Is rest as important as working out?

Greetings from Vacation

It has been a truly great week of relaxation here in Corolla NC.  Every day I feel more alive and recharged.  Seems like an opportune time to talk about rest.

Rest is important.  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.' 

1- Is sleep/rest important?: Your body is wired for survival.  Every subconscious action (including pain) is designed to keep you alive.  That underlines the value of sleep.  Let's break it down.  Think of a human being living hundreds of years ago.  They are living in the wild, not this comfort trap we live in presently.  The world is actively trying to kill him/her every day and the body still demands they close their eyes and rest for several hours daily.  Rest leaves one open to attack, robbery, imprisonment, and sacrifices valuable farming/hunting time.  Not getting rest drastically decreases cognitive and physical function.

My point: If sleep weren't IMPORTANT we would have evolved to need less.

We haven't evolved to that point 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

2- 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.  

For a while we get away with it, but then age kicks in, the 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 

3- 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's about Gene Hackman.  Gene Hackman is lying on a pile of money somewhere doing 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.