recovery

In search of improving my health and enhancing my quality of life, the factor I feel I have learned the most about is recovery. I came to realize virtually all a person does to sustain a given lifestyle greatly influences one’s ability to recover. In other words, a person’s habits in terms of movement, nutrition, mindset development, and relationships’ management have a direct impact on stress levels. Thereby either boosting or diminishing one’s capacity to recover properly and promote higher vitality to perform better in the various aspects of life.

stress

While exploring recovery, one of the key insights I learned was knowing the difference between acute stress and chronic stress.

Acute stress is the “good” type. It has finite duration, it’s moderate to high intensity, and with enough consistency it leads the body to develop adaptation as well as boost the immune system. Generators of acute stress include running, lifting weights, fasting, sauna, cold water immersion, giving a presentation or speech.

Chronic stress is the “bad” type. It has indefinite duration, it’s anywhere from low to high intensity, and it doesn’t allow the body to fully rest and repair. It leads one to feel constantly threatened and anxious, in this way causing sickness and long-term disease. Some major drivers of chronic stress include having a victim or pessimistic mentality, keeping negative, conflictive relationships, working in a high pressure, micromanaged environment, poor quality nutrition, and lack of proper sleep.

sleep matters … more than i thought it did

During the various endeavors I committed to in most recent years, requiring a substantial amount of hard work and intentionality, I came to appreciate the crucial role of sleep in the body’s recovery process and stress management. There were seasons I put myself through significant stress, both physical and mental, and during such times making a real effort to optimize the amount and quality of my sleep was extremely worthwhile. For instance, there was a period of about two years when I was training at high intensity to compete at professional soccer tryouts, while also working seven days a week to pay off debt.

    My sleeping pattern has drastically changed from what it once was. As my life began to transform and I continually sought to adopt habits to better my health, the practices I incorporated in terms of sleep progressively evolved and helped me adapt to a more regular and consistent norm.

According to most scientific research and experts in the subject, getting eight to nine hours of sleep per night is the most optimal for overall health and longevity. With this said, I think the proper amount could vary for everyone, depending on what allows an individual to feel and operate at best throughout the day’s activities. Personally, with a steady bedtime and wakeup time, my body has become accustomed to performing daily tasks and responsibilities with sustained energy after six to seven (rarely eight) hours of sleep. However, I believe that stretching it to at least eight hours would certainly benefit me.

waking up earlier changed my life

Deciding to wake up earlier was how it all began for me. When I made the commitment to start training for professional soccer tryouts, I chose to get up at 5am every day. This way I had enough time to train before heading to the office at around 8:30am. Throughout most of my life up to that point, I was used to waking up an hour to an hour and a half before my first activity of the day, therefore I always exercised in the evening. Because I almost always slept in until the last minute I could, my mornings typically felt rushed and disorganized.

     In hindsight, I believe having an audacious goal to work toward is what gave me the drive I needed at first to shift my wake-up time to about two hours earlier. As the days and weeks passed, I was able to get into a rhythm of consistently waking up at 5am, consequently I had to make a conscious effort to get to bed no later than 10pm, to sleep for at least seven hours a night. Soon enough, I felt my body getting used to the new sleeping schedule I developed, hence going to bed and waking up earlier no longer required as much effort. I believe establishing consistent sleeping hours, where one can fall asleep and wake up within the same time frame each day, is the foundation to optimizing sleep and augment the body’s capacity to repair and recover.

circadian rhythm

Researching and grasping a decent understanding of how the body’s circadian rhythm works has been a key motivator for me to self-experiment with new behaviors concerning sleep. I was able to gain more awareness about the critical functions of light exposure, temperature, feeding, and exercise in relation to the body’s internal clock, and adjust my routines accordingly.

A few strategies I implemented and made a substantial difference in regulating my sleep include:

  • Taking a cold shower minutes after waking up.

  • Exercising early in the morning instead of the evening.

  • Avoiding caffeine consumption after 12pm.

  • Eliminating alcohol consumption.

  • Stretching the gap between dinner and bedtime to as many as three hours when possible.

  • Limiting exposure to bright lights one to two hours before sleeping.

  • Taking a hot shower before going to bed.

  • Engaging in relaxing rather than over-stimulating activities a few hours before sleeping.