three factors - sleep

[BSHC]

The Ultimate Equation of Bodybuilding

Over the past month I have come to the conclusion that each of the three core factors of body building is equally important as the other.  

These three factors include training, nutrition, and sleep.

All of which have to be at their absolute best for optimal growth and recovery to occur! It is my firm belief that nutrition is not more important than sleep, or training more important than nutrition, or sleep more crucial than training. Indeed it is none of these combinations or any other conceivable ones. I believe each is just as critical as the other!

In essence, none of these factors is more significant than the other as all are needed to create a maximum environment of growth. As you will come to understand after reading this article, if you are lacking in the sleep department you will not be getting the best results you could have achieved from yourself as a body builder compared to being fully rested. In reality each of the three factors feeds off each other, and lacking in any of the three factors has direct consequences on the other two variables.

So, even though each of these factors is separate and requires different strategies to get 100% out of them, they are really equally important because when combined  together as one they result in the complete body builder, operating at his or her greatest efficiency!

Many seem to underestimate the power of sleep. These days we are all on the fast pace. We are demanding more from our bodies and expecting them to yield maximum results on little rest. I can뭪 emphasize how detrimental this is to us as bodybuilders!

Let me explain it in a simple analogy. You wouldn뭪 drag race a Dodge Viper on economy fuel would you? No way! You뭗 want the best, top grade high premium fuel for that baby!

This same line of thinking applies to us as bodybuilders. If we want our physiques to mimic a finely tuned machine we need to give it the best fuel we can possibly give it! However many of us (myself included at times) are doing just the opposite. We are going into the gym and expecting to win the drag race on economy fuel. And in this sport lacking in super fuel means lacking in intensity which results in undermined growth!

Get your sleep? A Wake up call!

What is sleep?

Webster defines it as, 밫he periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored.?

That뭩 sleep in a nutshell; however it뭩 a little bit more complicated than that.  Contrary to popular belief, our brains are actually quite active when we sleep. Sleep has a huge impact on our mental and physical health as well as our daily functioning.  The actual process of sleeping is controlled by nerve-signaling chemicals, knows as neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters control whether we are asleep or awake and regulate this by the signals they receive from groups of nerve cells in the brain.

These groups of nerve cells, called neurons produce neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and norepinephrine, in the brain stem which keep some parts of the brain active while we are awake. Other neurons at the base of the brain begin signaling when we fall asleep. These neurons literally 뱒witch off?the signals that keep us awake.

The actual act of sleeping is very complex and consists of five stages.  First I뭢 going to give a brief description of each stage, and then I뭢 going to go back and tell you which one is most important to us as body builders.

The Sleep Cycle

As we sleep we go through five different stages of activity. The complete sleep cycle consists of stage one, stage two, stage three, and stage four of NREM (Non-rapid eye movement sleep) and stage 5 of REM (Rapid eye movement) sleep. The stages progress in a cycle from stage one to stage 5 sleep, then the cycle repeats itself.

Sleep typically begins with a cycle that consists of 80 minutes of NREM sleep followed by 10 minutes of REM sleep. This 90 to 110 minute cycle is repeated four to six times each night (This depends on each person and the amount of sleep you are actually getting). With each cycle completed the amount of NREM sleep decreases and the proportion of REM sleep increases.

Each stage in the cycle of sleep has its own distinct features.

Stage one-

Stage one is crucial to the whole sleeping process. During this stage, often called light sleep, we drift in and out of sleep and can be awakened quite easily. At first our eyes move very slowly and muscle activity in the body slows. When we are awakened from stage one we often remember fragmented images. Have you ever just started to fall asleep and you get a sensation of hitting the ground or falling off a cliff? This is actually a muscle contraction called hypnic myoclonia. This contraction occurs when we are shocked from light sleep! These 밼alling?sensations are similar to the sudden movements we make when we get startled.

Stage two-

As we begin leaving light sleep and enter into stage two sleep, our eye movements stop and our brain waves become much slower. However, occasional bursts of rapid waves can occur called sleep spindles.

(A brain wave is a fluctuation of electrical activity that can be measured by electrodes.)

Stage three-

During stage 3, extremely slow brain waves called delta waves start to appear, scattered with smaller, faster waves. This stage marks the beginning of what is called deep sleep.

Stage four-

Stage four is of vital importance to the body builder! Very crucial indeed! More on that later!  This stage is referred to as slow-wave sleep or SWS.

During this stage the brain produces delta waves almost exclusively. Waking a person up during stages 3 and 4, which combined together are called deep sleep, is very difficult. There is no eye movement or muscle activity. People awakened during deep sleep do not adjust to reality immediately and often feel disoriented and very tired for several minutes after they wake up.

Just as an interesting fact, interference with deep sleep appears to be the main cause of sleep amnesia (REM can cause this as well though). This sleep related form of amnesia is the reason people forget telephone calls they had in the middle of the night and why we often don뭪 remember our alarms going off in the morning if we go right back to sleep after turning them off.

Stage 5-

Another crucial sleeping stage for body builders is REM, or rapid eye movement sleep.

When we enter into REM sleep, our breathing becomes faster, irregular and shallow. Our eyes jerk rapidly in all directions, and our limb muscles become temporarily paralyzed. Our heart rate increases and our blood pressure rises. 

This is the stage of sleep where dreams occur.  We normally spend more than two hours each night dreaming. Scientists do not know much about how or why we dream. The dream experience almost always occurs during REM sleep.

REM sleep begins with signals from an area at the base of the brain called the pons. These signals travel to a brain region called the thalamus, which then relays the signals to the cerebral cortex. This is the area of the brain responsible for learning, thinking, and organizing information. These pons are also what cause the temporary paralysis of the limbs. And that뭩 a very good thing! If not we would start 밶cting out?our dreams! (FYI-There is actually a rare condition called REM sleep behavior disorder in which the paralysis doesn뭪 take place!!!)

REM sleep stimulates the brain regions used in the learning process. Like deep sleep, REM is linked with the increased production of proteins and protein synthesis.  The first time we enter REM sleep normally occurs about 70 to 90 minutes during sleep. Again, a complete sleep cycle normally takes 90-110 minutes.

 The first sleep cycles tend to have shorter REM periods and longer periods of Deep Sleep. As the night goes on (usually about half way through a totals night sleep), we spend almost all of our sleep in stages one, two, and REM.

REM is crucial to getting a full nights rest, and being deprived of REM sleep has been shown to result in sluggishness and drowsiness the next day.

So in summary of the sleep cycle:

NREM sleep:

Stage 1뾲he drowsy transition from waking to sleeping

Stage 2뾦ntermediate sleep, when arousal is more difficult

Stage 3뾲he beginning of "deep," or slow-wave, sleep

Stage 4뾲he deepest sleep, when there is little contact with external sensations

During NREM sleep:

1. Brain activity decreases.

2. Blood pressure decreases.

3. Respiration (breathing) decreases.

4. Heart rate slows.

This is then followed by REM sleep which includes:

1. Increased brain activity

2. Increased and variable blood pressure

3. Increased and variable heart rate

4. Increased blood flow to the brain

5. Increased and variable respiration

Getting too little sleep creates a "sleep debt," in the sleep cycle which is similar to being over your limit at the bank. Eventually, your body will demand that the debt be re-paid. Our bodies don뭪 seem to be able to adapt to getting less sleep than we need. While we may get used to a sleep-depriving schedule, our judgment, reaction time, and other functions are still impaired. This goes hand in hand with training in the gym. Too little sleep has a direct correlation to less intensity!

In summary, going through the complete sleep cycle in its totality, along with going through the number of sleep cycles our body needs each night is vital to our bodies maximum health.

Our Ally in the War, Slow Wave Sleep!!!

"Slow-wave sleep is known for its restorative and growth-inducing properties, and plays a major role in maintaining our general health."

-Dr. James Maas

Slow-wave Sleep (SWS) is crucial to providing restoration and growth along with building immunity. Along with increasing alertness, energy levels and health. During SWS several things occur in our body that emphasizes this re-healing.

1. Blood supply to the muscles is increased, which aids in recovery after intense workouts or vigorous exercise.

2. The body뭩 temperature is lowered to conserve energy.

3. Metabolic activity is at its lowest which provides the opportunity for tissue growth and repair.

4. The secretion of growth hormone is at its highest.

5. Immune system regulators increase, strengthening the immune system.

As you can see, all of these factors are play a huge role in the growth and recovery process of a body builder or any athlete.

However, for now we are going to focus on the most important of them all to us as body builders (number four)꿻he release of natural growth hormone!

60-90% of your daily growth hormone release happens during the first three to four hours of sleep. Some studies have shown that hard working athletes may slip into SWS faster and stay there longer than a sedentary person. This suggests that for athletes who train their body on a consistent basis, their brain responds by placing them in SWS faster and more often to allow for recovery. Meaning the majority of growth hormone could be released as quickly as three hours into sleep for hardcore body builders! This actually turns out to be to our advantage. I뭠l explain more about that further into the article.

The secreting of growth hormone all starts in the Hypothalamus, which is the part of the brain that receives and integrates information from the rest of the body. The hypothalamus controls the secretions of the Anterior Pituitary (A small gland located at the base of our brains), which changes depending on the requirements of the body. The Hypothalamus communicates with the Anterior Pituitary through small blood vessels.

The secretion of growth hormone comes from the combined actions of stimulatory or inhibitory hypothalamic factors released onto the Anterior Pituitary.

OK, so what is Growth Hormone?

Good question. Growth Hormone, called Somatotropin, is the most vital of all growth promoting hormones. It has both developmental and metabolic effects. Growth Hormone is responsible for the growth of our bones and muscles and also assembles fat for energy use while sparing proteins from being used.  For the most part however, Growth Hormones (GH) actions are indirect.

Most of our GH effects are mediated by Insulin-like Growth factor 1, or IGF-1. IGF-1 is created in the liver when stimulated by GH. In other words physiological circumstances that increase GH likewise increase IGF-1.

In regards to muscle growth IGF-1 causes muscle cells (myocytes) to raise protein synthesis, decrease protein breakdown, take up amino acids and to divide. Basically, our muscles grow when stimulated by IGF-1. More specifically, it stimulates both the differentiation and proliferation of myoblasts and also stimulates amino acid uptake and protein synthesis in muscle and other tissues.

It뭩 important to note that bone cells also react to IGF-1 by proliferating, causing our bones to grow. Connective tissue and cartilage also increase in response to IGF-1.

Another vital time when Growth Hormone is released is following your workouts. This is why a post-workout shake is so vital! In fact, I뭢 willing to bet that none of you would just skip your post-workout shake! This is an extremely important time for muscle repair and growth to occur. I guarantee if you treat your pre-sleep meal just as important your gains will be off the charts! More on that issue will be coming up in the later parts of the article.

What happens if you don뭪 get enough sleep as a body builder?

1. As you know GH is mostly released during SWS, so if you don뭪 get enough your ability to metabolize glucose is lowered.

2. Lowered levels of GH are related to fat tissue and reduced muscle mass and exercise capability. Body builders who only get 6-7 hours of sleep have to work twice as hard to process the same amount of fuel. So in essence recent studies have shown, that the less sleep you get the harder it is to lose weight and the harder it is to get energy for your workouts!

3.  Your immune system is greatly affected during sleep deprivation. GH also stimulates bone marrow growth, strengthening your immune system. Melatonin is another hormone released during sleep, and it stimulates the immune system and inhibits tumor growth. Without enough of these hormones your immune system weakens and you can get sick much easier.

4. One other negative effect of sleep deprivation is premature aging. GH acts as a 뱘outh maintenance?hormone. It keeps tissue in good condition, your skin firmer, and bones and muscles strong. As you get older your level of GH decreases and you age. Studies have shown with a lack of sleep you are actually starting this process earlier!

5. And lastly, but definitely not least, sleep deprivation causes increased levels of cortisol in the body the next day. As you know cortisol is our mortal enemy! It causes hypertension and stress and robs our muscles for energy! Increased levels can cause memory impairments, restrict tissue repair and growth, and increased insulin resistance!

I don뭪 have to tell you how much of an impact that will have on you as a body builder or any type of athlete who is looking to perform at his or her best!

The impact sleep deprivation can have on training and nutrition!

To restate what I said at the beginning of the article, all three of the factors of body building feed off one another.

That is why sleep is so vital for training!

A lack of sleep can cause drowsiness, sluggishness, crankiness, depression, forgetfulness, and slow our reaction time. All of which will have a huge impact on our intensity in the gym. Less stamina and energy will have a direct impact on our intensity and intensity has a direct and vital impact on reaching the levels it takes to achieve new growth.

Sleep also plays a vital role in our nutrition!

Without enough sleep we are literally more catabolic all day long! And you can multiply this by 2 post workout! I뭢 convinced without proper sleep your cortisol levels will be off the charts after a workout.  Of course getting 8-10 hours of sleep every night of your life is practically impossible, but you have to make the effort to get more.

Going along the lines of nutrition, I뭭e found that there are steps you can take to keep these higher cortisol levels in check post-workout provided you know you are going to be getting less sleep ahead of time.

Let뭩 say you have an early appointment and you just know you뭨e not going to get enough sleep, but you just have to get your workout in after the appointment. That뭩 the only time you have. Believe me I understand how hectic life can get sometimes.

I find that by eating extremely complex carbs up until the night you won뭪 be getting enough sleep, you can make your post-workout shake even more potent꿚hus keeping the higher cortisol levels in check. And I mean eat as clean as you can like you뭨e on a super cut. No simple carbs or sugar, lean protein, and complex carbs (preferably green leafy veggies) and lots of water.

This will make your post-workout shake뭩 insulin spiking properties more potent.

Again, I want to restate how important we as body builders need to start taking sleep.  It has a direct impact on our training and nutrition and I am convinced that we can뭪 be our 100% best in the areas of training and nutrition without adequate sleep.

With all that in mind I want to sum it up with this phrase?/font>

SLEEP = ANABOLIC STATE

Getting the most out of your sleep! Your nuclear arsenal for smashing cortisol, increasing anabolism, increasing the effects of growth hormone, and increasing your energy in the gym!

Just like a nuclear weapon has multiple effects on the enemy so does pre-sleep nutrition. Nothing strikes fear into the hearts of man like nuclear weaponry, and the same holds true for catabolism and homeostasis if you take the right steps before hitting dream land!

Pre-sleeping stack:

1. Take a ZMA supplement on an empty stomach. ZMA has been shown to aid in sleep and increase hormone levels while you sleep. Jacob has written an awesome article on ZMA. Access it here.

2. After the ZMA has been totally digested, about 30-60 minutes later, eat a complex and fibrous Starchy Carbohydrates or Fibrous Green Vegetables(depending on if you are cutting or bulking) such as oatmeal, a yam, a salad, or a green leafy vegetable (see the 13 weeks to dieting for more examples of these).  The key is to eat a slow burning carbohydrate source here.

3. Combine that with 1 tablespoon of flax oil, 1 gram of vitamin C and 5 grams of Glutamine.

4. And lastly consume 20-60 grams of casein protein( cottage cheese is a great source ) (this amount depends on your body weight and goals).

Numbers 2-4 should be taken in as one meal.

5. Hit the hay for 8 to 10 hours!

The first 3-4 hours of sleep is when we spend the majority of our time in SWS, therefore this is when GH release is at its highest. This combination will digest slowly in your stomach giving you a steady supply of muscle building nutrients as the GH is released. The Vitamin C and Glutamine will aid in tissue repair and help the body strengthen the immune system. This is a double whammy as sleep already aids in the repair of both of these.

6. Immediately upon awakening consume a post-wake up protein shake to put your body back into an anabolic state. REM sleep has been shown to dramatically increase catabolism in your body. Recall that by half way through the complete nights sleep cycle you are spending most of your time in REM sleep. So when you wake up you are extremely catabolic and need nutrients and vitamins right away!

Start taking this stack as serious as you take your post-workout shake and I promise you뭠l like what you see!

Final Thoughts

Don뭪 take sleep lightly fellow hardcore athletes! In fact take it as serious as you do working out and eating right. The rewards will be better workouts and better pay off for your dieting. Stick to the pre-sleep stack on a consistent basis and reap the rewards of your body뭩 natural Growth Hormone release!

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The sleep cycle

Going through your bodies desired number of sleep cycles is vital to a wholesome nights sleep. Last month we dealt mostly with the sleep cycle and its value to a nourishing night뭩 snooze.

In summary of the sleep cycle, there are five distinct sleep stages that can be measured by polysomnography: 

Sleep includes two important segments: 1. Non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep and 2. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. These phases alternate in cycles about every 90 to 110 minutes. This cycle is repeated an average of 4 to 6 times per night.

Segment 1.

NREM, also called the "quiet state", can be broken down into several smaller stages:

?#9; Stage 1: Transitional stage; no recovery or restorative value. Small brain waves are produced, the muscles of the body relax, and breathing becomes smooth.

?#9; Stage 2: Beginning to drift into sound sleep; fragmented thoughts; images pass through mind; can't see, even if eyes open. Bodily functions continue to slow and larger, slower brain waves are produced.

?#9; Stages 3 & 4: Delta or slow wave sleep; deepest sleep; restorative sleep. True rest is achieved, as the brain produces its slowest, largest waves, called delta waves, critical for physical rejuvenation. Stage 4 is the deepest, most restorative sleep stage. Mental recovery; blood directed to brain. Growth hormones, protein synthesis, immune function maintenance.

Segment 2.

REM sleep, the important sleep phase where dreaming occurs, occupies 20-25% of a normal sleep period. REM is the most critical time for mental rejuvenation.

The diagram below shows brain waves that are associated with that particular stage of sleep:

What is a slumber dynamic?

Simply put it뭩 a state your body is in when you뭨e batteries are fully charged. It뭩 when your body is fully rested, revved up and ready to go! It뭩 the feeling you have when you want to tear down the gym doors and soar to new heights at the squat rack, or pick up those dumbbells that were "just too heavy" last month. It뭩 that feeling that "All things are possible, to those that believe", that motivates you to tear down boundaries and reach for new heights!

I have tons of confidence that adequate sleep can bring you those feelings of conquest on a regular basis. Last month we covered the backbone of sleep, its essence so to speak. This month I want to give you tactics for slumber dynamic. These will better help you reach new heights in your training, and new anabolic stages in your dieting.

I contemplated several ways to go about this. In my search I went through some older articles of Beyond Failure (A great source for inspiration for writing or just looking for motivation when getting ready to hit the gym) and decided the best way to tackle this issue was through one of Jacob뭩 infamous styles, a hardcore question and answers session.

Several board members have asked me specific questions about sleep, many of the questions were general, basic questions about sleep; while others were more complicated and specific. However, they are all important and awesome questions! I began compiling all these questions and sought out the answers. This article will be a compilation of those questions and the answers to them. And for all those that PM뭗 me regarding sleep questions the answers given here have been expanded on quite a bit! A few of the questions are ones that I just added in as I felt they were important for understanding certain concepts.

I have no doubt they will be of major importance to increasing the quality of your slumber dynamic!!!!

Hardcore questions and answers...Everything you wanted to know about sleep and MORE!

Q1. How much sleep should I get every night?

A. The answer to this question varies for each individual. On average, people need somewhere between 7 and 10 hours of sleep each night. Young people (ages 12-25) need even more, probably between 8.5 and 9.25 hours per night. For hardcore bodybuilders the average should be higher, ranging from 8 to 9.25 every night!

A good way to find out how much sleep you need is to go to sleep at the same time each night and see what time you naturally wake up without an alarm.

Q2. What are some symptoms of sleep deprivation?

A. Many people are tempted to pull an all-nighter to finish work, study for an exam or prepare for an important presentation. Here are some symptoms of sleep deprivation that may help you think twice about skipping sleep before an important event.

Daytime drowsiness and nodding off during sedentary activities (micro sleeps- these are times during the day in which you just drift off into sleep, or brief episodes of unintended sleep. If you are getting adequate sleep these should never occur.)

Weight gain through consumption of high-sugar foods.

Mood shifts, including depression, increased irritability, lack of interest in socializing

Stress, anxiety and loss of sense of humor

Reduced immunity to disease and viral infection

Impaired memory functioning

Reduced ability to handle complex tasks

Reduced ability to think logically, critically

Reduced ability to analyze new information

Reduced decision-making skills and vocabulary

Weight gain through consumption of high-sugar foods.

Reduced motor skills and coordination

Reduced productivity is the result, including losing the ability to concentrate, remember, handle complex tasks, and think logically, assimilate and analyze new information, make decisions, communicate, think creatively. Motor skills and coordination are also reduced. You can just imagine the impact this is having on your gym sessions!

A recent study proved that sleep is critical in righting disease! Dr. Michael Irwin, at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Diego, studied a group of healthy individuals who stated they usually slept at least seven hours each night. Tests indicated that each individual had normal white blood cell counts. Irwin disrupted the sleep patterns of the group by waking them at 3:00 a.m. He kept them awake until 7:00 a.m., then again measured their white blood cell counts. These natural infection and disease-fighting cells dropped 28 percent!

Q. 3. How do you know if you are sleep deprived?

A. The Following are some good indicators that you are, in fact, sleep deprived:

Needing an alarm clock to wake up (more on that coming later!)

Getting out of bed in the morning is a struggle

Feeling tired, irritable, or generally stressed out

Trouble with concentration or remembering

Falling asleep while watching TV in the day time, in meetings, lectures, or warm rooms. Now I don뭪 mean day dreaming but actual micro-sleeps.

Falling asleep after heavy meals

Falling asleep within 5 minutes of going to bed

Needing to sleep extra hours on the weekend

If any of these variables describe your behavior, chances are you뭨e probably sleep deprived. You may feel that you are performing effectively, and cannot afford to get more sleep because of the requirements of your busy daily routine. However, the consequences of sleep deprivation are very real, and being motivated to overcome its effects is just not enough.

Dr. Maas (professor and past chairman, Department of Psychology, Cornell University, a renowned sleep expert) says that "often we are totally unaware of our own reduced capabilities because we become habituated to low levels of alertness."

When I first read that I got a new respect for sleep! We can become so "used" too little sleep that we don뭪 even know we aren뭪 performing at our max! Just imagine with enough sleep you might add weight and reps to all your exercises literally overnight!

Q.4. How can I get more quality sleep?

A. People can sleep in all kinds of settings, but creating an environment in your bedroom that is favorable for sleep can actually have an impact on the quality of your sleep. Think of your bed as a growth focal point and treat it as such!

Make sure your bedroom is free of loud or disturbing noises. Any sound that surpasses seventy decibels can stimulate your nervous system and reduce your rest, and sudden noises can elevate your blood pressure. Sounds that increase or decrease in intensity cause your heart rate to rise. Some common culprits are leaky faucets, sirens, late-night parties, and barking dogs. You can have sound and sleep, in fact this is a great way to help beat insomnia, but the sounds should be low and consistent to promote better sleep.

Too much light can prevent you from getting better sleep too. Try to prevent light from leaking into the bedroom as much as possible, either through the use of curtains or mini-blinds. Heat can also be a problem. The ideal sleeping temperature is about 65 degrees. If your bedroom is too warm, or for that matter, too cold, sleep can be disturbed. Rooms that are too warm can even induce nightmares! Weird huh!

Make sure that what you wear to bed is comfortable and appropriate to the season. Bed sheets should be clean, cool, and soft. It is best to buy the highest thread count sheets you can afford, because the higher the thread count, the better the fabric, and the more comfortable you will feel!

Pillows are very important to sleep, both for comfort, and for helping you maintain a comfortable, healthy sleep posture. It should support your neck and head properly, and since the type of support needed will vary based on your size, sleep positions, and mattress, it is best to purchase a pillow that allows you to shape it to your unique contours. Feather pillows are the most comfortable and durable, and make a good long-term investment.

Finally, your mattress may have the biggest impact of all on how well you sleep. If your mattress shows signs of aging by having soils, stains, and tears, is uncomfortable compared to a new mattress, it is time to get a replacement.

Q. 5. How can I become more alert, productive, and energetic through sleep?

A. The following golden rules of sleeping can help you get the most out of your slumber dynamic patterns!

Get an adequate amount of sleep every night.

Chances are you are NOT getting a sufficient amount of sleep. Research shows that most people need to get a minimum of sixty to ninety minutes more than they get now. When volunteers in a recent study were allowed to sleep uninterrupted, they consistently slept an hour or more than usual.

How to determine your required amount of nightly sleep:

The amount of sleep you need is determined mostly by heredity. Most people need at least eight hours, although a very small percentage will need less. You can determine how much you need by going to bed at least eight hours before you need to wake up for a week. Slowly up the total amount of sleep you get until you don뭪 need an alarm clock to wake up on time, you never find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning, and you are not tired during the day. That is your optimum amount of sleep.

Establish a regular sleep schedule.

Going to bed at the same time every night, and waking up at the same time every morning, is important for setting and stabilizing your internal sleep-wake clock. If you begin establishing a regular sleeping pattern, the time you spend sleeping will synchronize with the "sleepy phase" of your biological sleep clock, leading to increased alertness during the day.

Studies have shown that people who keep a regular sleep schedule are significantly more alert than those who sleep the same amount of time, but at differing hours across the week. They also show that people with irregular sleep schedules are more likely to experience not only lower levels of alertness, but more mood shifts as well.

Although it is tempting, don't change your sleep schedule on the weekends. You will just be giving yourself a form of jet lag just in time for Monday morning, and increase the chances of experiencing insomnia. If you do stay up later for a social event, get up at your regular time and tackle the sleep debt with a nap.

Don't worry if it takes a while to get into a sleep routine. Routines take time. Think of it as a body building routine. You have to work up to it. You may need up to four weeks. Change takes time. Sleep on it!

Make up for lost sleep.

Getting one less hour of sleep per night for seven days will have the same effect as staying awake for twenty-four hours once a week! That blew me away the first time I read that! Also, sleep debt is cumulative, and needs to be paid back. Think of it like a bank account that always has to stay balanced.

You cannot replace lost sleep all at once. You can realistically increase your total sleep time by two to four hours per day. When you are sleeping longer to catch up, try to do so by going to bed earlier rather than sleeping later. You do not want to shift the waking time your biological clock has established, because you will have to shift it back, and you will also find it difficult to go to bed at a reasonable hour.

Do not plan to make up for the week's sleep debt by sleeping more on the weekends. It doesn't work, and will only disrupt your sleeping patterns all over again. If you are paying back a sleep debt by napping, try to nap every day, and do not nap too long.

Get continuous sleep.

For sleep to be able to work its growth magic, you need to get it in a continuous block. Disrupted sleep is not restorative because you do not proceed through the sleep cycles in the same way, and may not get enough deep, delta-wave sleep, or REM sleep. This may sound crazy, but six hours of continuous sleep is actually better than eight hours of fractured sleep!

Q. 6. Is napping beneficial?

I firmly believe power napping can have great benefit to a body builder!

?#9; The risk of heart disease and diseases in general can be decreased by regular thirty-minute naps.

?#9; Naps enhance your ability to pay attention to details and to make decisions. "Should I go for that extra rep or not?"

?#9; Naps taken about eight hours after you wake are better than adding that time to already adequate nocturnal sleep. So if you뭨e getting enough sleep at night, its better to get extra sleep through naps than just adding the time to your regular sleeping patterns.

?#9; Naps improve mood and alertness. Both of which can affect your lifting!

?#9; FYI- Europeans and Latin Americans, most of who nap regularly, score better on stress tests than Americans. And we all know how stressful life can be! If I뭢 having a stressful day, I find a quick 25 minute nap works miracles!

You should nap for twenty to thirty minutes. Otherwise, you will enter deep sleep and find it difficult to wake up. If your sleep debt is so great that you require a longer nap, or just want some extra recovery time try to sleep for at least ninety minutes to complete a full sleep cycle.

If you have difficulty falling asleep at night, napping is probably not the best idea, because it increases the likelihood that you will have insomnia (an inability to sleep).

However, if you are having difficulty getting enough sleep at night, regular napping may be a possible solution. Or if you are bulking and want to give your body the extra rest, napping is awesome when combined with an adequate nights sleep!

Many people in many cultures nap every day some time between one and four in the afternoon, and studies show that the human body is inclined to rest in the afternoon as well as at night. There is a drop in body temperature and alertness in the afternoon that is smaller but very similar to what occurs at night. The afternoon drop occurs approximately twelve hours after the middle of your night's sleep.

This also leads me to believe that this time of your day may not be the optimal time to train, as you will be drowsier! If you뭭e been training at this time and have been feeling more exhausted or less motivated try working out later or earlier!

Try not to nap past four to seven in the afternoon/evening. Late napping will delay your falling asleep at night, and make it more difficult to wake up in the morning.

Napping regularly is important. If there are days when you cannot nap because you are too alert, or you don't have a space to nap, try to relax or lie down with your eyes closed. This will be beneficial in restoring energy, and will not disrupt the pattern.

If you know you will be up late and will get less sleep than you normally do, nap ahead of time. Studies show that students who nap before an all-night study session have higher performance the next day than those who don't.

If you are in an emergency situation that requires long periods of wakefulness, try napping for fifteen minutes every four hours; this has been shown to increase alertness and help for short periods.

Any nap over three minutes is better than none. A ten minute nap can have amazing restorative power. If you뭨e going to nap longer an hour and a half long nap is excellent as long as you don't wake too abruptly during the wrong level of sleep.

Q. 7. How can I establish my optimal napping time period?

Here is a hardcore message for those serious about napping!

Through experimentation I have learned how to establish my own optimal power napping time! I have determined that optimal naps occur when I go through one complete sleep cycle. As you "practice" napping you can begin to learn how long your personal sleep cycle is. If you feel like you뭨e in a "dreamy" state of mind after a 90 minute nap, try sleeping an extra 5 minutes the next time you nap. If this isn뭪 enough add 5 more minutes the next time you nap. Repeat this until you find your desirable nap time. If you wake up and feel "dreamy-minded" or "out of it", this means you were probably in REM sleep when you woke and may have needed a few minutes to complete one cycle. Normally if you뭭e had a good nap, it should only take you a minute or two to be fully alert!

Write down in a log how long you napped and how you felt when you wake up. Over time this will help you establish your sleep cycle length. Remember for most it takes 90-110 minutes to complete one full sleep cycle.

Several ten minute naps can be just as effective as a longer uninterrupted nap. Once you get into a pattern your body learns to maximize the restorative power of your nap cycles. But you have to be consistent. Don't fool with Mother Nature.

Just as an interesting fact, studies of individuals who sailed across the Atlantic on sailboats show that you can actually get by for days at a time just taking naps. You can also "store sleep" in advance of a period where you know you'll be going without sleep by sleeping a little extra a few days prior to the time you'll be unable to sleep.

Knowing how and when to nap can greatly reduce your chances of falling into chronic sleep debt, with all its negative consequences, and sensible use of napping can increase your alertness and productivity.

As far as when to nap, that is dependent on each person. I personally like to slip a power nap in after a workout if at all possible or sometime in the early afternoon on an "off" day from the gym.

I also think a great time to power nap is right before a workout! Especially if I뭭e had a long day at work! This is great for those of us that have very physically demanding jobs. But jobs that require lots of thinking can be very draining mentally! And I don뭪 have to tell you how mental this sport is. So for a boost, slip in a 30 minute nap before you workout, accompanied by 200mg of caffeine for a sure fire way to jump start and refresh you for a brutal gym session!

Q. 8. Can a lack of sleep cause weight gain or an inability to lose weight?

A. In a word YES!

Numerous recent sleep deprivation studies have shown that lack of sleep contributes to weight gain, premature aging, stress, and also reduces the effectiveness of the immune system!

Studies show that sleep deprivation lessens the release of Growth Hormone. Your body needs Growth Hormone to effectively process its fuel: glucose.

Growth Hormone is released during SWS sleep. If you don't get enough sleep and go through all your required sleep cycles, the amount that is released is less and your ability to metabolize glucose is lowered significantly.

Without enough Growth Hormone, glucose is stored as fat. Lowered levels of Growth Hormone are related to fat tissue and reduced muscle mass and exercise capacity. University of Chicago professor Eve Van Cauter, Ph.D. says that people who only get 6-7 hours of sleep have to work twice as hard to process the same amount of fuel, making it twice as hard to lose weight. People who do not get enough sleep show hormone levels that characterize a pre-diabetic state and are on their way to weight gain.

Many studies also found that people who did not get enough sleep had increased levels of cortisol the next day. Cortisol is a catabolic (breakdown) hormone that causes hypertension and stress. Increased levels of cortisol can cause memory impairments, restrict muscle repair and growth, and insulin resistance.

So basically if you're running on little sleep your more catabolic all day, it뭩 harder to lose weight, and you'll have less energy in the gym.

These factors can slash the best training and nutrition efforts in half!

That's why I firmly believe sleep is as important as training and nutrition.

Q. 9. Is there any way to get used to less sleep than I need?

A. Despite widespread belief, there are no proven methods of reconditioning the body to get by on less sleep than a person needs. A person who chronically sleeps less than their optimal amount is not training their body to get by on less sleep; in fact the sleep deprivation will build over time, creating a sizable "sleep debt." Think of the withdrawal example again?U>Sleep debt can be viewed like monetary debt in that it must be paid back, and the size of the sleep debt is directly related to the amount of sleep lost.

Every person has a specific daily sleep requirement. This is the amount of sleep that must be obtained each day on the average to avoid becoming sleep deprived. If the needed amount of sleep is not reached, the lost sleep builds up more and more and accumulates as larger and larger sleep debt.

Most people think that a big meal, a warm room, a comfortable chair, a boring lecture, an alcoholic beverage will cause sleepiness. None of these things cause sleepiness. Rather, these things unmask sleep deprivation! If you do not have a sizable sleep debt, you will never get sleepy in the daytime! Yes, you heard that right! Sleep experts agree that if you are getting enough sleep, you shouldn뭪 ever feel sleepy in the daytime!

The longest laboratory study of restricted sleep (to 4 hours per day) was 14 consecutive days. In this study, the impairment and fatigue of the subjects was continuing to increase. There was no evidence of a plateau. Until proven otherwise, it must be understood that we can build up an indefinite sleep debt.

Q. 10. OK, so what is the biological clock?

A. First I뭗 like to discuss The True Nature of Sleep.

Sleep is not rest for the brain. The brain is restored during REM sleep, but the brain never "sleeps". The one extremely major difference between being awake and being asleep is this: When awake, we are conscious of the real world and guide ourselves through its many challenges. At the moment of sleep, our consciousness of the real world is completely shut off. However, sleep isn뭪 like death, it is just an alternative to our perception.

OK, so what is the Biological Clock?

The biological clock is a term applied to the brain process which causes us to have 24-hour fluctuations in body temperature, hormone secretion, and a host of other bodily activities. Its most important function is to foster the daily alternation of sleep and wakefulness. The biological clock is housed in a pair of tiny bilateral brain areas called the suprachiasmatic nuclei. Awesome how all this stuff works huh!

Clock-Dependent Alerting (CDA).

The major role of the biological clock in the regulation of sleep and wakefulness is to provide an internal and very powerful wake-up signal to the rest of the brain. We call this signal clock-dependent alerting. CDA promotes combined periods of peak alertness, high energy, and optimal mental performance at specific times during the day. When CDA subsides at the end of the day, we are "given permission" to fall asleep.

Sleep is regulated homeostatically.

This means that if you get less sleep than you need, the tendency to fall asleep in the daytime will become progressively stronger; if you get more sleep than you need, the tendency to fall asleep in the daytime will become progressively weaker.

Q. 11. What is drowsiness, and what causes it?

A. The beginning of drowsiness is the moment when staying awake requires a conscious and deliberate effort, which usually results in an effort to keep the eyes open. This moment is the last step in falling asleep, not the first. Strong external and internal stimulation during wakefulness can cover up a large sleep debt and a strong inclination to fall asleep. If drowsiness occurs soon after a shift from being active and moving about to a sedentary situation such as driving, your sleep debt is very likely huge and dangerous.

If we are paying attention, most of us know when we are about to fall asleep. We know because we feel "drowsy." Most of us associate "drowsiness" with heavy eyelids, difficulty keeping the eyes open, and difficulty concentrating, or just a feeling of general tiredness.

Drowsiness means a large sleep debt is winning the battle for your mind and brain. If this happens to you on a regular basis, I suggest seriously eval‎uating your sleep. Start taking your sleep as important as your training and diet.

Q. 12 How does caffeine affect sleep?

A. 90% of Americans use some form of caffeine to fight the feeling of drowsiness. Caffeine has a profound effect on the central nervous system by blocking adenosine receptors, which holds drowsiness at bay. Besides coffee, caffeine is found in soda as well as in chocolate and tea.

As an arousal drug, caffeine may cause insomnia. Caffeine will suppress REM sleep and this is why it should never be taken 6-7 hours before sleep (caffeine's half-life is about 6 hours). Consistent use of caffeine tends to drive many people into a vicious circle. You drink it, you get a boost in adrenaline, you feel more energetic, you get a boost in dopamine, you feel better, and you feel you can stay up late, you sleep less, and you are sleepier the next day. Shortly afterwards you will need more caffeine, due to down-regulation, to get the same energetic feeling and you will continue to increase the dosage.

Don뭪 take this the wrong way. Caffeine can be a powerful aid in getting through hardcore workouts. But don뭪 come to depend on it to wake up in the morning. I find I get the best results from using it only on the workouts that need more attention. For example if calves and deltoids are my weak points I would reserve my caffeine use for those workouts. As Jacob points out in his review of caffeine (you can access that here), your receptors will be more responsive to its effects if you wait three days in between supplementing with caffeine.

Caffeine and caffeine related products (ECA stacks and the likes) can be of great advantage in a workout, but keep it for the hardcore days, and don뭪 abuse them. This rule goes for anything in general you put in your body! Use it in moderation and don뭪 depend on it for "waking up" in the morning. To maximize its effects in the gym, cut out any products that contain caffeine throughout the rest of the week.

Q. 13. How does alcohol affect sleep?

A. Alcohol has numerous affects on the body. However, to keep in context of this article, I뭢 only going to cover how it affects sleep.

Recall that 60-90% of your daily release of Growth Hormone happens during sleep.

Growth Hormone is principally released from the Anterior Pituitary during moments of Slow Wave Sleep (SWS).

Therefore, anything that interferes with SWS will likewise interfere with Growth Hormone release.

Alcohol, in particular, suppresses SWS and consequently inhibits GH release. It also has a tendency to produce sleep fragmentation.

The other principle time GH is released is after a work out. However this is also the time when cortisol levels are at their highest, which is why a post-workout anabolic shake is so vital. Believe me natural levels of cortisol are high enough but?/font>

Alcohol actually leads to increased levels of cortisol the next day. The increased levels last all day long, even after your body has gotten rid of the alcohol!

To compound that, sleep deprivation, causes heightened cortisol levels as well. Therefore the interference alcohol has on the sleep cycle, along with the alcohol itself increasing cortisol levels, you will essentially be more catabolic all day long, and three times as much post-workout!

Alcohol is pretty much Growth Hormones worst enemy! It뭩 essentially a triple whammy as it defeats its release during SWS and makes cortisol levels higher after a workout causing more muscle breakdown and reducing the effectiveness of post-workout GH release.

Now, I뭢 not saying you can뭪 ever drink again. The decision about drinking is up to you. But as a bodybuilder it should be more selective, and preferably not at all.

Q. 14. Is it possible to manipulate the sleep cycle in such a way that I can get more SWS and cut out REM sleep?

A. Hardcore question bro!

Don뭪 make any mistake about it! You need REM sleep!

It is primarily responsible for restoring mental properties, and being severely deprived of it can actually kill you! (OK, that뭩 in the extreme case! LOL)

REM sleep is very vital to bodybuilders, and not getting enough will just create a sleep debt. So, if you fragment your sleep you will just slip into REM sleep faster the next time you crash. Just remember, you can뭪 cheat the sleep cycle! Yeah, you뭠l go through the initial sleep stages again, but the time will be harshly shortened and you뭠l go into REM very quickly after you fall asleep and stay in that particular stage longer. You will complete it eventually, but interrupting sleep will only delay it, and more than likely make you drowsy all day.

Q.15. Does working out affect sleep?

A. Exercise can have positive effects on a person's subjective sleep quality. This is most likely because exercise may help to reduce mental stress and simply makes you "feel better" about yourself. Also, your body will crave for more rest due to the extreme conditions you are putting it under.

However, the timing of hardcore training and cardio is an important issue to consider in regards to sleep. I recommend avoiding exercise for three hours prior to bedtime, mainly because this may cause physiological and metabolic arousal that hinders sleep. In the period just prior to bedtime, some forms of inactivity, especially lying in a warm bath or taking a hot shower, listening to light music, or listening to books on tape (one of my favs- thanks JW!) can be relaxing and very conducive to sleep.

Q. 16. We learned a great deal about Slow Wave Sleep in the last article, but why is REM sleep so important?

A. Excellent question.

REM sleep, named for the characteristic rapid eye movements that accompany it, is the final sleep stage in each cycle, occurring four to six times a night for the average person. During REM sleep, blood flow to your brain increases, your pulse, breathing, and blood pressure increase, and your body temperature rises. Theta brain waves are blended together with alpha waves. REM sleep is marked by dreaming, and completely relaxed, motionless muscles. (Dreaming can occur in all stages of sleep, but is most common during REM sleep.)

The first REM stage lasts about nine minutes, after which you descend through Stages 1-4 again, before backing through the stages to more REM sleep. The cycle repeats itself about every 90-110 minutes, with some differences to the cycles. For example, after the second cycle, Stages 3 and 4 are minimal or nonexistent, and Stage 2 dominates non-REM sleep. With each successive cycle, the time spent in REM increases from twenty to as much as sixty minutes.

This is important to remember. Notice stages 3 and 4 are practically nonexistent after the second cycle, which is why the prescribed sleep stack in Z factor part I is so important to getting the most of your Growth Hormone release!

However, what does getting enough REM sleep mean for our daily lives? REM sleep has been shown to play "a major role in facilitating memory storage and retention, organization, and reorganization, as well as new learning and performance." says Dr. James Maas.

When we learn or experience something, certain neurons in our brain form specific connections with other neurons. These chains of neurons, called neural networks or memory traces, are spread throughout the brain and are repositories for our knowledge. It is during REM sleep that much of the growth of specific neural connections to physically hold memories in the brain takes place. REM-sleep neuronal stimulation causes strengthening of memory circuits and is vital to memory consolidation. Man! Isn뭪 the human brain is a work of art!?

In order for long-term memory to take hold, the brain must organize and reorganize ideas for maximum storage efficiency. It is likely from the evidence that has been gathered that during REM sleep, ideas are organized into neural networks of associated ideas already in the brain, efficiently connecting new learning to older information. This reorganization may also be responsible for the phenomenon of people solving problems in their sleep and waking up with an answer they had not previously thought of. That뭩 a mind blowing hypothesis in my opinion!

Memory prioritization also takes place, with important memories being strengthened, and trivial events discarded or simply not stored, making room for new information to be absorbed the next day. REM is also vital to new learning and retention, because the neurotransmitters necessary to these functions are replenished during REM sleep.

Getting enough REM sleep is clearly vital to many of our most important brain functions, and that means getting enough continuous sleep so that the REM cycles can occur and lengthen over the night.

REM dreams can have elaborate story lines, often recalled upon awakening. REM sleep may be needed to sort through short-term memory storage, deleting unnecessary data, laying down important information in long-term memory. Psychoactive drugs, including alcohol, hinder REM sleep. Continued loss of REM sleep creates anxiety, emotional difficulties until sleep debt is erased. Insomniacs tend to spend less time in REM sleep than in other stages.

With all that in mind REM sleep is the time of your slumber dynamic where mental rejuvenation occurs. This sport is so mentally demanding that you will need all your wits about you and then some! So don뭪 go skimpy on the sleep! You brain needs it!

Sweet Dreams!

I hope I뭭e accomplished my objective with these two articles! The goal being, how important sleep is to a body builder!

If you뭭e begun to realize how important sleep is, and you have decided to get more hardcore in this area then you뭨e on your way to a more massive frame!

There is no doubt in my mind that sleep is just as hardcore as training and nutrition. It takes more dedication than most people think to stick to a regular sleeping pattern and it takes sacrifice to sleep more and sleep better. But the pay off is more size, more mental toughness, more energy, more ambition, and a higher state of anabolism. Just remember, the gym is the pain zone, the dinner table is the anabolic zone, but the bed is the GROWTH ZONE!

Keep it hardcore!

Old School.