According to the National Sleep Foundation, while most people need between seven and nine hours of sleep each night, American women between the ages of 30 and 60 average just six hours and 41 minutes each weeknight. Unfortunately, lack of sleep can interrupt a woman's exercise routine and undercut the benefits associated with exercise.
Fatigue and Motivation
Although it might seem obvious, it's important enough to bear repeating: Women who don't get enough sleep are more likely to feel fatigued during the day. Fatigue is a killer when it comes to sticking with an exercise routine. If you find that it's hard just to make it through your work day, your motivation to exercise is going to nosedive. And even if you do make it to the gym, your workout quality and intensity will suffer from your lack of mental focus and fatigued muscles.
Building Muscle
While many women develop an exercise routine at least in part to tone their bodies, sleep-deprived women may find that they are not building muscle as quickly as expected. This is because no matter how hard you work your muscles during your routine, your body actually builds new muscle tissue while you sleep and recover. In addition, lack of sleep can cause your body to release the hormone cortisol, which breaks down muscle tissue and can actually cause you to lose muscle mass.
Losing Weight
While losing weight is one of the primary motivations for many female exercisers, a lack of sleep can undercut and even reverse the weight loss benefits of regular exercise. Lack of sleep slows down your metabolism, meaning that you will burn fewer calories. In addition, increased production of the hormone cortisol and decreased production of the hormone leptin -- both associated with sleep deprivation -- can cause you to eat more than you normally would.
Cancer Prevention
One of the biggest health benefits of regular exercise is that it reduces a woman's risk of cancer. Unfortunately, women who exercise but do not get enough sleep may not see those benefits. In 2008, the National Cancer Institute released a study indicating that physically active women who were sleep-deprived were 47 percent more likely to develop cancer than physically active women who got adequate levels of sleep. To preserve the health benefits of regular exercise, including decreased risk of cancer, make a good night's sleep an integral part of your exercise routine.
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