Sleep..oh god sleep!
Another thing about christmas is the parties, the constant nights out, so with that in mind heres a little bit of info about sleep: (but phil..i thought this blog was about training! when are you gunna get back to situps and all that..... WHEN MY KNEE STOPS LOOKING LIKE AN ELEPHANTS FOREHEAD!
Ok anyway, sleep. Most of this info is nicked and edited again from tricks tutorials, i cant help it, Jujimufu is GOD. But if you havnt visited the site yet...then read on:
So what are the symptoms of sleep deprivation?
* Drowsiness
* Forgetfulness
* Weight gain
* Mood shifts ranging from depression to being irritable.
* Reduced immunity to disease
* Reduced ability to think logically and analyze new information
* Reduced vocabulary
* Reduced motor skills and coordination
* Decreased reaction time
* Decreased stamina and energy
After the first 3-4 hours of sleep your body releases 60-90% of your daily GH (Growth Hormone) amount. Growth Hormone is responsible for the growth of your bones and muscles. It also prepares fat for energy use and spares lean body mass. In regards to muscle growth it causes muscle cells to increase protein synthesis, decrease protein breakdown, increase amino acid uptake in muscular tissue, and divide. Basically it causes growth of muscle and bone tissue.
Another negative effect of decreased GH levels is a weakened immune system. GH stimulates bone marrow growth which boosts the immune system function. A lack of sleep will slow the growth and repair of this tissue; Studies have also indicated that a lack of sleep will reduce your white blood cell count down a good margin.
Finally sleep deprivation increases levels of cortisol in the body the next day. But what the hell is cortisol? It's the 'Stress Hormone', it's your opponent on the road to increased gains in your physical endeavors. Med definition is - The major adrenal glucocorticoid, stimulates conversion of proteins to carbohydrates, raises blood sugar levels and promotes glycogen storage in the liver.
To make it simple for you cortisol causes hyper tension, stress, and synthesizes the amino acids in your muscles to fuel more vital organs (like lungs, heart, brain). In excessive amounts it can cause memory impairments, restrict tissue repair, and increase insulin resistance. It's nasty! Furthermore, elevated cortisol levels have been identified in patients with adrenal tumors. Cancer is not the sex.
On average, younger people between the ages of 12-25 need more than adults. We need between 8.5 and 9.25 hours of sleep per night. Harder working athletes will require more than that! It's easy to figure out exactly how much sleep you need. Go to bed, and wake up!
Here is a method to get the most out of your sleep. This stack reduces cortisol release and catabolism, increases anabolism, increases the effects of GH, and gives you more energy to do what needs to be done. I have gotten this stack from abcbodybuilding.com / an awesome website with plenty of good information. Thanks guys!
1) Take a ZMA supplement on an empty stomach (so intake this 1-2 hours after your last meal). ZMA has been shown to aid sleep and increase hormone levels during sleep.
2) After the ZMA has been totally digested (30-60 minutes later) eat something with complex and fibrous starchy carbohydrates such as oatmeal or a mix of fibrous green vegetables. The point is to consume a slow burning carbohydrate source here.
3) Consume 20-60 grams of casein protein. One of the the best sources of casein protein is cottage cheese. Caseinate based proteins are generally slow digesting and release aminos over a long period of time.
4) Intake 1 tablespoon of flax oil, 500-1000 mg of vitamin C, and 5-10 grams of glutamine.
5) Go to sleep for 8-10 hours.
This combination will digest slowly in your stomach giving you a steady supply of muscle building nutrients as the GH is released. The vitamin C and Glutamine will aid in tissue repair and help the body strengthen the immune system. This stack essentially doubles up the benefits as sleep already does both of these.
What about cost/safety concerns? ZMA is nothing more than a combination of the minerals zinc and magnesium. Athletes need more than the standard person, so this will benefit you if you are deficient in either of these two minerals. Most people don't realize if they are deficient or not; Moreover, ZMA is cheap and easy on your wallet. Flax oil is high in omega 3,6, and 9 acids which have a whole slew of benefits. You can buy flax oil in the gel capsules if you wish, this is a cheaper alternative to buying it in liquid form.
ok, so what have we learned...that it would be impossible to follow this method each and every day, but its definately in your best interests to try it. if anthing at all i would reccomend gettging the right amount of sleep at least 3 nights a week, turning of the tv and pc at least 30mins before you go to sleep, because your brain will have a chance to wind down, and eating the cottage cheese. some of that stuff mentioned in the sleep stack is a bit HARDCORE, you may not want to take the flaxseed or mineral supplements, but the cottage cheese thing is PROVEN to work!
So yeah, thats sleep, try it out and youll see results, i intend to try and follow the ideas pretty well because i reckon it will help the ole brain before exams and all that.
peace,
(oh if you cant tell all ready these few monster posts were made becuase i cant do any exercise, so im trying to learn as much as i can about my body, nutrition and how i can maximise my chances of a speedy recovery)
Ok anyway, sleep. Most of this info is nicked and edited again from tricks tutorials, i cant help it, Jujimufu is GOD. But if you havnt visited the site yet...then read on:
So what are the symptoms of sleep deprivation?
* Drowsiness
* Forgetfulness
* Weight gain
* Mood shifts ranging from depression to being irritable.
* Reduced immunity to disease
* Reduced ability to think logically and analyze new information
* Reduced vocabulary
* Reduced motor skills and coordination
* Decreased reaction time
* Decreased stamina and energy
After the first 3-4 hours of sleep your body releases 60-90% of your daily GH (Growth Hormone) amount. Growth Hormone is responsible for the growth of your bones and muscles. It also prepares fat for energy use and spares lean body mass. In regards to muscle growth it causes muscle cells to increase protein synthesis, decrease protein breakdown, increase amino acid uptake in muscular tissue, and divide. Basically it causes growth of muscle and bone tissue.
Another negative effect of decreased GH levels is a weakened immune system. GH stimulates bone marrow growth which boosts the immune system function. A lack of sleep will slow the growth and repair of this tissue; Studies have also indicated that a lack of sleep will reduce your white blood cell count down a good margin.
Finally sleep deprivation increases levels of cortisol in the body the next day. But what the hell is cortisol? It's the 'Stress Hormone', it's your opponent on the road to increased gains in your physical endeavors. Med definition is - The major adrenal glucocorticoid, stimulates conversion of proteins to carbohydrates, raises blood sugar levels and promotes glycogen storage in the liver.
To make it simple for you cortisol causes hyper tension, stress, and synthesizes the amino acids in your muscles to fuel more vital organs (like lungs, heart, brain). In excessive amounts it can cause memory impairments, restrict tissue repair, and increase insulin resistance. It's nasty! Furthermore, elevated cortisol levels have been identified in patients with adrenal tumors. Cancer is not the sex.
On average, younger people between the ages of 12-25 need more than adults. We need between 8.5 and 9.25 hours of sleep per night. Harder working athletes will require more than that! It's easy to figure out exactly how much sleep you need. Go to bed, and wake up!
Here is a method to get the most out of your sleep. This stack reduces cortisol release and catabolism, increases anabolism, increases the effects of GH, and gives you more energy to do what needs to be done. I have gotten this stack from abcbodybuilding.com / an awesome website with plenty of good information. Thanks guys!
1) Take a ZMA supplement on an empty stomach (so intake this 1-2 hours after your last meal). ZMA has been shown to aid sleep and increase hormone levels during sleep.
2) After the ZMA has been totally digested (30-60 minutes later) eat something with complex and fibrous starchy carbohydrates such as oatmeal or a mix of fibrous green vegetables. The point is to consume a slow burning carbohydrate source here.
3) Consume 20-60 grams of casein protein. One of the the best sources of casein protein is cottage cheese. Caseinate based proteins are generally slow digesting and release aminos over a long period of time.
4) Intake 1 tablespoon of flax oil, 500-1000 mg of vitamin C, and 5-10 grams of glutamine.
5) Go to sleep for 8-10 hours.
This combination will digest slowly in your stomach giving you a steady supply of muscle building nutrients as the GH is released. The vitamin C and Glutamine will aid in tissue repair and help the body strengthen the immune system. This stack essentially doubles up the benefits as sleep already does both of these.
What about cost/safety concerns? ZMA is nothing more than a combination of the minerals zinc and magnesium. Athletes need more than the standard person, so this will benefit you if you are deficient in either of these two minerals. Most people don't realize if they are deficient or not; Moreover, ZMA is cheap and easy on your wallet. Flax oil is high in omega 3,6, and 9 acids which have a whole slew of benefits. You can buy flax oil in the gel capsules if you wish, this is a cheaper alternative to buying it in liquid form.
ok, so what have we learned...that it would be impossible to follow this method each and every day, but its definately in your best interests to try it. if anthing at all i would reccomend gettging the right amount of sleep at least 3 nights a week, turning of the tv and pc at least 30mins before you go to sleep, because your brain will have a chance to wind down, and eating the cottage cheese. some of that stuff mentioned in the sleep stack is a bit HARDCORE, you may not want to take the flaxseed or mineral supplements, but the cottage cheese thing is PROVEN to work!
So yeah, thats sleep, try it out and youll see results, i intend to try and follow the ideas pretty well because i reckon it will help the ole brain before exams and all that.
peace,
(oh if you cant tell all ready these few monster posts were made becuase i cant do any exercise, so im trying to learn as much as i can about my body, nutrition and how i can maximise my chances of a speedy recovery)
posted by Phil Waddell at 7:56 AM
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