Have you ever wondered what is the most powerful tool for recovery and energy?
No, it’s not a sauna and sorry to burst your bubble, it’s not the latest cold plunge craze as seen on social media or the newest pre-workout shake.
It’s sleep.
Yes! Good quality sleep will outweigh absolutely anything you do to improve recovery.
But how to get the best quality sleep possible? Let me explain…
We have two systems that control our sleep.
- Adenosine system (sleep pressure)
- Circadian rhythm (day-night)
Adenosine System
There’s a molecule called Adenosine that is cleared by your body when you sleep and as soon as you wake up starts building up in your brain.
The longer you’re awake, the more adenosine builds up. By night, this builds up so much it makes you want to fall asleep.
Caffeine is an adenosine antagonist. It binds to adenosine receptors, so adenosine can not bind. This makes you less tired, but as soon as the caffeine wears off, you get a massive flood of adenosine that has been building up. This is why you get a caffeine crash.
You should stop caffeine intake 10 hours before your bedtime.
If you go to bed at 11 pm, your last coffee should be 1 pm.
Caffeine’s half-life is 5 hours. This means it takes 5 hours for half the caffeine to clear your system.
Even though you’re able to fall asleep with caffeine, your sleep quality is dramatically affected.
The same goes for alcohol. Alcohol is a sedative. It may knock you out, but you’re not getting proper sleep.
If I hit you with a baseball bat and knocked you out. You may be unconscious for 8 hours, but It doesn’t mean you slept well.
Circadian Rhythm
Your sleep cycle is also controlled by the day & night cycle, i.e. sunlight and darkness. Have you noticed when you pull an all-nighter, you start to get a second wind of energy when you make it till the morning?
This is because your body’s sleep and wake cycle is also controlled by your internal body clock.
View sunlight by going outside within 30-60 minutes of waking. This will set your circadian rhythm for the day.
If you wake up before the sun is out and you want to be awake, turn on artificial lights and then go outside once the sun rises.
Along with this, make sure you go to sleep and wake up at the same time every day. This will make sure you set your circadian rhythm in stone. If you can, even on weekends.
Try not to view any blue light from screens an hour before bed. If this isn’t possible, try using blue light-blocking glasses.
N.B. If you wake up during the night to go to the toilet, as long as you’re back asleep within 20 minutes, it will not affect your sleep cycle.
Sleep Supplements That Work
You can take these 30-60 mins before bed:
- 300mg of magnesium threonate – it is the most bioavailable form of magnesium for the brain
- 100-400mg Theanine
- 50mg Apingenin
- 100mg GABA
All of these are pharmaceutical grade in TB-JP.com dream sleep.
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Conclusion
- Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Even on weekends, if possible.
- Stop caffeine intake 10 hours before bed.
- Do not drink alcohol before bed – it’s knocking you out. It’s not helping you sleep.
- View direct sunlight for 30 minutes upon waking
- Switch off your phone and TV an hour before bed. If you can’t use blue-light-blocking glasses
- Consider using a quality sleep supplement such as Dream Sleep by tb-Jp.com
