ABS Audio Newsletter: Strategies for Improving Sleep
Issue 22: Checklist for Improving your Sleep
ISSUE 22:
Importance of Sleep and Tactics to Improve it.
Welcome to the 22nd edition of the ABS audio newsletter. Today we will do a fairly in-brief look into the importance of sleep. The benefits to getting adequate, high quality sleep, as well as the detrimental downstream effects that come from poor sleep. Additionally, it will be important to look at contributing factors that may impair sleep so we can be empowered in preventing them or correcting them.
First, let us begin by stating that sleep is our most fundamental mechanism for recovery. We require adequate duration and quality of sleep to optimize our physical and mental recoverability. There is some individual variation in ideal sleep goals but 7-9 hours seems to be a reasonable target for most to fall into. What if we aren’t around that target chronically over time? What might be impacting our sleep?
If we aren’t around that target we may be under recovering. Chronically this will eventually activate one of the relatively few positive feedback loops in the body. As stress rises and recovery wanes over time cortisol will rise on average and fail to dissipate. That elevated cortisol will negatively impact sleep and drive cortisol higher, thus, allowing the cycle to persist and get worse over time. This is something we really don’t want; there is nothing productive for us here!
There are many factors that may contribute to poor sleep. One being, the aforementioned, stress and subsequent rise of cortisol. The challenge here is many stressors can cause cortisol to rise: nutritional conditions (lack of energy consumption, low protein, caffeine intake etc.), personal life stressors (family, friend, significant other, work etc.), physical stressors (gym/training, physical labor, illnesses, travel, time zone changes etc.). Additionally, poor bedtime conditions may also contribute (temperature, darkness level, noise, mental status at the time, etc.).
Let’s dive into these factors a bit more in depth and discuss how we may begin to optimize our habits to put ourselves in the best place possible to get a good night’s sleep!
The outline of our conversation:
1. General intro.
2. Lifestyle contributors/practices to consider.
3. Nutritional Intake Factors.
4. Improving our bedtime ritual/bedroom conditions.
5. Supplements that may help.
6. Closing and motivation sendoff!
I greatly appreciate your viewership; catch you all in the comments. Stay tuned for the 23rd issue next week!