You Snooze You Lose

Remember, one of the reasons for muscle-building plateaus is lack of sleep. Even if you think you’re getting an adequate amount, there are some bad habits that could actually be detrimental to your health, fitness, and overall energy. One bad habit to break to maximize the restorative power of sleep is hitting the snooze button. It seems that ‘you snooze, you lose’ holds true when it comes to that handy little button. The subject has not been scrutinized as much as other aspects of sleep, but basically, you’re not doing your body any favors by sleeping in that extra 5, 10, 15, 20, or however many minutes you’re getting after you hit the snooze button. The body doesn’t have enough time to cycle to REM sleep, which is the most restorative. You can wean yourself off the snooze trap by moving your alarm clock several feet away from your bed (but make sure you can still hear it!) and setting your alarm clock for the time you must get up, not the time you can get up and then have extra time to fall back asleep. Usually, just walking those extra feet will ensure that you’re up for the day. After a while, you’ll probably notice that your energy level is fuller throughout the morning, day, and evening.