Aug 16, 2017
Alex Fergus -Sleep Dive Part 1
To a lot of people, Alex Fergus is a health and fitness coach but before all that, he was first a typical rugby fan and a rowing competitor from New Zealand. His fitness enthusiasm eventually made him compete in the world of bodybuilding which gave him his fair share of awards and recognition.
Today, Alex will talk about one of FitFluential Radio’s favorite topics: Sleep. He’ll give us the low down on the science behind sleep, how we can optimize our sleeping habits, and his tips on how to reset your circadian rhythm.
"Too many people get caught up with short-term gains even if it comes at the expense of long term benefits and performance.” Alex Fergus
In this episode, you’ll learn:
- When it comes to weight training, people often sacrifice rest and recovery for short term benefits. Overtraining may lead to quick muscle gains and weight loss but the body will suffer in the long term.
- One of the dangers of overtraining is adrenal fatigue which can impair your body’s ability to produce testosterone for long term.
- Sleep is important for just about all the body's processes specially recovery.
- Melatonin is an important hormone not just for sleep but for overall health and wellness. Low melatonin correlates to chronic diseases which is caused by chronic sleep deprivation.
- Even acute sleep deprivation can have destructive effects on your body.
- People ruin their circadian rhythm by using their phones right before they sleep.
- Technology use or even streetlights can misalign your circadian rhythm.
- Even sleep aids aren't enough due to hormonal changes that occurred in your body brought upon by circadian misalignment.
- Being exposed to so much light increases cortisol in the body which in turn "alerts" the body to stay awake despite the sleeping time.
- One way to reset your circadian rhythm is by going to a nearby park for the weekend, leaving your gadgets in the car, avoid artificial light, use campfire, and sleep when you’re tired.
Key Takeaways:
- Light is important as soon as you wake up or within the first few minutes of waking up.
- Expose your body and eyes to AM sunlight. This signals the body to suppress melatonin and produce cortisol, getting you ready for the day right before you’ve even had breakfast.
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