Chapter 8: Sleep and Recovery

“There is no such thing as overtraining, just under-recovery. Take care of your body and allow it to rest and recuperate.”—?Mike Mentzer

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For those becoming working professionals in the information age, it has become clearer that rest and recovery are essential in the long term. In my previous chapters, I have added action items at the end in the hopes that you will start taking action today. However, that is not where the growth happens. Growth happens in the recovery. There are many of us, myself included, who over value the work. A terrible mantra I heard often growing up, “I will sleep when I’m dead” is counterproductive and detrimental to our healthspans. A “hustle” culture has many benefits, but not at the expense of sleep and recovery. If you find that you are losing sleep in order to keep up with all of your daily routines, it is an indication that you need to find faster, more efficient ways of doing your work, not staying up later and waking up earlier.

Lack of sleep has been shown to raise blood glucose levels. Coupled with the stressors tied with the act of waking up and dawn phenomenon, many of us with Type-2 diabetes may be starting the day with relatively high blood sugar and insulin levels. This is also why I have stressed developing a good morning routine of meditation, focused breathing and maybe a cold shower. Metabolic syndrome can be caused, in part, by lack of proper sleep.

Studies have shown that 7-8 hours per night for adults is optimal. A full night of restful sleep can reduce cortisol levels, reduce blood sugar levels and generally help in the reduction of insulin sensitivity. Sleep also supports physical regeneration and muscle growth, mental acuity and clarity, mental health and mood regulation. Sleep is so crucial to every aspect of our lives, I felt it was necessary to have a separate chapter with some tips on how to improve our sleep schedules.

Luckily for me, I don’t have too many issues with sleep so I am not sure how effective the following tips are. I did recognize that some of these tips allowed me to sleep faster and deeper than I normally do and have provided the most useful below. I also track these changes with my smart watch to measure the cycles of my sleep schedule. Here is a list of things you might want to consider starting or stopping in order to help you. These recommendations are in order, based on my opinion, from easiest to hardest to try in order to improve your sleep regimen.

Tip 1: Breathing

As I mentioned in previous chapters, engaging your parasympathetic nervous system is a good way to lower stress levels and send signals to your brain that you are preparing to sleep. Try box breathing and meditation as part of your wind down routine.

Tip 2: Remove electronics/blue light

Some people are sensitive to light. Turn off all electronics and even try turning any alarm clocks away from you. Try blackout curtains for your room. Essentially you want to have the room as dark as possible. Alternatively, make sure to get some sunlight early in the morning to reset your circadian rhythm.

Tip 3: Keep the room cool

A cool room (60-67 F) has been shown to be optimal for sleep as our brains prepare for sleep by lowering our internal temperature. ?Starting with a 30 second cold shower and ending with a warm/hot shower has helped me late night with my personal sleep schedule.

Tip 4: Regular exercise

This may be obvious, but tiring yourself out physically through exercise may help encourage your body to sleep deeper and longer naturally. It doesn’t have to be too strenuous, a simple 30 minute brisk walk at night may help.

Tip 5: Don’t eat at least 3 hours before sleeping

Food has many effects on the body, and if you have Type-2 diabetes you likely are affected by the food you eat in more ways than one. Avoid any food or caloric intake for at least 3 hours before sleeping. I would recommend instead drinking extra water or hydrating in some form during the day to stave off hunger and also ensure you are properly hydrated, which can also lead to more restful sleep.

Tip 6: Don’t drink caffeine after lunch

Caffeine half-life in your body can last anywhere from 1.5 – 9.5 hours. This means that if you drink caffeinated drinks at noon, you could still have caffeine in your system at 10 pm. Also, avoid sugary caffeinated drinks altogether. This was hard for me to do, I do enjoy my late afternoon coffee, but I also don’t have problems sleeping after drinking caffeinated drinks.

Tip 7: Keep a journal by your bed

Some people are kept up at night with nagging thoughts of endless to-do lists and other random things. My suggestion here is to quickly write down your thoughts, to-do lists, worries, hopes, etc. anything that keep you up at night. This will subconsciously allow you to let go of those thoughts knowing that you have written them down to re-read later.

Tip 8: Therapy and Community

Simply knowing there is someone you can talk to candidly about your thoughts is powerful. Even if you don’t speak with a therapist or a friend often, just knowing you can at a later date can be helpful. Part of that could be related to having something you are looking forward to with joy (and not with anxiety) can put you in a better mood to sleep.

Tip 9: Habits and Consistency

Set up your bedroom to be sleep focused. You may need to remove all electronics from your bedroom and build a wind down routine that signals to your brain it is time to sleep. This may take a while, but follow this ritual at least 2 weeks to see if there is any improvement in your sleep. How quickly are you falling asleep? How rested do you feel when you wake up? Do you wish for more sleep in the morning?

Tip 10: Supplements and medication

Its also quite possible you may need supplements or medication to help you sleep despite following every tip above. If you are dealing with pain management, have sleep apnea or in a situation where rituals and habits will not be helpful, you might want to consider exogenic methods. Please consult a medical professional for supplement or medication recommendations.

Lastly, we may not all be in a situation where we can get a full 8 hours of sleep in a row. I would then recommend taking a nap to help supplement but keep it under 30 minutes to avoid changing your circadian rhythm. Whatever your situation, please focus on rest and sleeping at least 7 hours a day.

Remember that, while we thrive on hormesis (small stresses), our growth actually lies in the recovery.

Action Items

1.????? Start gathering data on your natural sleeping schedule. When do you usually fall asleep? When do you wake up? Do you crave more sleep when you wake? Are there external factors that wake you up in the middle of the night?

2.????? Build a wind down routine that will give you at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Add a brisk walk 1-2 hours before bed, make sure not to eat at least 3 hours before bed. Place a limit on caffeine earlier in the day and check to see if you get better sleep at night. Start training your mind to recognize that the bedroom is place to sleep.

3.????? Keep a notebook by the bed to write down any thoughts, to-do lists that come to mind.

Consult a medical professional if you need to take medication or supplements.