Sleep baby, sleep
Fuego knows how to sleepWe’re here talking on this blog about nutrition, fitness and performance. We all want to look, feel and perform better. When we were first thinking about this 90 day challenge, we thought about sleep, too. Should participants be judged based on how much sleep they’re getting? Looking at some of the other CF gyms and what they had done, one was requiring 8 hours of sleep for their participants. 8 hours. Another detracted points based on hours of sleep (if too little). Don’t know about the rest of you, but I know with BootCamp I’m up by 5am, and I know that most nights I’m not asleep until 11pm-ish. Some nights are worse than others, and I know I do not sleep in pitch black darkness. 8 hours is tough!
So what? What’s the big deal?
According to some of the published research, sleep loss seems to do quite a bit to hamper our health, well-being and journey to optimum fitness. Here are just two not-so-good things lack of sleep will do:
• Makes us feel hungry, even when we’re satiated. Melissa mentioned cortisol at our initial meetings. Cortisol is an important hormone that helps us regulate our appetite, and lack of sleep seems to affect the secretion of cortisol, leading someone to feel hungry even though they’ve had enough food.
• Ups our fat storage. Sleep loss may interfere with the body's ability to metabolize carbohydrates, which leads to high levels of blood sugar. Excess blood sugar promotes the overproduction of insulin, which can lead to the storage of body fat and insulin resistance...and as we know from our Paleo pow-wow, insulin resistance is NOT the desired goal here.
I’ve not had the chance to read it yet, but kind of intrigued by what I’ve seen on the book Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival (Wiley and Formby). Basic premise is that with the introduction of electricity and our ability to fabricate light, we are way out of tune with our circadian rhythms, etc. If anyone has read it, I’m interested in hearing your thoughts! Here’s a little summary about the book written by Scott Kustes here.
Robb Wolf is big on the sleep topic – as should we all be. When we sleep, we need QUALITY sleep. He suggests 9.5 hours. Holy hell that's a lot of hours! That means in bed by 7:30 if it's a bootcamp day. Whew. Then there's the darkness. Pitch black. I know Jeff and Melissa were looking into some blackout possibilities for their bedroom. I’d love to have a pitch black environment myself. Why do you think hotel rooms are so pitch black dark? Because you get a better night’s sleep. Anyone have a pitch black-can't-see-the-alarm-clock-or-your-hand-in-front-of-your-face sleep environment?
You can have your diet and fitness regime completely dialed in, but if you don’t get good sleep – both in quantity and quality – you will not see the results you want.
I wish that it was some simple “just eat Paleo foods and everything will be okay and you’ll be the best in the gym or at BootCamp.” Nope – nothing in life is easy. You have to work the sleep angle too.
Tinker with your hours of sleep, and see how you do. Try on the weekends to not set an alarm clock and see how long your body wants you to sleep – and how many hours you get. See how you feel. Log the number of hours of sleep you get in a night, and jot down how you feel that day. See if you notice any difference.
For more info on sleep as it relates to health, pain, etc., check these out:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2004-12-06-sleep-weight-gain_x.htm
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/PainManagement/Story?id=4167963&page=1
Jules
Reader Comments (23)
I am anxious to take a look at this book. I have been seeing a sleep specialist recently and I firmly believe he would agree with your post. He had asked me to read up on circadian rhythms to get a better grasp on some things I have been dealing with. I had no idea how much of a negative effect comes from too little sleep until I sat down and discussed things with him. I often have the same 5am to 11am schedule, and it is not easy! (By the way, I'm a little disappointed that Fuego's photo isn't showing up on the page . His name is there, but no Fuego ;-)
Yep, I was one of those that felt guilty for sleeping. Now Robb (and Lights Out) have given me permission to sleep. I have never felt better. Has made a huge difference for me. And, I can really tell the difference when I don't get a good night's sleep....thanks Fuego. As for the darkness, Robb claims he has a really easy time keeping body fat off when he can sleep in a dark room for weeks at a time. Says he can eat whatever he wants. I don't know if that would work for everybody. I do know that in a pitch black room, a small ray of light on the back of your knee is enough to break melatonin production. Cover your clocks, get some light blocking curtains (Google this for options) and think CAVE. I know y'all will think we are really nuts now... Berries, meat and caves. What's next? Wearing fur while working out?
It's funny that as kids we were never really taught how to sleep, rather just told to sleep. It can be really difficult, and I am sure many would attest, to go from the constant barrage of appointments/deadlines/media/communication to a peaceful resting state. I have read some interesting articles on sleep and allowing thought to disturb it. Most of them point out that due to the increasing number of requirements we all deal with, our minds will continue to think through the various issues unless we actively choose to take over. I have learned over the last few years that you can't consciously think about nothingness and all the daily grind stuff at the same time...That being said, when you head hits the pillow choose nothingness! This active nothingness(almost subconscious for me now) leads me to quick sleep, and cool dreams (rocking out in the land of Fraggle Rock eating doozer buildings and running from that dog!). Have a great Friday!
I know I try to sleep in a dark a room as possible, but have not invested in anything that covers windows more than ordinary shades and drapes. I RELISH waking up on the weekends and seeing the sun come through. It's invigorating to me. Additionally, during the week, I have lights set on timers (especially in winter) so when I do wake up at 5:30 to 6 am depending on the work schedule, that there is light, although artificial, to trick my brain into thinking it needs to be awake. I am by no means a "morning-person" but eating healthy, working out, and yes, even a little bit of a heavy work load cause me the best sleep at night and the most energy in the AM. I've set myself a bed time recently of at least in bed by 10 pm during the week. So far so good. As weird as it sounds, just being prepared to sleep gives my mind time to find that nothingness that Brad is talking about. Like I said yesterday, if I stay up past 10 it's a miracle of somesort.
Not sure why Fuego's pic isn't working...but it's really cute. Hope you all are having a great Friday. CONGRATS on making it through the first week(days) of this thing. The weekend is when it's easy to fall into old habits. Be prepared, plan ahead, and you'll be okay.
Leigh Ann, I completely agree with you. Most nights by 9:30, I'm already prepping for bed. Those nights I don't and am up past 10 or 11, I feel it the next day, all through the day.
I have had some success with a sleep mask and some soothing nature tones. (Yes, I'm listening to the sounds that the cavemen heard at night too... what are you people doing to us?) Also, no non-nocturnal activities like TV watching or computers, etc. in bed. I don't really know why but it helped.
Any thoughts on naps? I love naps even if they are rare for me.
This is an awesome post!
Back in December when my work schedule eased up, I was getting GOOOOOOD sleep. I swear there was a drastic improvement in my WODs when that happened. JW asked me what I was doing differently and the ONLY change for me at that time was sleep.
And it's true, you feel guiltly about getting the sleep. I would love to see all the folks at tomorrow's 5K, but my body is telling me it needs sleep baaaaaad. So, after accepting the importance of sleep, I am sleeping in the darkest room possible tonight, with no alarm or cell phone on. Bring on the Zzzz's!
I know this thread is about sleep, but I had a question about quite the opposite... What are people participating in this Paleo Challenge doing this weekend? We are usually quite a social group, but many of our social activities are not Paleo friendly.
It may not surprise many of you but I'm a morning person so even without an alarm clock I'm up by 7 AM. Most of the time because of my work schedule I get up at 5:30 AM. One of the keys for me is to get to bed by 11. I agree with Brad that my mind has to wind down before hitting the pillow the key to this is that I attempt not to read or be engaged mentally past 10:30. Most times I have the TV on and the lights off and just veg for thirty minutes. The other thing is I sleep with my iPod on with either jazz or classical music on for the first 30-60 minutes. I also do the sleep mask thing since if there is light I will not be able to sleep. As a last resourt I do occassionally dipp into the Tylenol PM but then getting started in the morning is a disaster and I end up draging through the day and trippling my coffee intake.
So lets say Paleo woman worked in an office and her fellow Paleo coworkers decided to bring in doughnuts for everyone as a Friday morning breakfast, what would Paleo woman do? Break out her egg, seafood and veggie omelette of course!
I love this post, I love sleep and I definitely don't get enough of it.
Jayson - I have a bachelorette party Saturday night and I have already claimed DD duty - great excuse to skip the drinks without other people commenting on how weird I am. There is a chance I might even get a little crazy and bring some lemon juice to squirt in my water...I can only take so much water and then it just tastes like water. Anyone else have it tougher than that...?
Jayson - Leigh Ann, Kim and I were trying to think of non-drinking/bar related activities the other day. We didn't come up with too much...let us know if you think of anything.
Daly...I can't wait to make jokes about your sleep mask.
Daly has a matching silk robe and fuzzy slippers for this sleep mask.
Tracy--I wish I could play the DD card at the wedding shower I am going to tomorrow, but it's in the afternoon! Wonder how they'll react when I don't eat the cake (and these folks are known for having good cake...) or drink the cocktails. Also, instead of lemon juice in the water, try lime juice or a lime slice--it's tasty and it will look like a vodka tonic! :)
It's also mine and Wino-Dan's 1 year anniversary this weekend. He is very disturbed that I will not be having wine or dessert on our celebratory date.
It is Beer Friday at the gym! We'll have some gluten free beer and vino at the gym this afternoon...grab a cold one after your workout or just stop by! Paleo PoPo have not approved this social outing, we're just providing the crack to see what you do. This is a test. Just kidding. If you do imbibe while on The 90, just remember to take the carbs out of your dinner. And again, be careful when you do that as the alcohol will hit you quicker, aka: your clothes will come off faster.
Drew - ooooo I never thought about it. Water with some ice and a lime DOES look like a tonic drink! So that possibly solves my problem...now your problem with cake could be a little more difficult. If you don't know them well you could pull out the gluten allergy...do they have a small dog who likes cake?
Drew - just tell them you're trying to win some cash for your wedding/dress/etc. Or that you're sure it's not going to taste nearly as good as your gluten-free sugarless wedding cake!
Hope you all are having a good Friday! Just be sure to log any alcohol consumed and do as Melissa says - don't go carb overload!
Drew, you're a stronger woman than me!!! No cake or wine on the anniversary is HARDCORE! My weakness is really good cake (and ice cream). I made sure to schedule a cake tasting before the 90 began. My next menu/cake/drink tastings will be after the first 30 days, I think wedding planning related cheats should be o.k...? Good thing the wedding is in October after The 90 because I am going to eat at least THREE slices of cake! I don't care how bad my tummy will hurt. Are you really going to have a gluten-free sugarless cake? :( Where is the wedding shower cake from?
CAKECAKECAKE
Jayson et al. - I think we should have bowling outings and movie outings where we can drink sparkling water with slices of lime (new fave).
Re: Sleep - I can really tell the difference in my performance if I am not well-rested. By Friday, I am usually so rundown that going out at night is such a painful chore. Sleep is just as important as working out. I read somewhere that lack of sleep raises cortisol levels. Cortisol (a.k.a the stress hormone) increases blood pressure and blood sugar, and reduces immune responses - all things we are trying to remedy with Paleo. So basically, if you don't get enough sleep, you won't get 100% from your workouts, and the increased cortisol levels will make it very difficult to make progress with your leaning out. Get your sleep, people!
I should really take my own advice, too.
(oops, maybe I should've read the entire post!)
I am with Levi.. I think all wedding related tastings dont count...
My wedding is in Oct and my motivation is that damn dress! But the tastings are a necessity!
Jayson,
I'll be going to the Rock n' Roll Monster Bash at the Starlight Drive-In Theatre on Sunday afternoon/evening. Bands, vintage car/hearse show, burlesque, and lots of people running around in monster make-up.
http://www.photosbydolph.com/MonsterBash2007/Main.html
The best part of the Starlight for Paleo folks is that you can always bring in your own cooler. I bring my own food when I go because you're not going to find much Zone or Paleo-friendly food at the snack bar.
I think I'm over the hump! I did not have much gas yesterday and know that I could have done a better job with Christine. Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons I felt like crap, a hangover-bonk feeling. I tried to fix it with walnuts,avacado and a grapefruit...worked pretty well ! This afternoon I felt pretty awesome!
Oh! Sleep aid? iPhone app. "white noise lite" . I set it on "train" and I'm out.