Is It Bad To Workout When You Are Tired?

If you are not a morning person, you must have warred with the snooze button daily before you eventually dragged yourself out of bed to hit the gym. Or bargained with yourself in the evening just to get yourself on the treadmill after a tiring day at work.

Whatever your schedule might be, in this article we will discuss the difference between fatigue and laziness, and why you should not workout when you are tired!

Why You Should Skip Your Workout If You Are Running On Empty

According to the National Sleep Foundation of the United States, a solid 7 - 9 hours of sleep is optimum for the physical and mental health of human beings.

So if you are running on less hours of sleep and are finding it difficult to keep your eyes open, it's best to skip the gym and hit the bed, instead.

This is because when you are too sleepy or tired, you tend to be more careless about your posture and movements, which increases the risk of injury, especially when you are doing an HIIT circuit, cardio, or lifting weights.

Also, brain fatigue lowers your immunity and slows down muscle repair, which increases your risk of injury even more!

What If I Sleep For More Than 9 Hours Every Day?

While the general repercussions of oversleeping is well-documented in medical history, including the increased risk of heart disease, when it comes to working out, it turns out sleeping longer can actually improve your performance.

Unfortunately, the Stanford study that showed this correlation had a very small sample size of participants, and so, we recommend you to take this information with a grain of salt.

Optimal Rest For Optimal Workout

If you are currently suffering from insomnia or were stuck on a sleep-sucking project for quite some time now, the following tips can help you improve the quality and quantity of rest you get every day:

1. Don't check your phone before bed as the blue light stimulates your mind and gets rid of drowsiness. If you are addicted to your phone and unable to break this habit, play some soothing music before bed to distract and calm your mind.

2. Meditate as it lowers the frequency of your brain waves to the state they are normally in during sleep. Just make sure you are lying down while you do this as that's a great way to slowly and gently drift off to sleep.

3. Use an oil-diffuser that clears up the energy of your sleeping space with soothing essential oils. Just make sure your sense of smell is not agitated by the scent of the oil (which you can accomplish by sniffing out a few samples at your local health and beauty shop).

4. Use sleep story apps like Calm that can help you fall asleep with special tracks that narrate stories in a calm, soothing voice.

The key to a good workout is a good night's rest.