Is Sleep as important as working out

Is sleep important as important as working out?  I could write a book on this, but given the confines of newsletter format I’ll share three interesting aspects of rest, and throw in some fun quotes about rest/recovery so the content doesn’t put you to sleep.  Ba-DUM-BUM!

‘Wanna hear a joke?  
Sleep.  
I know, I don’t get it either.’ 

Is sleep/rest important?

Your body is wired for survival.  Every subconscious action (including pain) is designed to keep you alive.  This exchange from a 60 Minutes Report on Sleep is revelatory:

Leslie Stahl: Why did we develop this way if survival is the whole point; because you’re completely vulnerable when you’re lying there?

Matthew Walker (director of the sleep and neuroimaging lab UC Berkeley): Whatever the functions of sleep are the seem to be so important that evolution is willing to put us into that place of potential danger by losing consciousness. It would be the biggest evolutionary mistake if sleep does not serve some critical funtion.

We haven’t evolved past the point of requiring sleep, despite the ‘I’ll rest when I’m dead’ NAVY Seal mentality. This mindset gives us a short term productive edge, but in the end ‘time, tide, and adequate sleep wait for no man.

“The amount of sleep required by the average person is five minutes more.” – Wilson Mizener

Sleep is incredibly important to weight management.

Study after study proves:

• that getting less than 7 hours of sleep will cause weight gain over time.  
• that we sleep less than ever before and weigh more than ever before.
• that lack of sleep thwarts good exercise and dietary habits.
• that sleeping 8+ hours a night significantly drops body weight.

We know all this to be true yet so many of us sacrifice sleep at the altar of career and social life.  We figure we’ll catch up on sleep over the weekend, or that we can push through with caffeine or some other stimulant.   Research reveals you can’t “catch up” on rest. “There’s ample data, including a recent review in Sleep Medicine, suggesting that too little sleep is a risk factor for these conditions, as well as obesity. Unfortunately, this new study suggests that extending sleep on the weekend doesn’t seem to undo the impact of short sleep.”

For a while we may get away with it

But then age kicks in, mileage adds up,  and we put on a few pounds that we just can’t lose.  We figure we need to eat less and move more when the answer might involve putting down our phones, and setting a solid bed time.

‘I love a good nap.  Some days it’s all that gets me out of bed in the morning.‘ – George Costanza 

Sleep/rest is also incredibly important in the effectiveness of your workouts

Let’s talk about steroids for a minute.  From Livescience.com:

When we lift weights heavier than what we’re used to, we create tiny micro-tears in muscle fibers. The body’s natural repair process repairs the tear and then overcompensates by adding bigger cells to build a stronger fiber — this is called muscular hypertrophy. Over time, this repeated process of teardown and re-build will result in muscle growth.  Natural testosterone is the body’s main ingredient for this process.

So you do the workout and your body’s natural steroids assist in the repair phase.  Per our friends at sleepcenterinfo.com:

“Testosterone levels fluctuate during the day, and are at their highest during REM sleep. If you’re not getting enough REM sleep, it can affect your body’s testosterone levels. “

REM sleep will occur 4-5 times during a good night’s rest.  So if you’re not sleeping enough, you’re not maximizing your recovery/workouts.

Have I proved my case?

Are you ready to commit to better rest?  Here’s 3 easy ways you can improve your rest/recovery.
1- Set a bed time.  You are a creature of habit.  If you lie down at the same time every night your body will wind down easier than if you go to bed haphazardly.
2- Stop eating an hour (or more) before sleep.  Stop caffeine/stimulants well before then.
3- Stop looking at your screens an hour (or more) before sleep.  The blue light limits melatonin production and melatonin is what puts us to sleep in the first place.

So is rest just as important as exercise?  Yes.  I would say it is just as important for reasons covered here, plus a few others.  Time for our final quote.

‘My Man is so cool when he goes to sleep sheep count him.’- David Mamet, Heist

I wish that quote was talking about me.  But it isn’t.  It was about Gene Hackman.  Gene Hackman did cool stuff.  I’m out here giving great advice.  How do you know it’s great advice?  Because it is boring.  And all good advice is boring.  And I am making a living telling people to do boring things like eat vegetables and go to bed.  I am uncool, I am boring, and hopefully this boring newsletter puts you to sleep for 8 hours tonight.