Probably the most important part of the recovery cycle is sleep. But how many of you get enough sleep?
Work, parties, and homework/studying try to attack your sleep patterns. A way to tackle this problem is time management, but that is not the subject of this article. Nonetheless, recovery, which is the period during which muscle growth occurs, will not take place without enough sleep.
Rest
First, what does rest mean? Rest is the period in between workouts that includes low energy loss activities. Each body part requires a different number of days to recover. Hypothetically speaking, every time you workout, you should be stronger than the previous time, given you have allowed yourself enough rest.
It may appear that your muscles have grown during a workout. That pumped feeling is just rushing blood and stretched muscle fibers. So, how much rest should one get? That answer is totally up to the individual. So, where does sleep equate with the phenomenon of rest?
Sleep
The number one reason sleep is important is because Growth Hormone (HGH) rises during deep sleep, which often begins about 30-45 minutes after falling asleep.
What Is HGH?
HGH stands for Human Growth Hormone (also known as Somatotropin), an amino acid produced in the pituitary gland of the brain. HGH plays an important role in human development by affecting skeletal growth.
HGH levels are high during childhood, and peak at adolescence. During puberty, HGH levels determine height and bone size. After puberty, HGH levels start to decline, and by age 61 decrease to 20% of what they were at age 21. HGH is continually produced throughout the human life cycle, and continues to regulate the body's metabolism.
The amount of sleep is also another individualistic temperament. Generally, 6 to 12 hours of sleep are sufficient. As long as you feel rested the next day, then your accomplishments in the sack have paid off (no pun intended).
I once read that if you had enough sleep, you should not need an alarm clock to wake up. Also, there's a possible sleep myth out there that if you get more hours of sleep before midnight, your sleep will be more fulfilling—something worth trying out, at least. But what can be done if your alarm clock is annoying the