Sleep & recovery

I find most people I see undervalue sleep & recovery to an incredible degree. Most of us are more concerned about getting in that extra workout, fueling that fast paced life with the “go, go, go” attitude trying to achieve & accomplish as much as possible within the confines of a single day.

What I also see, is this is a sure fire path on the way to “burn out” or adrenal fatigue.

Whenever we exercise, or work out, we are expending more energy than what is being created by the body, meaning we are in a catabolic state. Also we tend to be in the sympathetic state (fight or flight response) when we exercise. This is all well & good if we are in a state of equilibrium, however most of us are running on very little or broken sleep, fueling ourselves with coffee & other stimulants as we crash through the day, only to try and smash that workout in the evening to really put the nail in the coffin.

Through this never ending cycle we can see how eventually disease, injury, weight gain & mood disorders can slowly start to sink their roots. We need to understand that we need to recover just as hard, if not harder then we work, train, compete etc.. We need to get back into the anabolic zone, which is where our tissue goes into the state of repair.

They say around 8 hrs is a minimum, obviously we are all different, some more, some less, but pay attention to how you feel when you wake.. are you rested? Do you feel energized & ready for the day? How is your immune system? Do you need that morning coffee to get going? How is your mood?

Consistent sleep/wake times are a good way to find your rhythm. Our ancestors woke with the sun & went to bed on dark, their circadian rhythm was in sync with the earth, how nature has intended. Find the times that work for you, and stick to it!

Keep your screen time to a minimum before bed, make your last meal at least 2hrs before bed time ( a little protein/fatty snack before bed may help a certain metabolic type sleep through the night), be wary of eating sugary foods, or foods high in carbohydrate before bed. The insulin response triggered may work against you when trying to get a good night sleep.

make your room as dark as possible & keep yourself reasonably cool, you don’t want to overheat. Cool showers are a little hack before bed.

Optimising your sleep cannot be understated. It directly affects performance, emotional state, mental clarity, hunger cravings, hormones & much much more.

Get your rest.