Do you have the tendency to stay up all night, only to deal with the struggle of getting up early the following day? Perhaps this might cause you to end up rushing to make it on time for work or school, and earn you a bad reputation – even if it’s all part of your genetic makeup. Some of us at Evolve Daily are night owls as well, so we fully understand how difficult it can be to cope with this. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to reset your body clock and get your life back on track.
Ready to say goodbye to sleepless nights and start having better rest? Then read on to discover 7 Ways To Reset Your Body Clock:
1) Engage in regular exercise
In BJJ, size doesn’t matter because smaller people can overcome stronger, bigger opponents via technique and leverage.
How often do you work out? Well, if you don’t do so regularly, it could be what’s preventing you from getting the precious rest you need at night. Research has found that people who get at least 150 minutes of exercise per week sleep significantly better at night and also feel more alert during the day.
So if you don’t already hit the gym on a regular basis, why not start doing so and get into the best shape ever while fixing that messed up body clock?
2) Watch what (and when) you consume
Heavy bag work is a great way to build strength and endurance for Muay Thai and Boxing.
If you don’t already know, there are certain foods that can actually keep you up at night! Apart from that, having a big meal late at night can actually mess up your internal organs’ rhythm especially when they respond to the food you had for supper. Eating late also causes your body to store more fat and as a result, adds to your waistline! So ensure that you have most of your heavier meals earlier in the day, and if you absolutely have to eat supper, keep it light.
Besides food, be careful not to drink coffee, tea, or any other caffeinated drink too late in the day as caffeine can keep you up late. After all, it has the power to awaken your senses in the morning – so it would do the same at night as well.
3) Create a comfortable mood
BJJ World Champion and ONE Superstar Alex Silva works on his Muay Thai at the Evolve Fighters Program.
Sometimes, it can be a struggle to fall asleep because you don’t feel relaxed. This could be because of the many thoughts swirling in your mind, or the fact that your room isn’t dark enough. So put on some soothing music, have a warm bath and let yourself unwind before you hit the sack. It also helps to switch off all the lights and keep the temperature cool. If all else fails, put a few drops of lavender oil on your pillow for a nice relaxing scent.
4) Establish a routine
Your kids will inherit confidence, mental strength, discipline and focus when they train martial arts.
Decide on a bedtime that you’ll be able to stick to every night (yes, even on weekends) and make sure you keep to it. As harmless as it might seem, one late night can ruin your progress and mess up your sleep cycle – so you have to be disciplined about your sleep schedule. In order to maintain a functioning sleep schedule, you would also have to wake up at the same time every day. By doing so, your body would eventually adjust.
5) Brighten your mornings
Multiple-time Muay Thai World Champion Penek Sitnumnoi teaches at Evolve MMA.
Your body responds to light, darkness and other cues, so as to determine when you feel awake or drowsy. So switch on bright lights or open your curtains first thing in the morning. When you let yourself get exposed to light – be it sunlight or the light from your room – you’ll be helping your body clock to recognize that it’s time to wake up.
6) Darken your nights
ONE Superstars Eddie Ng and Amir Khan work on their grappling at the Evolve Fighters Program.
As we mentioned earlier, light tells your body that it’s time to wake up. Hence, you should make it a point to unplug from all forms of technological devices that give off light at least 30 minutes before bedtime. By doing so, you would be letting your body know that it’s time to go to sleep. As a result, you would fall asleep faster.
7) Skip the naps
Every BJJ student should master a few takedowns.
Yes, we know. Afternoon naps can be pretty satisfying, especially in the middle of a rainy, lazy Sunday. But it could interfere with your sleep cycle! This is because napping for too long can cause your body to take the nap as your main sleep time. Hence, it would be harder for you to fall asleep at night. However, if you really feel too drained to get through your day, it’s okay to take a short nap – but keep it to 20 minutes so you don’t end up sleeping too much.
Now that you know what you can do to fix your body clock, why not try it and start getting those much needed quality ZZZ’s?
