On Sleep… Related to Performance, Body Composition & Stress Management

We all know sleep is essential. You can’t live without water, protein and sleep. Literally.

Years ago (like over 15 years!) Ed and I attended a Masters’ Athlete seminar and sleep was one of the topics, presented by Nataranjan Subramanian, MD, a local internal medicine physician specializing in sleep. Then, back in 2011 we attended the first Paleo FX conference in Austin, Tx (waaaay back when the content was about helping people, not selling things), we hit the sleep tracks with Kirk Parsley, MD. Whenever we did health challenges with the “young box” and even now,  one of the criteria for “points” is and always will be sleep. We used that recently when we did our first challenge in our new space here in Weaver Park.  Ed and I assume that we all know sleep is crucial for good health, athletic performance, weight management and stress management…but do we?

While we are more focused on sleep now that ever in the media and with lifestyle changes for the better, we’re not sure people prioritize it like they should. Now, that’s not to say you should kick your neighbor off the porch at 6:55pm because you HAVE to be in bed by 7:00pm…please don’t be THAT PERSON that no one wants to invite to the movies or a party because of your rigid lifestyle habits! We need to “live”! But generally, 80% of our habits (sleep, diet, etc) should be dialed in. The good news here is  every time we attend a continuing education course on sleep,  or read a new book or research paper, the findings and the recommendations are almost always consistent and what we’ve learned, believed and practiced for the past 10+ years.  It’s very much the same.

Get your ducks in a row

One thing we DO find is that in our community – the people who CrossFit, follow functional fitness, believe ancestral health helps us see how humans should live to be healthy…yea you people!…  are a bit more preventative and natural in our thoughts. While medications were discussed in the Masters Athlete course near the end, you don’t hear about them much in our community. Rather, “sleep hygiene” and getting all your ducks in a row with the things that contribute to a good nights sleep are more important. After that, we can look to a few more natural supplements and food suggestions. But cleaning up the house before decorating is essential.

SLEEP STAGES

This is a little too deep for what we wanted to accomplish here. Almost like supplementing before you dial in your “food”. But for a great reference on sleep stages and how much sleep science thinks we need in each, here is a good quick read if you’d like to dig further.

How Much Deep, Light and REM Sleep Do You Need? Texas Health

LACK OF SLEEP

affects almost every facet of you day…and if it’s chronic, every facet of you life.

And not just lack of sleep, but poor sleep. Luckily science has gotten more in depth as to how much of each of our sleep stages we need.  Will it continue to evolve? Sure. Is this “it”? Probably not. But right now it’s what we have to work with.

Lack of sleep (hours) or poor quality of sleep (things that wake you during the night, poor sleep hygiene, effects of meds/drugs) can impact your life more than just making you tired. Heck, even Ed and I used to say “Sleep when you’re dead!”, referring to late nights out and about, working too much – too late, getting up too early…now we know that can actually kill you (serious lack of sleep) if you don’t get control over it.

Some of the less thought of consequences of lack of sleep are below. Prepared to be stunned!

  • If you are suffering from pain, lack of sleep can increase pain/perception of pain. Pain can disrupt sleep – vicious cycle.
  • Lack of sleep can increase carbohydrate cravings by decreasing leptin (satiety hormone) and increase ghrelin (hunger hormone).
  • Lack of sleep can increase cortisol; cortisol causes the release of glycogen from the muscles and liver, thereby signaling the body to produce insulin, the storage hormone. This is the mechanism that is thought to relate weight gain and lack of sleep.
  • Lack of sleep can have deleterious effects on your cardiopulmonary system (heart).
  • Lack of sleep lowers immune system.

And this just touches onside of the major issues. As mentioned earlier, lack of sleep also includes poor sleep quality. This can happen if you have kids, pets or a noisy neighborhood. Pets waking you up barking or meowing, little kids who don’t sleep through the night, the neighborhood rooster crowing, or living near busy streets with the sounds of traffic and sirens all night. We get it – LIFE!

There are things you can do to improve your sleep. First, however, you may want to see where you are. Many of the most common smart watches can now track your sleep stages. Look into it. More below on sleep stages, but it’s hard to tweak things if you don’t first know where you need to be, right?

SLEEP HYGIENE

This is one area of “getting your ducks in a row” that you can control. You can make changes that will enhance your sleep time, if needed, and sleep quality, if needed.

  1. Routine. We always say routine is the enemy in our training, but with our sleep it’s a good thing. Going to bed with the sunset, and getting up with the sunrise is ideal.
  2. It’s called “a book”. (LOL) First, lay off the technology people!  Blue light from televisions and electronic devices is wreaking havoc on our sleep. Think about it, before the invent of the computer and all of these higher tech mobile devices, a pre-bedtime routine was dinner and a book – neither emitting light that who knew would inhibit a good nights’ sleep! (Hint, hint: consider that old-timey routine – might help you sleep and make you smarter at the same time!).  Chris Kresser wrote a good article on this: How Artificial Light is Wrecking Your Sleep, and What to Do About It. Amber goggles and apps like f.lux are great for reducing your exposure to blue light, although most devices now come with a screen that fades to amber as the sun sets. But still…the stimulation isn’t what we’re looking for. I almost dare you to try reading a book every night instead of the TV for a week – see what happens to your sleep.
  3. Herbal tea is a catch 22. Some herbs can help enhance your sleep – chamomile, valerian root, lavender, passionflower and lemon balm have calming effects. There are many “nighttime” or “bedtime” teas out there – some in your local grocery store. Try one – or all of them. So what’s the catch 22? Brew a small cup…repeated trips to the bathroom because you drank too much tea before bed kind of defeats the purpose!
  4. Sleep in a completely dark, cool room. Even that one light on your TV is an issue – tape over it. Buy blackout shades…and eye covers if necessary. The ideal temp is said to be…wait for it…68 degrees! Yikes! Pile on the blankets and suck it up – try it.
  5. Walk.  While avoiding high intensity activity right before bed is a good idea, a walk after dinner and before bed can be magic! Magic in that it helps move along digestion of dinner, and going to bed on an empty stomach can defeat some of the purposes of sleep (repair, restoration) because if you are digesting food, your body can’t perform the other functions it’s meant to at night. Eat dinner early, take a walk, grab a book and THEN go to bed. Magic, I tell you!
  6. Speaking of dinner:
    • Late dinners (and large dinners) can break havoc on both our sleep and our waistlines. We need time to digest. Eating earlier, and maintaining some physical activity after dinner can help improve sleep. (Reference)
    • High fat dinners will inhibit growth hormone, an anabolic hormone our bodies use to repair cells (yes, muscle cells too) and contribute to optimum recovery; growth hormone is supposed to spike when you sleep – it’s the one time we get a nice dose of it
    • More low glycemic, high quality, whole food carbohydrate dinners will help you fall asleep and stay asleep; contrarily, high glycemic index carbohydrates will help you get to sleep, but not let you stay asleep. So, opt for non-starchy vegetables, potatoes, whole grains and legumes as your sides (of course, alongside your healthy portion of protein!)
    • Protein rich dinners, especially those that include tryptophan (just 1 g which can be found in turkey, egg white, game meats, spinach, seaweed, pumpkin seeds) can contribute to a positive sleep experience (please disregard the soy included in the linked list of foods containing tryptophan!)
    • Foods containing melatonin can also help ( pineapples, bananas, oranges,  rice, tomatoes).
  7. Your overall diet will affect your sleep. Losing the processed and refined carbohydrates, ensuring you get adequate protein and high quality fats on a daily basis is your first line of defense.
  8. Decompress. If you are Type A, have a lot going on in your life and know your brain is working in power mode, consider keeping a pad and pen by your bed. Jot down what’s on your mind, what you’re thinking you need to do the next day…anything that’s “stirring your up”. It might help to relieve the anxiety of those things, knowing you can deal with that list the next day.
    • Stretching & mobility can help relax you before bed.
    • Aromatherapy like lavender scents can relax you.
    • Reading (again)…I dare you. There are some great books on how to reduce anxiety and de-stress…but better yet, a novel you can get lost in, or a topic of interest.
  9. Naps. Do it! They can help make up for lost sleep, benefit athletic performance, but beware, they may also prevent you from getting a good nights sleep if you’ve slept too much. So do it – if you need it. But don’t nap just to kill time during the day.

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE & SLEEP

  • It should be assumed by all of us that if we don’t sleep well, our workouts are going to suck! Period.
  • If you’re traveling, take as much with you to the hotel as you can to make your sleep as similar to every other night as possible: pillow, amber colored glasses, etc.
  • Repeating something from above:  Lack of sleep can increase cortisol; cortisol causes the release of glycogen from the muscles and liver, thereby signaling the body to produce insulin, the storage hormone. This is the mechanism that is thought to relate weight gain and lack of sleep. This can cause poor performance (workouts and work!) the next day due to the lower level of glycogen in the muscle in liver – which is what we draw from in our workouts (in addition to blood glucose and other substrates).
  • Excess sleep has been tested in some sports. In some sports (basketball) studies showed that sleep in excess of 8 hours (e.g. 10 hours) contributed to increased accuracy and performance.  In other sports, however, (swimming) it showed no improvement.  Test it out. See where you perform better.

BODY COMPOSITION & SLEEP

  • See third bullet under “LACK OF SLEEP”.
  • Lack of sleep increases carbohydrate cravings the next day… Repeating again from above:  Lack of sleep can increase cortisol; cortisol causes the release of glycogen from the muscles and liver, thereby signaling the body to produce insulin, the storage hormone. This is the mechanism that is thought to relate to weight gain via increase appetite.

STRESS MANANGEMENT & SLEEP

    • When you are suffering from sleep deficit, your ability to manage stress is diminished.  Knowing that can possibly help you avoid situations that may be made worse by lack of sleep and tolerance.

SLEEP SUPPLEMENTS

  • While this should not be your first line of defense, there are some natural, non-addictive sleep aids in the form of natural supplements that might be of benefit:
    • Melatonin
    • Magnesium
    • Valerian Root (check supplement for contraindications like birth control)
    • Vitamin D
    • Zinc

OTHER FACTORS

  • Alcohol may help you pass out…I mean “fall asleep” quicker, but it inhibits your ability to STAY ASLEEP. Not recommended before bedtime for a restful nights sleep

For more information on sleep, here are a few of the foremost authorities on the subject:

MATTHEW WALKER, PHD, THE SLEEP DIPLOMAT (great book entitled Why We Sleep)
KIRK PARSLEY, MD (yes, he’s selling a supplement, but the content on sleep on his site is good)
ROBB WOLF,  1   & 2
CHRIS KRESSER
KATIE, THE WELLNESS MAMA…great post on sleep
MARK SISSON