Zeus
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This post sounds ridiculous but think back. Did anyone teach you "how to sleep"? They taught you how to use a spoon or how to wipe your butt but they never taught you how to sleep. Yea you close your eyes and pretend to go to sleep but do you know what time?
In this thread, I am giving you the basics of sleeping right.
This is HUGE.
The more/better you sleep, the more efficient your metabolism will become and the more muscle you will build, fat you will burn and stronger you will get.In this thread, I am giving you the basics of sleeping right.
This is HUGE.
Lack of sleep slows the metabolism, increases blood pressure, increases ghrelin (hunger hormone), causes insulin resistance and increases cortisol. Sleep is also a cognitive enhancer.
Ideally, a short 20 min nap during the day is also a big help. Usually 2 hours post workout after a meal if possible is particularly beneficial when training twice or more daily. Taking a nap too late in the day however, can disrupt circadian rhythms and make it more difficult to get to sleep at night.
“If you religiously take Creatine and only sleep 5 hours a night, you’re a f*cking idiot” -Stan Efferding.
If you wake up early after inadequate sleep in order to do cardio, you’re stepping over $100 bills to pick up nickels. It’s a zero sum game.
Ideally, sleeping more than 8 hours is optimal and 9-10 hours for athletes has been shown to improve strength and performance even more!!
Greg Nuckols (Strongerbyscience.com) recent Meta-Analysis on sleep states that: “The biggest takeaway from all of these studies is that nothing beats making sure your head is on your pillow for enough hours each night. Both studies examining the effects of sleep extension (increasing time in bed to 9-10+ hours per night) found marked performance improvements in high-level athletes in a short period of time, while all other interventions had mixed results.” -Greg Nuckols
Sleep loss limits fat loss: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101004211637.htm
Sleep is also CRITICAL for learning physical and mental patterns and skills for sports and education: https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/04/for-better-performance-athlete s-need-sleep/361042/
● Sleep according to your circadian rhythms. 10pm-6am or 11pm-7am.
● Every hour you get to sleep before midnight is like 2 hours in the sleep bank!
● 7-10 hours of sleep plus a 20 min nap is optimal depending on your age and workload. (More than 20-30 minutes and you may begin Deep or REM sleep which will make you groggy when you wake up).
● Wake up at the same time every day, 7 days a week, this helps set the clock making it easier to get to sleep at night.
● Sleep in a pitch black room with blackout blinds. Turn off ALL appliances, nightlights etc...
● Sleep in a Quiet room or use earplugs or earphones.
● Don’t take stimulants like caffeine or drink too many fluids too close to bedtime.
● Some carbohydrates in your meal about 2 hours before bed has been shown to help with the quality of sleep and helps prevent waking. The brain doesn’t sleep and doesn’t stop using glycogen all night so if the brain gets hungry it will cause the release of adrenaline and cortisol to get glucose from muscle tissue (gluconeogenesis).
● No TV or phone within an hour of bed (the bright light prevents melatonin secretion). Wearing blue light blocking glasses will help reduce the waking impact of electronics on the eyes.
● Take Vit D3 If blood levels are low. 60-80 ng/dL is the optimal range. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5541280/
● Children and pets should sleep in a separate bed.
Sleep Apnea - If you hold your breath or snore during sleep or wake up tired then you may need a sleep study and ultimately a CPAP. This can be an expensive and time-consuming process but it’s imperative. You may opt to buy a used CPAP on Craigslist for an immediate and affordable resolution. I use the Resmed Remstar Plus with “auto” function so the pressure auto adjusts. Masks are available on Amazon if not included.
CPAP
https://www.thecpappeople.com/Products/Respironics-System-One-REMstar-Plus -CPAP__DS260S.aspx?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIioag4vPp2QIVSJR-Ch2GmASmEAYY AyABEgKAr_D_BwE
Search for “CPAP” on Craigslist in your area and find the Remstar system one auto or a comparable “auto” set machine.
SLEEP TEST:
Go to Sleeptest.com for an at-home sleep test.
Try CPAP.com for new CPAP machines Mask - I’ve found the “Nose Pillow” to be the most comfortable. Here it is available on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B071FB3YRN/ref=yo_ii_img?ie=UTF8&psc=1
SLEEP AIDS:
Melatonin has not been shown to be beneficial for regular sleep and may actually cause drowsiness upon waking.
It has been shown to be helpful for resetting circadian rhythms when travelling to minimize jet lag.
Prescription sleep aids often prevent you from entering REM and Stage 4 sleep.
I don’t recommend sleep aids or prescriptions.
*Dr Stasha Gominak MD, Neurologist and sleep specialist has some fascinating articles on her website: DrGominak.com
This interview with Dr Gominak on High-Intensity Health is packed with great information including sleeps effects on Gut Health, Repairing chronic diseases, child development, behavioural disorders and much more: Dr Gominak - High-Intensity Health YouTube.
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