Effective Sleeping Tips

 Sleep, and lack there-of! At Mountain Fitness, besides middle-aged aches and pains, it's one of the most common subjects discussed.
    I wake up at 4:15 a.m. every day (5:15 on weekends), so sleep needs to be somewhat of a science for me. When fatigue starts setting in, usually about 8 p.m. on week nights, it's time to head upstairs and not "fight the feeling." If you try to push through, or snooze for ten minutes on the couch, a "second wind" kicks in, and you may be up to midnight.
   Also, if there's a night I'm out later at a family gathering or sporting event, I know my "pitch count is up," and I need a good night's sleep the following night to get back on course.
    There's also times when I've really worked out hard, or exercised in the evening, and your body is just too physically charged to fall right asleep. You don't fight it then, just stay up a little later, reading, and let sleep take over naturally.
    The worst is stress, however. You either can't fall asleep at all (I try reading something light), or fall asleep, and wake up in the middle of the night, all mentally wired! Not wanting to wake up Laurie, I will often go downstairs on the couch. Sometimes, just a different venue will invoke drowsiness.
     Runner's World recently published an online article, "Why You can't Stop Waking In the Middle of the Night," by Christina D'Adamio. They interviewed Helix co-founder and sleep expert Adam Tishman on the reasons people get a bad night's sleep. The six mentioned were:
    SLEEP APNEA: When your breathing actually stops and starts through the night. A medically treatable and common condition. Often caused by enlarged tonsils or obesity.
     INDIGESTION: A heavy, creamy, or spicy meal right before bed, and/or too much alcohol, is a recipe for a bad night's sleep. Years ago, I worked evenings managing a large, corporate health club. It was stressful (with 50 staffers, and 2000 members), and I'd work to 11 p.m. and then come home and eat dinner. I'd usually stay up to at least 1:30-2 a.m., to digest and unwind. The only saving grace was, I'd run when I got up the next morning, fueled by my dinner the night before. That is, except for the frequent "alarm call nights"' when I'd drive back to the club after maybe an hour's sleep at 3 a.m. to check out a burglar or fire alarm. No, I was not in a great mood the next day!
   STRESS: See the paragraph above!
    LIGHT: You need to figure out whether you like total darkness (the best for achieving a deep sleep), or some indirect light. While the television is great to fall asleep to, it's best to turn it off during the night, because the disparities in light and sound can wake you.
    NOISE: Optimally, I like music on very low, but, again, the experts recommend total quiet. the exception may be a fan to supply "white noise" that hides outside sounds like car alarms, traffic, or early-morning garbage trucks.
     TEMPERATURE: Your body temperature drops at night, as your body goes through "recovery mode." I tend to get cold easily, and I keep a sweatshirt on when I sleep. Everyone has a different body thermometer, however, and you need that correct balance of clothing and coverings to have a restful night's sleep.
    YOUR PARTNER: You never snore, your husband/wife does! You like it warm, they like it cool. You prefer the radio on, they don't. Their restlessness wakes you up. It's really never your fault, just their's! Yes, the rules of sleeping together, literally, have to be established and respected.
    As you can see, sleep is tricky business, and the more important things you have going on, the trickier it is. Runner's World always recommends that marathoner's get a good night's sleep two nights before a race, because the night before, it's next to impossible. Just establish your routine as best as possible, have all your "ducks in a row" for the morning, and expect that you're going to have a restless night.
   Good luck getting a good night's rest, and don't over-think it. Then you'll never get to sleep!   

Exercise and the Heart

   It's a fact: Exercise improves your heart health. How much it does is open to a lot of research and debate, and, unfortunately, exercise alone does not overcome obstacles like bad family genetics,
smoking and/or drinking, or a junk food diet. Further, vigorous training like marathoning or cross-country skiing seems to alter the heart (either beating too slow, or too fast) in a way that moderate exercise does not.
   Emily Sohn of the Washington Post addressed the issue in a recent article. She quotes Aaron Bagish, director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. "No amount of exercise confers complete immunity to heart disease," Dr. Bagish said. "You can't outrun heart problems completely."
   Still, "exercise is the best prescription for the heart, better than any medicine," according Dr. Mark Link of the University of Texas Medical Center, also quoted in the article. The ideal for heart health is thought to be 150 minutes a week of moderate exercise, which lowers rates of high blood pressure, heart disease and death without putting undue stress on the heart.
   A 2013 study researched over 52,000 cross-country skiers in Sweden who competed in a 56-mile race between 1989 and 1998. The mortality rates of the skiers were lower than the general population during this time span. Rates of death were also lower for skiers who completed the race several times, as opposed to those who participated once. However, frequent (and faster) racers were more likely to suffer from irregular heart beats, either too fast (atrial fibrillation) or too slow.
   I use my trusty MIO watch to monitor my heart rate when I run on the treadmill. Depending on how much coffee or prior exercise I had, my starting heart rate is usually in the high 40's. When doing my "favorite' mile-repeat workout, the heart rate is usually in the high 120's after the first. It rises steadily higher after each, usually ending in the high 150's or low 160's, right at my "max" for my age of 59, after the fifth interval. I feel pretty exhausted by that point, and know I've done my best for that particular day. Hopefully, the next week, it will take me slightly more effort (either faster speed or higher grade) to hit that 160 heart rate by the end.
    When I went for a colonoscopy a few years back, I didn't have any caffeine in the morning and my heart rate was 37. The doctor asked if I was a runner, and said if I wasn't that would be considered too low for the anesthesia to be administered.
     The relationship between the right amount of exercise for optimal heart health is still evolving. One time, before a 500-meter sprint on the rower, we asked a doctor at the club if we should aim to take the heart rate to the max. "That depends," he said, with a smile, "If you want to use all your heartbeats up now, or save some for later on!"     
 

Sugar's Effects

  When I fast on the Jewish High Holiday of Yom Kippur, I crave one thing the most as the last hours of the Holy Day wind down: orange juice! That may seem odd at first, but orange juice is loaded with sugar, and when you learn how that substance affects your body, you understand!
   An article in the Washington Post syndicate by Casey Seidenberg a while back did a good job in explaining it..
   *Sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets, and is one big carbohydrate, with no nutritional value: no protein, vitamins, minerals or fiber.
    *It has an addictive effect, and, interestingly, was called "crack" when it was introduced to Europe in the 1100's
    *Going "cold turkey" on refined sugar can cause withdrawal symptoms like a drug: fatigue, depression, head and body aches.
     *Over-consumption of sugar can alter your taste buds, where it craves sweeter and sweeter foods, no longer satisfied with the natural sugars in fruits and other whole foods.
      *Sugar enters the bloodstream rapidly, because there are no nutrients or fibers to slow the process down. This causes a quick rise in blood sugar. A hormone called insulin is then released from your pancreas to distribute the sugar into your cells, causing the blood sugar levels to drop. You get an instant burst of energy, which may make you hyper and unable to focus.
     *When the insulin does it's job (protecting your body from a dangerous level of blood sugar!),
  your energy levels immediately drop, which can leave you lethargic, cranky, and desiring more sugar!
  *Sugar has been known to suppress the immune system, which can lead to a greater frequency of colds, flu's, and other illnesses.
  *Sugar can leave you feeling bloated, where you don't eat enough healthful foods, leaving you deficient in vital nutrients.
   *Everyone knows the association between sugar and obesity and diabetes, but it also has links to high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, asthma, arthritis, and ADD/ADHD symptoms in youngsters.
   Sugar is hidden in many foods, and let's face it, is enjoyable to ingest! It is hard to completely eliminate refined sugar from your diet, and you don't need to, unless ordered by your doctor. Keep it limited for special treats and balance it out with a healthy diet of natural foods.
    As for my Yom Kipper fast, my drop in blood sugar had my body craving the "quick fix" the orange juice provided. Not to worry, I supplemented it with plenty of other calories sources, like a few open-faced bagels with Nova Scotia salmon ("Lox"), tomatoes and onions, and some noodle pudding on the side. I wasn't lacking in any nutrient by the time I was done with the "break fast!"