Not many people realise it but sleep is a huge factor in getting great fitness and weight loss results. In fact, it’s as important as getting your nutrition right or simply turning up at the gym.

Usually, people just try and get as much sleep as they can. There’s not really much thought into quality or length of time under the covers. However, lack of sleep and lack of sleep quality can ultimately prevent you from reaching your fitness goals.

Your mood, performance, and ability to lose weight will take a blow if you don't get enough sleep.

*A 2005 Sleep poll in America showed that people who slept less than six hours a night were more likely to be diagnosed with at least one medical problem such as arthritis, depression, diabetes, anxiety disorders, and heart disease.

Everyone knows that when you’re tired it’s harder to concentrate and perform at your best. Some people try to counteract this problem with a trip to Starbuck's or Costa for a caffeine fix, but trying to combat sleep deprivation with an espresso eventually leads to it not having such an effect and therefore higher doses are needed to wake you up. High doses of caffeine over time will lead to stronger ‘comedowns’ and exhausted adrenal glands so overall not a great idea if you're planning on living a healthy and feel good lifestyle.

Insomnia and having struggle sleeping can be caused by a number of things. Here are some common problems and solutions:

● Caffeine too late in the day - stop drinking any caffeinated beverages past 4pm
● Electronic screens - leave phones, laptops, and tablets outside of the bedroom
● Magnesium deficiencies - Include lots of leafy greens in your diet
● Stress - Use mediation or yoga to calm the mind and keep a diary to jot down your thoughts and feelings before sleep
● Sickness - Eat a varied diet and always make sure you look after your body when on a weight loss journey
● Overtraining - Make sure you’re not pushing yourself too much in the gym and wearing your body and mind down. Talk to your personal trainer about shaking things up in your program If you’re not quite getting the results you were expecting, take a look at your sleep cutting back your diet more or increasing your training. What happens when it goes dark could be the halting factor to your progress.