When designing an overall fitness program, most people focus mostly on two components: nutrition and exercise.

While there is no denying that these factors will probably affect your shape more than any other, you should spend some time thinking about how you sleep. Getting a good night’s rest will help you recover from exercise faster, give you more energy for exercise during the day, and help you establish a hormone balance that helps you process food better. While for most of us, there is nothing that we can do to actually increase the number of hours we sleep, there are a few steps that you can take to enhance the quality of your sleep every night.

Get on a Sleep Routine - Ideally, you should wake up at the same time and go to bed at the same time every night. This will help your body get accustomed to a routine, which can make your sleep at night a bit deeper. Now, this might mean that you have to forgo sleeping in long hours on those lazy Saturday mornings. But if you stick to a good schedule over time, you will probably discover that you have more energy and have an easier time falling asleep at night.

Turn off the TV – Try to avoid watching television for about half an hour before you decide to hit the hay. Studies show that this extra stimulation can actually decrease your quality of sleep. When you stare directly at any bright light, like a television screen, it tells your brain that it is still light out. When you do something a bit more calming before you go to bed, like read a book or listen to music, it can prepare your body for sleeping, just like warming up can prepare your body for exercise.

Spend Time Making Your Bedroom Sleep Friendly - If you have to contend with a bright street light coming in through your bedroom window, there just is not any way that you are going to sleep well. Make sure that your blinds can block out any light that might come in, and that your room stays at a comfortable temperature. The next time you want to do a redesign of your bedroom and want to make it more sleep friendly, try choosing darker and earthy colors rather than bright primary colors.

Don’t Schedule Your Exercise Right Before Sleep – Generally speaking, exercise improves the quality of your sleep. It physically exhausts your body so that your sleep in deeper and most restful. But if you do that exercise right before you go to bed, you stimulate your body to a degree that makes it difficult to go right to sleep. If night time is the only time you can exercise then you should of course do it anyways. But if you have an option, it’s better to get your workouts done in the morning.

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大多数人在计划整个健身进度表时，会主要关注两大元素：营养与运动。

营养和运动无可厚非会影响你的身材，然而你应该多花些时间好好想想你的睡眠到底如何。一夜良好的睡眠能帮助你更快地从运动中恢复，在白天为你提供更多运动所需的活力，同时还能帮你建立荷尔蒙的平衡，有助于你更好地吸收食物。但是对大多数人来说，我们无法实际延长我们的睡眠时间，这里我将给你一些建议，可以帮助你提高每晚的睡眠质量。

遵守良好的睡眠规律--理想的做法是，每天早上你在同一个时间醒来，每晚在同一个时间上床就寝。这能使你的身体建立一个良好的睡眠规律，有助于让你在夜里睡得更熟。那么现在看来，这就意味着你得放弃在懒散的周六上午睡懒觉的习惯了。但是只要你长时间坚持良好的睡眠习惯，你很有可能会发现你的活力更加充沛了，而且在晚上也更早容易入睡。

关上电视机--在睡前半小时里尽量避免看电视。研究显示这种额外的刺激实际上会降低你的睡眠质量。当你直接盯着任何像电视机屏幕那样的亮光时，亮光会告知你的大脑说它仍在运作。当你在睡前做一些更加平静的事像是读书、听音乐时，会帮助你的身体为睡眠做好准备。这和你在运动前做热身准备的原理是一样的。

花时间布置你的卧室让它更适宜睡眠--如果卧室的窗户中总有强光进入，那么无论如何你都会睡不好觉的。确保你的窗帘能阻隔任何光线进入，室内温度适宜。下一次你再要重新设计卧室时，记得要把它装修得更适宜睡眠，尽量选用深色和简朴的颜色，而不是鲜艳的三原色。

睡前不要安排进行运动--一般来说，运动能提高你的睡眠质量。它能消耗你的体力，让你睡得又熟又香。但是如果你在睡前做运动，你会刺激你的身体使其处在一个不太容易入睡的状态。如果你只有在晚上才有时间锻炼身体，那当然你也只有这么做了。但是如果你有别的选择的话，还是最好在早上做运动。

克里斯多夫·威廉姆·麦肯是一名个人训练师，他在加州的橘子郡经营一家健身训练营。他在减肥方面有他独特的方法。克里斯还是一名健身训练市场专家，帮助全世界的健身训练师缩短一半的工作时间，实现收入翻三倍。