Lets Cool It in the Bedroom - NYTimes.com

Lets Cool It in the Bedroom - NYTimes.com

Courtesy of The NY Times, we're talking about sleep again today. But this time its not about quantity but the quality of that sleep. Most particularly, the temperature of your bedroom.

"Sleep is essential for good health, as we all know. But a new study hints that there may be an easy but unrealized way to augment its virtues: lower the thermostat. Cooler bedrooms could subtly transform a person’s stores of brown fat — what has lately come to be thought of as “good fat” — and consequently alter energy expenditure and metabolic health, even into daylight hours."

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health tested volunteers with the same diet under sleeping temperatures of 75 degrees for one month, 66 degrees for one month & 81 degrees the last month. The results?

"The cold temperatures, it turned out, changed the men’s bodies noticeably. Most striking, after four weeks of sleeping at 66 degrees, the men had almost doubled their volumes of brown fat. Their insulin sensitivity, which is affected by shifts in blood sugar, improved. The changes were slight but meaningful, says Francesco S. Celi, the study’s senior author and now a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University. “These were all healthy young men to start with,” he says, “but just by sleeping in a colder room, they gained metabolic advantages” that could, over time, he says, lessen their risk for diabetes and other metabolic problems. The men also burned a few more calories throughout the day when their bedroom was chillier (although not enough to result in weight loss after four weeks). The metabolic enhancements were undone after four weeks of sleeping at 81 degrees; in fact, the men then had less brown fat than after the first scan."

A cold bedroom won't make up for a bad diet or a sedentary lifestyle as the articles states & will likely have no real noticeable effect on weight loss goals, but the fact that cooler sleeping temperature may affect the type of 'metabolically active' fat stores you have has some interesting implications. One more reason to enjoy the cool nights of Cache Valley, save some money on utilities & enjoy a little cuddling ;)

The Art of Napping

Previously we have covered the importance of a full nights rest ( Sleep Like An All Star) to recovery and overall well-being. But below is a quick guide to one of the most enjoyable ways to add a few extra Z's to your day. Napping.  Drifting off unscheduled naps at your desk isn't ideal - but planning even 5 minutes for a quick shut eye can be rejuvenating and help mental clarity. Plus, many people use candy, snacks and energy drinks to get through an afternoon slump - 'empty' calories that could be left out with a short shut eye. Use this guide below to help plan your naps to be most beneficial & leave you feeling better - not worse.

Read more at : How Long To Nap For The Biggest Brain Benefits | Collective-Evolution.

Sleep Like An All Star (and make the most of your training)

Check out his informative infographic on from  Fatigue Science on the importance of sleep to athletic recovery and performance. Many top athletes in their field sleep 9 hours and more and attribute that directly to their ability to train hard and be successful.

While you may not be an Olympic hopeful or have the luxury of training as a full-time job, making adequate sleep a priority will reflect positively throughout your work and training.  Sleep deprivation can mean "increased levels of cortisol, decreased activity of human growth hormone, and decreased glycogen synthesis." [via Washington State University] This means slower recovery, slowed reaction time & lowered performance. 

Bottomline: There is no substitute for a good nights rest & adequate sleep will help you perform optimally and recover faster. But if you find yourself running a little low, even a 15 minute power nap can drastically increase your productivity and alterness.

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Deloading - What it is and why you should do it.

Today we're featuring a post from Girls Gone Strong written by Molly Galbraith: "Deconstructing the De-Load".

In it she breaks down what a deload is and the importance of cycling them into your training. When you are training hard its important that your recovery (nutrition, sleep, mobilizing) is also aggressive and sometimes your body just needs time to fully recover. These deload periods are integral in building long-term health and strength gains, reducing injury and shouldn't be skipped.

Galbraith says:

"If you’re not sure whether to de-load or not, below are common indicators that it’s probably time for a de-load:

1. Experiencing more muscle soreness than normal.
2. Taking longer than normal for the soreness to subside.
3. Experiencing a lack of motivation to lift/train.
4. Major change in appetite (usually a decrease).
5. Decrease in leanness despite not changing nutrition program/exercise regimen.
6. Decrease in overall strength/performance in the gym or in other workouts for several workouts in a row.
7. Bouts of mild depression, fatigue, and or malaise.

Keep in mind that the list above is not exhaustive.  And unless you know your body really well, it’s probably best to plan a de-load every 5-8 weeks and not to wait until you are completely destroyed to give yourself a break."

Check out her post for more information on what types of deloads are commonly seen. Our programming incorporates deloading and if you pay attention, you will see that some weeks or days are light and/or short compared to what you expect.  A good training program will integrate periods of deloading and active rest days. But if you are still finding you suffer from problems from the list above, consider taking a more aggressive deload and take a few days out of the gym to allow yourself full recovery and assess your nutrition and mental and physical stress. Deloading is not weakness, its part of the pathway to strength.