Sleep Better With 5-SIMPLE, Evidence-Based Steps

Last week's 'Why People Fail at Fitness' Newsletter took off!

Have you read it yet? If not - click here.

Or maybe you're on Twitter? Last week's Newsletter did so well - I decided to throw it up for the Twitter world.

Check it out on Twitter here.

And thus, I'm going to break down every aspect of - The Base of Fitness.

The Base of Fitness:

• Sleep

• Consistency

• Nutrition

• Water

• 10k Steps

• The Rule of 3

• Enjoyment

• SMART Goals

• Mindset

Why Do I Call it The Base of Fitness?

The bigger the base, the taller the pyramid. This is the forgotten-about, low-cost and 'unfancy' shit you don't think pays off.

Going hard, always being sore and living forever tired are not how you achieve fitness - nor will keep you interested long-term.

Without working on your base you will:

• Surcome to injury

• Become bored

• Lose interest

• Hit plateaus

• Burnout

And then - you will quit.

Everyone wants to do the cool shit they see all over social media when it comes to fitness:

• Run/swim/bike crazy distances

• High-intensity work

• Ring muscle-ups

• Clean and jerks

• Snatches etc.

Or maybe you've overcome the social media trap and you want to express your favourite type of fitness infinitely.

Either way, no one wants to earn the right to do this.

Why?

A lack of education leads to impatience.

This is exactly why I want to dive deeper into The Base of Fitness - to provide you with foresight and education.

If you can understand The Base of Fitness, apply it and stay consistent with your training - you will be able to do all the cool shit you want to do for much longer than you expect.

Bottom line - The Base of Fitness is the metaphorical tax you must pay to yield what you want from fitness.

This Weeks TLC

Before we get to sleep - here is this week's Tune, Lesson and Content for the week.

Let's chat on Twitter if you enjoy this week's TLC.

Tune

Wilkinson - Machina. I've been looping this HARD pre-surgery!

Content

I wrote a little about the last 12 weeks leading up to surgery. Check it out here:

Lesson

The Huberman Lab Podcast - Master Your Sleep & Be More Alert When You're Awake.

This episode, along with E3, E4 and E5 will expand on sleep even more for you.

If you enjoy the sleep details below - definitely check out The Huberman Lab Podcast.

Sleep Better With 5-SIMPLE, Evidence-Based Steps

The dangers of not getting between 7 - 9 hrs of sleep we outlined last week:

• Doubles your chance of injury

• Lack of consistency in training

• Decreases adherence to a fitness routine

To avoid this - here are 5 simple tools you can implement tonight to help your sleep:

1) Morning Sunshine

Getting morning sunshine (within an hour of waking) is the best way to set your 'body clock' for bedtime tonight.

When the eyes get sunshine from a low angle, it sets in motion a cascade of effects that ultimately trigger 2 very important mechanisms within:

• Your daily build of adenosine commences - as adenosine builds, so does sleepiness

• Your trigger for tonight's melatonin release is set - melatonin is the key hormone in helping you fall asleep

A good night's sleep is set HOURS before - with morning sunshine.

2) Phones Away

As outlined above, light plays a huge role in our sleep. Now let's think the opposite of morning sunshine:

Morning light helps you wake and set internal clocks - nighttime light does the opposite. It corrupts your internal sleep system and triggers wakefulness.

Best practice for your phone and other lights:

• Do not disturb/aeroplane mode on

• Phone away 60 - 90 min before sleep

• House lights dim and preferably below eye line* i.e. lamps

*low-angle sunshine in the morning for wakefulness, low-angle light in the evening for sleepiness.

3) The 5-by-5 Journaling Method

Do you find your brain runs wild when your head hits the pillow? Give it a chance to run wild before with my 5-by-5 method:

• 5 min non-stop journaling

• 5 min re-read what you've written and make actionable notes

Set a timer for each 5 min.

This will prevent you from reaching for your phone when you have an 'amazing idea'. It may be a great idea, but ultimately you're going to bathe in light and disrupt your sleep-wake cycle.

Good sleep is like anything else - it responds to good preparation.

4) The 90-Minute Rule

Each night is made up of end-on-end 90 min cycles. During each of these cycles, your body moves between:

• Non-REM sleep

• REM sleep

Between each of these cycles, we are primed to wake up fresh.

From personal experience and more than 7+ years of sleep experimentation - my body loves 7.5 hours of sleep (5 x 90 min cycles).

I'm not saying it will suit you, but play with this 90-minute cycle knowledge over the next few weeks and let me know how you go.

5) Consistent Sleep and Wake Times

How often do you go to sleep and wake up at the same time?

Having consistent sleep and wake times aids:

• Your circadian rhythm

• Your melatonin release

• Correct adenosine levels

I recently left shift work after 14+ years of coaching late nights and early mornings. My total weekly sleep time is marginally less and I have been saying to those around me (because of consistent sleep-wake times): 'I feel like I'm on steroids!'

A consistent sleep and wake time has done more for my overall health than:

• Naps

• Meditation

• Non-sleep deep rest

• Increasing sleep quality

• Increasing sleep duration

COMBINED.

A consistent sleep and wake schedule is a superpower - one you should seek.

TLDR:

• AM sunshine

• Phones away

• 5-by-5 journaling

• The 90-minute rule

• Sleep and wake schedule

If you enjoyed this Newsletter, forward it to someone else you believe will benefit.

Until next week - take care, but be risky!

xoxo

PS - how's the head below haha! I wrote this from a hospital bed - I'm dreaming of moving again!