As a private soldier, I made a point of sleeping (and eating) every chance that I got.
Naps were gold.
Precious commodities, grabbed at every opportunity.
I needed the energy for our training exercises as well as our late-night shenanigans.
Fitness-wise, the extra sleep improved my strength phenomenally.
By hitting the sack a half hour earlier every night and grabbing a 20 minute power nap during lunch hour, I noticed faster progress in weight training and running.
This was after years of guzzling protein drinks and trying every gimmick under the sun as a teenager.
It was not until I learned the soldier's trick of snoozing anywhere that I gained 10 pounds of muscle within a few months.
With full-time careers and families, it is difficult to get the needed sleep and most people forget that you can actually catch up on sleep.
It is kind of like missing food.
Just as you can re-gain lost muscle tissue from starvation, you can regain lost energy from sleep loss.
As a private soldier, (a private single soldier at that), it was pretty simple to grab that extra "rack time.
" Moving up to into management positions, having a family and studying does cut into the needed sleep.
Often we become unaware of the problem until our health fails us.
Sometimes it takes a bit of self-evaluation to get back on board.
Realize that sleep is when we recharge our batteries and let our minds sort out the events of the day.
Sleep builds the immune system, builds muscle and burns fat.
To get a good night's sleep: o Get a good firm bed.
Where you spend a third of your life deserves a better investment than the type of car that you drive.
o If traveling or living outdoors, take the extra few minutes preparing your sleeping site.
Dig the small ditch around your hooch, put up the mosquito net, secure your hooch or insulate yourself from the cold ground.
A few hours of sound sleep always beat out several hours of disturbed sleep.
o Avoid eating sugar before bedtime.
I know you have to eat when you have to eat, but sugar will interfere with your body's ability to repair itself during sleep.
Taken within an hour and a half of sleep, sugar impedes the body's growth hormone.
Body builders take note.
o Try to wind down before bedtime.
Some reading or a hot shower beats out horror movies and heavy metal music.
o Avoid alcohol and caffeine.
Sources of caffeine include black and green teas, colas and chocolate.
Alcohol might help some people sleep, but they almost always wake up in the middle of the night.
o Try to get to sleep before midnight.
How much is enough sleep? Most experts say between 6 and 9 hours.
Some people survive well on 6 to 7 hours, while professional athletes need more.
In the army, I was required to run on less than 3 hours a night (or less).
But, we were performing mostly labour-intensive work such as digging trenches.
Mental work is another story.
I found this out the hard way while attending university.
You really need the extra sleep for your brain to function properly.
When I took a student loan and cut back my part-time work, my school marks increased dramatically.
Students and part-time students, take note.
More health tips in the download: Stomach Flattening