it's a valid excuse for people to use over their whole lives -ie, "no time".

It also depends on how much sleep you need - some people need 8, others are fine with 6.

wvbuckeye

Sleep is always going to win that battle. I'm sure this is just an occasional delima. If its not, you just need to see what you can do while working that can get your heartrate going. Exercise is exercise, doesnt matter how you get it. Good Luck!