Congratulations, you’ve bought this book just in time. I could start by listing all the ways that sleep benefits you. How it makes you smarter and stronger, calmer and more empathetic. How it improves your mood, memory and appearance and keeps the creeping dangers of weight gain, cancer cells
If you have one of the other two variants, AC or CC, then you shouldn’t drink caffeine at all and are willingly ingesting a ticking time bomb of health risks.
It’s like adding kerosene, not wood, to a campfire. Fun at the time.
(Caffeine genetics and the sleep debt you don’t see)
The reason you should have a screen-free watershed in the hours before bed is that just one hour of phone usage before bed has been shown to delay the release of melatonin from your pineal gland. Furthermore, when it is released, your peak levels will be 50% lower. Your body can’t tell the difference between daylight and the light from your phone screen, so you’re giving it mixed messages.
If you’re someone who struggles with onset insomnia (trouble getting to sleep), and you’re following the key principles laid out in this book, then it’s likely that mental - not physical - relaxation is the final piece you need to unlock great sleep.
The military asked a man called Bud Winter, a rising star in the world of college football and track coaching (and who would later enter the Track and Field Hall of Fame) to develop a scientific method for relaxation that anybody could learn. The navy wanted its soldiers to be smarter, faster and braver, and this started with sleep.
After six weeks of practicing Winter’s technique, 96% of the aviators were able to fall asleep in 2 minutes or less, whenever and wherever they felt the need. Below is the legendary technique. - Close your eyes - Breathe slowly, deeply and regular - Take the wrinkles out of your forehead - Relax your scalp - Let your jaw sag and drop open - Relax the other muscles in your face - Relax your tongue and lips - Let your eyes go limp in the sockets - Drop your shoulders - Drop them lower - Feel the muscles in the back of your neck go limp - Relax your chest - Take a deep breath and hold it - Exhale and blow out all your tension - Tell your arms to relax, right then left - Feel a sense of well-being invading your body - Tell your legs to relax, right then left - Take three deep breaths - Let your mind go blank - Imagine you are in a big, black, velvet hammock. Everywhere you look is black - Hold this thought for ten seconds
(The military relaxation technique that works in two minutes)
To produce serotonin in the body, your body uses the amino acid tryptophan, which is then converted in the brain using the enzyme TPH2 into 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP). The 5-HTP is then converted to serotonin (5-HT). Look for stacks that appear designed to piggyback on this process. For example, if you find a supplement that contains both L-tryptophan, and 5HTP, then you’re onto a winner.
They’re all yours to experiment with. In the words of Bruce Lee, “Absorb what is useful. Reject what is useless. Add what is essentially your own.” GABA: Neurotransmitter that reduces anxiety. Glycine: Amino acid that suppresses cortisol. L-Tryptophan: Amino acid precursor to serotonin and melatonin. L-Theanine: Lowers anxiety and promotes relaxation. Magnesium Citrate: Decreases nocturnal cortisol levels. NAC: Aids in detoxification. Potassium Citrate: Lowers likelihood of muscle spasms. Vitamin B6: Helps convert tryptophan into serotonin. Vitamin C: Can speed up caffeine leaving the body. ZMA: An example of a stack, containing Zinc, Vitamin B6 and Magnesium.
pspfrench.com/blog/…
showers and the role they can play in weight loss. Ray has developed a shower ‘protocol’, which I highly recommend experimenting with: 30-45 minutes before bed, take a contrast shower. 10 seconds of warm water, followed by 20 seconds of cold, repeated 10 times. Don’t cheat and end on warm. Always end on cold. I first experimented with this on a sloppy Sunday evening, a day on which I had done no exercise and drunk a couple of glasses of wine. As you might expect, I felt fairly lively when I stepped out of the shower, but…
Experiment with… A white noise machine, such as the Marpac Rohm (lowers cortisol). ‘Rain on Leaves’ soundscape from the Calm meditation app. Recommended by LeBron James. Listening to binaural beats to help fall asleep. I use an app called Binaural (β) on the App Store, which is also very good for daytime focus when working. Heart rate variability training. I recommend The Inner Balance sensor from HeartMath. A spike mat and / or massage tools. A weighted blanket. Getting any breathing problems treated by a doctor. Wearing a nasal strip if necessary. Drinking a mug of hot water mixed with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoon of raw honey 60 minutes before bed. The reason this works is twofold. When your body temperature subsequently drops after the hot drink, this mimics the natural temperature drop at dusk. The honey prevents the brain from running out of glucose during the night and using your muscles to generate it through movement. A glass of tart, unsweetened cherry juice (a natural source of melatonin) before bed. Wearing socks in bed to…
(Environmental and supplement levers for deeper sleep)
First of all, only nap between 1pm and 3pm, or 5pm and 7pm. Secondly, only nap for either 25 minutes, or a full 90-minute sleep cycle.
Every 30 seconds, there is a car accident caused by lack of sleep. Drowsy driving kills more people on the roads than alcohol or drugs combined.