Saturday, February 22, 2014

What You Sleep On Is Important!




Sleep is a big factor in how you heal properly from a good day of training.  I was told a number of years ago by a sports doctor friend of mine that if you have two nights in a row of non -beneficial (tossing and turning) sleep that many times includes an elevated temperature that you are susceptible to getting injured in training.  

I trust my doctor friend so I took that advice to heart I simply do not roll on the day after I experience this.  I have found that I don’t get injured very much (knock on wood) following this guideline.  It works for me.   Some of you may read this and call bull.  That’s cool.  But I think we can all agree that getting a good nights’ rest is important to staying healthy and being able to train productively. 


I am not going to give you a detailed and long explanation of the effects of REM sleep on your body.  If you want to learn more about REM then simply look it up on Wikipedia.  It’s very fascinating.  REM sleep, in a nutshell, is the productive sleep that one gets that starts to repair the mind and the body of the Jiu-Jitsu Practioner.  It only happens a few hours a night and is basically the deepest and most restful part of your sleep.


Having a great mattress is of vital importance for your comfort and getting good REM sleep.  Think about it.  We spend so many hours of our lives actually sleeping.  Isn’t it worth it to get the best mattress we can afford?  My wife and I always try to buy an expensive mattress and we are always happy with the results.  Sleep is awesome!  


I highly urge you to not skimp on your mattress.  You will be glad.


P.S. 7 to 8 Hours of Sleep is also a big help to REM.





Go to www.bjjmoves.com and enter your email for more videos and blog posts.