The importance of sleep & routine

Sleep is the dictator of your physique development. Poor duration, quality and routine will impact your ability to build muscle and lose body fat. Below we're going to learn more about sleep and the importance of your morning routine

(Roka blue light blockers)

In order to improve our sleep we must learn the basics, starting with the stages of sleep

each night, as your head hits the pillow, a war occurs, a cerebral one, don't worry, no-one gets injured. That fight is between NREM & REM SLEEP, both battling for brain domination, this conflict lasts approximately 90 minutes, we call this your Sleep Cycle

1. NREM: NON-RAPID EYE MOVEMENT

   • decrease in brain activity, heart rate and breathing

   • body temperature begins to decrease

   • immune system recharges

   • deep NREM helps consolidate memories

   
   

2. REM: RAPID EVE MOVEMENT

   • brain wave activity speeds up

   • vivid dreams occur

   • short term memories are transformed into longer term

   • your mood becomes regulated

"the number of people who can survive on 6 hours of sleep or less, without showing any impairment rounded to a whole number and expressed as a percent of the population is zero"

Master the morning

Your morning routine will massively influence the way you sleep due to cortisol

Cortisol gets a bad rap, a bit like insulin, remember when we all tried to stop spiking it, well, we sort of need that to happen, a bit like how we need cortisol for

1. stress response

2. glucose metabolism

3. anti-inflammatory properties

4. blood pressure regulation immune function modulation

we should view cortisol as a hormone of energy as opposed to stress, it's required in the morning to promote wakefulness and stimulation

Sunlight

the number one tool for helping initiate your cortisol response in the morning and ensuring regulation of mood and mental health is bright light, preferably sunlight

think of bright morning light like the first domino to fall, it starts the chain reaction of helping the brain's internal dock synchronise with the day/night cycle

sunny day: 5-10 minutes cloudy day: 10-20 minutes overcast day: 30 minutes

No Sunlight?

we're not known for our sun over here in Blighty and many of us don't have the time to go for a walk prior to work, so using a SAD lamp can be very beneficial

LUOCAI SAD LAMP

SAD Lamps don't need to break the bank, the only requirement is that they emit 10,000 lux, which most do on amazon.co.uk

TRACKING LUX

to ensure you are getting enough bright artificial light, l'd recommend downloading a light meter from the app store

The Routine

1. Wake: Lumie Lamp

   waking up in darkness often results in us snoozing our alarms, by using a Lumie Lamp, which gradually increases in light to gently wake us up, we are more prone to getting out of bed

   
   

2. Cortisol Surge

   key for those waking up prior to sunrise, I set my SAD lamp up downstairs on my table when I'm doing client check-ins

   
   

3. Hormone Dump

   exposure to cold water can further feed into placating your rise in cortisol, it also releases hormones such as dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, and B-endorphins

   
   

4. Caffeinate: coffee time

   up for debate as many of us find we crash in the afternoon if we consume coffee as soon as we wake due to not clearing adenosine, however, one caveat would be if you are training first thing in the morning which is what we recommend

   
   

5. Lift: weight training

   training before work requires discipline, but your circadian rhythm will thank you for getting arguably the biggest and toughest chunk of expenditure done early in the day

   early AM sessions also stimulate neuromodulators that increase arousal and mental acuity throughout the day

   
   

6. Relax: breathing

   after exposing yourself to heavy stimulation in the morning through light, water, caffeine and training adding in some guided breath work prior to your first meal is a nice way to flip the switch