Episode 12: Hacking Your Sleep
I want to let you all know something.
No one talks about the most foundational, basic, boring stuff for your health and performance because it's just not marketable.
I said what I said.
But here's the thing: one of the most underrated, impactful nootropics and performance enhancers out there is sleep.
And the great thing about it is it's free and accessible to all of us.
And yet, even with it being so beneficial to our health, performance, and body composition, a large chunk of our society is incredibly under-rested.
This a huge problem that not only concerns your performance in training, but your actual life!
Studies have shown that if you are getting less than the recommended amount of sleep (which is 7-9 hours each night for most adults), you’re putting yourself at great risk for chronic illness, heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
On top of that, it drains your IQ and cognitive function, and kills your libido.
If you are one of the roughly 1 in 3 Americans who gets less than 6.5 hours of sleep a night, don’t stress (stressing out about things doesn’t help with getting good sleep anyway).
The positive news to all of this is just like so many things when it comes to our health, it can be reversed.
So just like having inadequate sleep is bad for you, returning to adequate sleep can reduce these risks and put you back online with your health and performance.
In today’s episode we talk about why sleep is important, and how you can make your sleep quality the best possible in order to perform your best in the gym and, of course, live a better life outside of it.
Here’s a brief overview of the episode:
[2:28] Health statistics on sleep and a good chunk of our society is not sleeping enough for their health, performance, or body composition
[8:05] Sleep’s effects on our hormones
[10:47] The health risks and impacts of not getting enough sleep
[15:47] How to create a sleep routine to maximize your sleep quality
[19:17] What to eat (and what to avoid) to get a good night’s rest
[24:30] Why staying up past midnight can mess you up
[27:12] How to optimize your bedroom for deep sleep
[33:24] Waking up to light and its role in having a more overall balanced sleep cycle
Links And Studies Mentioned In This Episode:
Spiegel K, Tasali E, Penev P, Van Cauter E. Brief communication: sleep curtailment in healthy young men is associated with decreased leptin levels, elevated ghrelin levels, and increased hunger and appetite. Ann Intern Med. 2004; 141:1-52.
Spiegel K, Leproult R, L’Hermite-Baleriaux M, Copinschi G, Penev PD, Van Cauter E. Leptin levels are dependent on sleep duration: relationships with sympathovagal balance, carbohydrate regulation, cortisol, and thyrotropin. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2004; 89:5762-5771.
Leproult R, Copinschi G, Buxton O, Van Cauter E. Sleep loss results in an elevation of cortisol levels the next evening. Sleep. 1997; 20:865-870.
Spiegel K, Knutson K, Leproult R, Tasali E, Van Cauter E. Sleep loss: a novel risk factor for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. J Appl Phys. 2005; 99: 2008-2019.
Nedeltcheva, AV et al. “Insufficient Sleep Undermines Dietary Efforts to Reduce Adiposity.” Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010.
Sheen, A. Clinical study of the month. Does chronic sleep deprivation predispose to metabolic syndrome? Rev Med Liege. 1999; 54(11): 898-900.
Spiegel, K., et al. Impact of sleep debt on metabolic and endocrine function. Lancet. 1999; 354(9188): 1435-9.
VanHelder, T., et al. Effects of sleep deprivation and exercise on glucose tolerance. Aviat Space Environ Med. 1993; 64(6): 487-492.
Vorona, R., et al. Overweight and obese patients in a primary care population report less sleep than patients with a normal body mass index. Arch Intern Med. 2005; 165(1): 25-30.
Chellappa SL, Steiner R, Oelhafen P, Lang D, Götz T, Krebs J, Cajochen C. Acute exposure to evening blue-enriched light impacts on human sleep. Journal of Sleep Research. 2013; Epub ahead of print
VAN DE WERKEN, M., GIMÉNEZ, M. C., VRIES, B. D., BEERSMA, D. G. M., VAN SOMEREN, E. J. W. and GORDIJN, M. C. M. (2010), Effects of artificial dawn on sleep inertia, skin temperature, and the awakening cortisol response. Journal of Sleep Research, 19: 425–435
Ferracioli-Oda E, Qawasmi A, Bloch MH . Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders. PLoS One. 2013 May 17;8(5):e63773
Dzaja A, et al. Sleep enhances nocturnal plasma ghrelin levels in healthy subjects. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab 2004;286:E963-E967.
Sheen AJ, et al. Relationship between sleep quality and glucose regulation in normal humans. Am J Physiol 1996;271:E261-E270.
Sekine M, et al. A dose-response relationship between short sleeping hours and childhood obesity: results of the Toyama Birth Cohort Study. Child: Care, Health & Development 2002;28:163-170.
Dawson D & Reid K. Fatigue, alcohol and performance impairment. Nature 1997;388:235.
Arnedt JT, et al. How do prolonged wakefulness and alcohol compare in the decrements they produce on a simulated driving task? Accid Anal Prev 2001;33:337-344.
Elshaug AG, et al. Upper airway surgery should not be first line treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea in adults. BMJ 2008;336:44-45.
