It’s Monday and I hope you’re ready to rock this week!
I’m smiling because of how great I feel today. I got a great night’s sleep – the most underrated performance enhancing “drug” that most of us don’t take advantage of.
So, there are the four stages of sleep:
- Light sleep
- Deep sleep
- REM Sleep
- Awake
Today, we’re going to focus on light sleep and progress as the week goes on, so we’re not getting overwhelmed.
Light Sleep occurs as you transition to deep sleep. We’ve all been there. It’s that time of sleep where you’re still kind of aware of what’s going on around you. A lot of times, your head will bob, then you realize that you’re in light sleep.
I know when I’m in light sleep, the slightest sound wakes me up…the floor creaking, toilet flushing, the neighbor starting his monster Dodge Ram, etc. In other words, it’s easy to get awaked during this stage.
What’s important to note here is that there is almost no restorative impact when we’re in light sleep.
It doesn’t really help you physically recover.
It doesn’t really help you mentally recover.
It’s kinda like dipping your toe in the restorative sleep pool.
But, in spite of what my son appears to do, you can’t instantaneously fall asleep, so light sleep is necessary to get us to deep sleep.
A few things that will help you get into light sleep are:
Try going to sleep at the same time every night
Try waking up at the same time every morning
Don’t eat late
Don’t drink caffeine late
And, best of all… EXERCISE
According to Johns Hopkins, research indicates that exercise decreases sleep complaints and insomnia in patients. The effects of exercise on sleep are similar to those of sleeping pills.
I don’t know about you, but I’d much rather get in a workout that’s going to help me look and feel great, help me play my best golf, and sleep, than take pills to fall asleep.
Sorry Big Pharma, you lose again.
You’ve got this,
Jeff Pelizzaro
PS – Even if you can’t get your workout in for the day, a simple 30-minute walk will do wonders for your sleep. I have found that when I do my strength training workout, I do sleep better than just taking a walk, but something is better than nothing.
You can check out the workouts in the 18STRONG App here, and hopefully ditch your bottle of Ambien.