
Sleep may be culprit if gym, diet not showing results
BY GANNON PACIONI / VN COLUMNIST
If you’ve been in a gym, worked with a fitness coach or even had an annoying fitness friend or family member, you’ve inevitably heard the quote, “It is about what you do the 23 hours outside of the gym that really is going to affect your fitness.”
Though true, half the world doesn’t know what the hell that means, let alone what these professionals (or not-so-much professionals) are trying to say.
In a Spark Notes version, what they mean is this: So you have your sleep, stress and nutrition under control?
It would be shallow to dissect all three of those life facets in 500 words.
Instead, let’s focus on how your sleep affects the body’s function from a physical standpoint.
It seems that in current society, sleep has become a luxury and a person who attempts to make it a priority is often looked at as lazy or weak.
The ironic part is that people who don’t get adequate sleep are actually becoming lazier due to poor recovery.
Even if we look past the compromised protection and increased risk of degenerative disease and early death brought about by poor sleep, inadequate sleep negatively affects our ability to build strength, lose weight and gain muscle.
Proper sleep helps to regulate a growth hormone called cortisol. This steroid, when released into the blood, is transported all around the body.
Every cell contains receptors for cortisol, so cortisol can have lots of different actions depending on which sort of cells it is acting upon.
Natural cortisol levels are supposed to be at their highest level right when you wake and then taper off throughout the day, ending with low levels at night.
If someone does not get adequate sleep, these levels can fluctuate and become erratic.
This can inevitably cause some negative effects on the body.
Poor sleep can inhibit control of the body’s blood sugar levels (which regulate metabolism and fat storage), decrease anti-inflammatory properties (which help with recovery in the muscles so you can train the next day), influence memory formation, impact salt and water balance (bloating, cramping and dehydration) and alter blood pressure (which can affect the heart).
Simply missing one hour of sleep per night from what’s optimal for you can prompt your brain to secrete cortisol and shift your body away from muscle building and toward fat storage.
As these inadequate hours of sleep build up over days, weeks and even years, our imbalances become so great that the deficits cannot be made up through diet and fitness alone.
In order to make changes in our sleep habits, we must first figure out what might be preventing us from getting adequate sleep in the first place.
Just because you work out hard doesn’t always mean you will see results.
There’s more to it.
Pacioni is VN news editor and a certified trainer.
Get Top Stories Delivered Weekly
More VN News Articles
- Bolden breaks barriers on state Supreme Court
- ‘De-Stress’ event will celebrate end of year
- Students sound off on latest tuition increase
- ‘Include everyone in the conversation,’ PR pro says
Recent VN News Articles
Discuss This Article
MOST POPULAR VN

Bolden breaks barriers on state Supreme Court By Isabella Filary

‘Mario’ movie packs fun, nostalgia By Jorge Reyna, Jr.

Senior track athlete chases dental dreams By Kara Wolfbauer

‘De-Stress’ event will celebrate end of year By Lorenzo Izzi
GET TOP STORIES DELIVERED WEEKLY
FOLLOW OUR NEWSPAPER
LATEST VN NEWS
- Bolden breaks barriers on state Supreme Court
- ‘Mario’ movie packs fun, nostalgia
- Theologian explains Transpacific cultures
- Senior track athlete chases dental dreams
- Studies show benefits of a 4-day workweek
- Does NBA’s most valuable player award still matter?
- Leading a non-profit at 21 brings joys, challenges
RECENT VN CLASSIFIEDS
OUTSIDE THE LINES
- What You Need To Know About Marfan Syndrome
- As Extreme Disasters Mount, Help Ensure No One Faces...
- Save Time, Save Money And Go See The World
- Even Good Dogs Have Bad Days
- Understanding Sickle Cell Disease
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- What to Know About Pregnancy and COVID Vaccines
- Postal Service Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the...
FROM AROUND THE WEB
- Custom Rings Are the Perfect Fit for Special Occasions
- How to Think About AI in the Workforce
- CARSTAR Kick Starts Summer with Yeti® Cooler and Swag ...
- BookBites: A Modern Fable About Preparing for Your Future
- How to Make 'Trying' Less Trying
- Self-Help, Mystery, the Afterlife and Animal Rescue
- From High School to High Pay and a Personally Rewarding...
- 10 Pool Opening Tips for Swim Season 2023
- Top Water Safety Tips for Kids and Families this Summer
- How to Help Your Aging Parents
COLLEGE PRESS RELEASES
- DOSOMETHING.ORG LAUNCHES GENERATION FUTURE AWARD TO RECOGNIZE YOUTH LEADERS FUELING CHANGE
- The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi Announces Study Abroad Grant Recipients
- Shoff Promotions Comic Book & Sports Card Show
- Earth Day Bombshell: An Open Letter to the UN Provides Educators, Psychologists and Students With Suppressed Remedies for our Broken World Lies and Painful War on Nature.
- Leading Publisher, Taylor & Francis, Hosts Webinar for Researchers in Environmental Sciences on How to Get Published, Make an Impact and Save the Planet