Back to Basics topic post

Sleep

Aim for 7.5 to 9 hours of sleep a night. The exact amount you need will depend on the demands you place on your body throughout the day. Elite athletes have been known to sleep 10+ hours, while some people say they operate well on 7. In most scenarios, more quality sleep is better. Be your own experiment, but understand the math: adding just 30 minutes a night gives you an extra 3.5 hours of sleep a week.

A sleep cycle typically lasts about 90 minutes. For this reason, it is useful to give yourself enough time to complete full cycles instead of waking up in the middle of one. Shawn Stevenson, a sleep expert, recommends 7.5 or 9 hours of sleep because that allows for 5 or 6 normal sleep cycles. When you interrupt a cycle, that is when you often wake up feeling groggy.

Get into a routine. Stick to a bedtime and wake time that works for you. Try not to screw it all up on the weekend if possible. A consistent routine helps you reclaim your circadian rhythm, which is essentially your biological clock. This clock system sends loads of information to your body and helps tell you when to wake up and when to sleep.

Light and dark are the primary triggers for your circadian rhythm. For this reason, it is important to expose yourself to light early in the morning. I recommend a nice early walk or some earthing and grounding. At night, do the opposite: reduce light as much as possible so your body gets the memo that it is time to wind down.

Prioritize 10 PM to 2 AM. This is a high-value recovery window for your body. Do you like gainz bro??? Well, this is when your body is doing a lot of its recovery work. Protecting this window can help you wake up with more energy, better focus, and a better shot at feeling like yourself the next day.

Create a techno curfew at least 30 minutes before bedtime. This means no TV, no phone, and no computer during the final stretch before your intended sleep time. The blue light from your devices is similar enough to sunlight that it can delay your body’s secretion of melatonin. On top of that, our phones are stimulating, especially social media. Create the curfew and stick to it. You may find yourself falling asleep faster and getting deeper sleep. Turn your phone off or put it in airplane mode. Don’t let your devices control you. Control your devices.

Breathe and meditate. Good alternatives to device usage include foam rolling, deep diaphragmatic breathing, meditation, and light bodywork. The best way to calm your mind and body is to let them know it is time to relax. For now, focus on slow, quiet breaths through your nose. This signals to your mind and body that it is time to sleep. Meditation can also help with mental clarity, stress reduction, and the ability to downshift at the end of the day.

Set a caffeine curfew. Caffeine can affect your body for up to 9.5 hours. For this reason, I recommend having caffeine in the morning or at least 8 hours before your intended sleep time. When I am in an elite routine, I try to sleep by 10:30 PM. That means I have a caffeine curfew of 2:30 PM and a techno curfew of 10 PM. Ideally the techno curfew would be earlier, but I am working on it.

Use blackout shades. Black out your entire room and don’t let there be a single light. This was one of the easiest and most effective steps I took to improve my sleep. Simply covering your eyes may not be enough because your skin can still detect light. “Catching rays” is possible through these skin receptors, just like they can detect light at night.

Keep the room cool. A sleep-friendly room is usually around 60 to 65 degrees. This temperature range can reduce sleep disturbances and make it easier to stay asleep. You can sleep naked too. That has benefits as well... Giggity

Benefits (Getting elite sleep)

  • Increased reaction time
  • Increased athletic performance
  • Increased ability to focus
  • Improved cognitive function
  • Less of an A-hole
  • Improved workouts

Negatives (If getting crappy sleep)

  • Can contribute to weight gain
  • Can worsen mood
  • Less zip, less daily buzz, less ability to attack the day

Dorse’s Gainz section

Sleep is just as important as nutrition for recovery. Some would even consider it more important because sleep affects how your body uses calories and how your body uses energy to perform work.

Dr. Penev conducted a study between 2 groups of dieters. One group slept 8 hours and the other slept less than 6. In 14 days, the 8-hour group lost 3 lb of fat and 3 lb of muscle. Conversely, the 6-hour group lost 1 lb of fat and 5 lb of muscle.

Resources, and links used