Sleeping Advice from Sheldon Cooper

Developing a Sleep Routine

"Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, Little Ball of Fur..." 

Having poor sleeping habits is close to an epidemic these days with the pressures of work as well as family. Coupled with there never seeming to be enough hours in a day and often sleep is put on the back burner with an attempt to “catch up’ on the weekend.

We’ve all read the recommendations of getting 8 hours of sleep a night but it can be hard for some people to get that much, myself included.

What you should be aiming for is whatever sleep you do get, make it quality sleep, and this all starts with what you do in the hours before nigh, night.

Good sleeping habits can aid in fat loss and weight management by minimising physical and mental stress.  If stress takes over your life it can raise the production of a hormone called Cortisol . A normal stress response hormone, however in too high a level this hormone actually stores bodyfat - on purpose!!

Try this step by step guide to getting a better nights’ sleep and make your routine every night.

• Watch the Night Garden including Hoot's Night Call (maybe I've been watching too much of this with my 2 year old son Archie)

• Make your room cool, not overheated
• Make your room as quiet as possible
• Make your room as dark as you can
• Replace your mobile phone alarm with a clock radio alarm
• Ditch your computer and phone 60 minutes bed
• Read something light 15 minutes before turning your lights off
• Get yourself the most comfortable bed for you

"...Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty, Purr, Purr, Purr"

I Head into the VD Clinic and Who Should I See...

Well if you headed in there in 1927 you’d have seen German swimmers sitting under sunlamps to gain an edge in the pool.

If you were there in 2009 then you might have read a newspaper headline stating that VD may allow US Olympians to dominate in 2012.

Now hopefully you realize that when I say the VD clinic I’m certainly not referring to venereal diseases but rather Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is actually a steroid hormone not a vitamin in the truest sense but in athletes it can prevent stress fractures, improve reaction time, strength, speed, endurance. For regular folk it can aid in fat loss, bone health, heart health as well as possibly life extension.

I’m not really a betting man but if I was, I’d bet on you being deficient in Vitamin D.

Its primary source is from direct sunlight but can also be found in foods such as seafood, eggs and mushrooms but with food tampering by the big wigs before we even get to purchase the finished product, this  can leave many items deficient of their natural content. This leaves direct sunlight as your best choice and besides, it feels nice and fuzzy too.

In 1 study there was a 26% higher mortality rate in those with low Vitamin D levels and according to the Vitamin D Council, a deficiency is a major factor in at least 17 different types of cancer.

So what if you like feeling like shit but just wanna look good on the outside?

Well, we have got you covered again because another study showed that adding Vitamin D to a reduced calorie diet may lead to faster fat loss, with a liking for chewing up abdominal fat too!!

I could go on for decades with its benefits but let’s get to the how’s and when’s of Vitamin D.

As mentioned above direct sunlight is the easiest, cheapest and bestest way to get your Vitamin D. Head out for a walk in the sun between 10am and 3pm for 10 – 20 minutes without sunscreen. If you're heading out for longer than go 15 minutes without it, then pop it on for the remainder of your outing.

If you live and / or work in a location that doesn’t provide a lot of sunlight then supplementation is encouraged at a dosage of 1000 – 4000 IU’s per day. Aim for the higher end if you have a history of playing Farmville all day and ordering takeout for dinner and the lower end if you’re a generally outdoorsy type of cat.

As good as Vitamin D is, you can actually get too much of it but not through direct sunlight, only through over supplementation, so match your dosage with the amount of sunlight you receive.

Look for something in a D3 gelcap form. If you’re really interested in where you stand in the Vitamin D hierarchy then head to your GP and ask for a test where your aim is to hit blood levels of 50 – 80 ng/mL. A great time for this is at the start of autumn and winter when sunshine falls away pretty quickly.

D-lightful!!

Because This Is How We Roll

I can't say for sure but we might well have been the first personal training studio to implement foam rolling in Melbourne. There weren't even proper foam rollers available back then so we used basic foam off cuts!!

Our clients have a pleasure and pain type of relationship with our foam rollers because initially it can quite painful but as your pain tolerance improves and you start to iron out those trigger points in the muscles then it really starts provide relief.

Your muscles are surrounded by what is called fascia which is most easily described as wetsuit that covers the entire body. When you feel "stiff" then it's a sign that the fascia has constricted itself around the muscles quite tightly making it hard to move freely.

Once this fascia is relaxed a little via foam rolling then range of motion and muscle activity is improved almost immediately.

The main problem with restricted movement is that the compensation is restricted muscle use meaning a small amount of muscles will get used constantly and the rest, well hardly ever.

For example a very dominant illiotibial band (a thick band of fascia that runs right down the side of the thigh from your hip to your knee) can result in the inhibition of your gluteal muscles which as well as causing all sorts of issues with your hips, knees, ankles, lower back and even your shoulder, but can leave pants-less in public.

Here’s a video of yours truly going through various foam roller and other myofascial release drills:

                      

So if you have lingering joint and/or muscle pain, maybe a foam roller can help you out a little.

We suggest getting your foam rollers from here: http://www.empind.com.au/.