Recovery
Lesson 6
Hello again everyone. Here is our health & fitness discussion for the week. This time, we are focusing on recovery.
Your homework was to track your sleep, in any fashion that works for you. A smart watch is the easiest method, but just taking some notes each morning is also good enough.
Why track our sleep? Sleep by far the most important factor in our recovery. Everyone needs differing levels of sleep, but on average, most humans do best with 7-8 hours of quality sleep, as defined by around 90 minutes of deep sleep and 90 minutes of REM sleep, with the balance of the time being standard sleep (non-REM, non-deep). There of course, some outliers who do perfectly fine with much less sleep or who require more sleep, but our target for conversation is 7-8 hours.
How is your sleep? On average, for a week, are you consistent with 7-8 hours? Do you know your REM and Deep Sleep rates? Again, trust your smart watch if you have one. If you don’t use a smart watch, then, how rested do you feel when you wake up? If you would give yourself a score of 7 or higher (out of 10) on feeling rested, then your deep sleep is generally adequate. If you would score your focus and mental capacity also a 7 or higher, then you can assume your REM sleep levels are also adequate.
I’m sure there is no need to explain why recovery matters. We put our minds and bodies through so much each day. Physical and mental stress, pollution, UV exposure, noise, viral/bacterial contact, allergens and more. We must recover. Humans have evolved in a rather odd manner, to seek the bulk of our recovery in a single stretch of time, at night, through deep sleep. This is unique among mammals, who generally sleep in small bursts throughout a given 24 hour period.
So how do we improve and maximize our sleep? A few basic guidelines for optimal Sleep Hygiene:
No blue light. This is easily managed in our world today via settings on our phones and televisions, which will reduce or eliminate blue light automatically, at a set point in the evening. The standard suggestion is to begin reducing blue light exposure about 2 hours before your planned bedtime. There are also blue filtering reading glasses you could try.
Routines. Our bodies respond to and remember routines, so establish positive bedtime routines. These could include brushing our teeth, showering, removing makeup, playing a specific style of music, watching a favorite television series, reading a book. A repeated routine, carried out just before bedtime, will train and remind our bodies that bedtime is approaching. This in turn will aid our bodies (brain included) to begin sleep preparation processes, such as dopamine and melatonin distribution, cortisol generation, and other biochemical reactions required for appropriate sleep levels.
Meditation. This is not for everyone, nor is it needed by all, but it can be an effective tool if you struggle to fall asleep. Begin with concentrative meditation. Breathe in and out slowly. With each in-and-out cycle, count up to 10. Breathe in & out, 1, in & out, 2 and so on. Once you reach 10, reset and begin at 1 again. If you lose track and find yourself counting the 18th breath, just rest at 1 again and try to remain focused the next round and stop at 10. This can help those of us who struggle to fall asleep because our minds are wandering too much and finding stressful things to think about, which keep us awake.
Hydration. If we have not hydrated adequately during the day, our body may lack the fluids needed to fully recover at night. It takes water to replenish chemicals and neurotransmitters and form new cells. We need water to build muscle and complete digestion. If we have not hydrated enough, we are likely to wake up at night thirsty, which will cause us to get out of bed for a drink, and then returning to sleep may prove difficult. Best to hydrate in advance of sleep. How much should be drink in a day? A simple formula is as follows:
Take your current bodyweight, the cut that number in half. For example, we will use 200 lbs as our bodyweight number. Divided by 2 yields 100. Then, our minimum fluid intake is 100 ounces of water. However, not all fluids are equal and some are better processed by our bodies than others. If you are the type who drinks mostly water, you can stick with the half your bodyweight in ounces formula. If you obtain most of your water via juices, sodas or coffee, then add another 20% of consumption. So, back to the example of a 200 pound person, we cut that number in half, which is 100, then add 20%, for 120 ounces of fluids daily.
Give these suggestions a try if you feel you need to improve your sleep and recovery and best wishes on your health & fitness journey!
Matt