Just one look at Facebook in the morning and you'll see that there's an epidemic of people that just can't sleep.
It's not a lack of sleeping pills that's causing this either by the way.
It's something I've wanted to address for a while and something that I've also had some real problems with in the past.
There's nothing worse than tossing and turning all night, eventually falling asleep but waking up feeling like a warm turd as you hit snooze 3 or 4 times.
The whole day becomes a struggle, you need a caffeine drip just to get through the day and you end up going to the gym for a rest rather than a brutal training session.
Sound familiar? Yup, used to be me too!
Lack of sleep is also something that can halt weight loss dead in its tracks and have a real adverse effect on your overall health and wellbeing.
Imagine what a good, refreshing nights sleep could do for you though.
You wouldn't need to survive on caffeine (which is damaging your adrenal glands by the way)
Your sugar cravings would subside
Your performance in the gym, on the pitch or at bootcamp would be amazing right?
Hopefully, this article will help you stop that insomnia and start getting an awesome nights kip
Let's take a look at what happens during sleep first.
(Since we're looking at dropping some body fat we'll focus on the stuff I'm bothered about)
Obviously it's the time when the body rests, regenerates and recovers.
This includes muscle repair and regeneration.
There's also a large release of growth hormone during sleep. Growth hormone is VITAL to fat loss and indeed all round health, hence it's the main reason why people who don't get enough sleep tend to be at an unhealthy weight and have the strength of a comatosed ferret.
In simple terms, growth hormone is known as a 'fat burning' hormone rather than a 'fat storage' hormone and is released in episodic waves during your sleep, with the largest wave coming around an hour after you sleep.
Your digestive system will also try to deal with the food you've eaten during the previous day(s); hence breakfast is known as 'breaking a fast.'
Liver function is also pretty high through the night as it tries to detoxify and metabolize anything that's going into your body that shouldn't really go in there, let's face it, for most people there's a lot of that - whether they know it or not.
The liver does most of its work between 1am and 3am; hence if you wake between those hours you may want to look at having a proper clean up of your liver.
So what affects sleep?
Well actually quite a few things actually.
Caffeine is actually horrific for sleep, hence why most people are on a 'VICIOUS circle' of surviving on caffeine through the day then not being able to sleep.
You see, caffeine actually raises your cortisol levels for up to 18 hours.
In order to sleep well, you actually want lower cortisol levels on an evening.
Processed food is also an example of something that most people have no idea is keeping them awake.
Most of the foods people are eating are laced with MSG, E- numbers and other 'naughty stuff' that the human digestive system just can't handle, hence when you're trying to get to sleep, your guts and liver are working over-time to try and deal with all of this - ESPECIALLY if it's part of your evening meal.
Things like pre-made sauces, ready meals, ketchups, bread, etc etc are all processed garbage that are making your insides work overtime when you should be sleeping.
One thing that's also becoming more apparent is the use of laptops and watching TV before bed.
Now before some of you start saying "well I fall asleep with the TV on" this MAY be the case for some but when you wake up with the energy of the turtle on rohipnol you may want to rethink your strategy.
You see, the back light of your laptop and the bright lights of your TV actually stimulate your eyes and engage your brain, which is the very opposite of what you want.
Stress should also be avoided (easier said than done mind!)
Stress increases cortisol output which, as we spoke about before needs to be low on an evening.
How to dramatically improve your sleep
For me, it's as simple as this you need to 'Dim your light'.
Not THE lights. YOUR light.
Calm your nervous system so to speak.
Take a look at what you do an hour before bed.
Watch TV, with the laptop on your knee while drinking tea? NOT the best idea.
Instead try these things- you can do one of them, a combination of some of them or do them ALL for an awesome nights sleep, where you wake up with phenomenal energy and literally BOUNCE through your day - including MEGA intensity in your training sessions.
Turn OFF the TV and laptop for an hour before bed. Again, TV will stimulate your brain.
Take a bath with some added magnesium oil or magnesium flakes.
Magnesium acts as a tremendous relaxant and also has the added bonus of being beneficial to every cell in the body - oh and is the key to bone health NOT calcium as most people think.
Bin the caffeine and other stimulants. A no-brainer.
Make your evening meal 'clean'. Eat things that are natural and nutritious and don't stress your digestive system
Cruciferous vegetables, fish, a little rice if necessary- you know the deal, if a caveman couldn't get it - then don't frickin eat it.
Read fiction before bed.
Reading work related books such as nutrition or business books will possibly cause 'preoccupation' or cause your brain to try to interpret this new 'knowledge'
Reading fiction puts you into a 'fantasy land' rather than your own.
Hence. I'm not embarrassed to say I've read all the Harry Potter's and all the Twilight's and my sleep has DRAMATICALLY improved.
Try drinking TULSI TEA.
Tulsi tea is made from holy basil, a herb that's well known for reducing cortisol output- particularly in times of stress.
This is literally like having a joint! Try it for yourself - the tea that is!
Eat a banana before bed
The 'low carb' crew will be going crazy here telling me that will make you fat, but what's more important? Awesome sleep or less carbs?
A piece of fruit an hour before bed will stimulate l-trypotaphan, which in turn, helps to secrete dopamine - which REALLY helps sleep.
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