The importance of sleep and being well rested.

By now most people are aware of the poor sleep habits Americans have. How it affects you physically and mentally and the role it plays in weight gain and obesity. After having a very stressful week last week and poor sleep habits I most certainly felt it in the gym over the weekend. To the point I flat our gave it up to rest. Sometimes ya just gotta know when to say when. So I spent Sunday resting, sleeping and relaxing, clearing my head and doing some reading.  The dividends paid huge today as I easily had one of the better chest sessions in awhile and since I've been here. I completed a final set of 305x6 clean with a struggle on number 7.  That is close to a personal best which was 315x6 many moons ago. 

I first learned the importance of sleep the hard way about 3 years back, when strength loss was speeding up, fat gain was increasing,  Afternoon naps were a must and I just struggled. Sleep Apnea was the initial thought, after a few sleep studies I learned that wasn't it.  A visit to the Endo confirmed what many had thought. A out of whack Thyroid.  I would get these crazy bursts of energy in the evening and could never fall asleep without melatonin, nyquil, ambien  whatever. For years it was this way. Even before Korea in 2007 I struggled, The effects of poor sleep hygiene on the endocrine system are well documented so the damage done to my body for 4 yrs plus was cumulative.

A low dose of synthroid corrected my Thyroid and changed my whole world within weeks. Sleep patterns normalized, reliance on caffeine all day went away and sleep meds at night vanished.  Physical changes also came about as strength and everything else slowly returned. The last 2 yrs have been better than the previous 5 physically  I am sure getting older doesn't help either haha.

Although its an old article this was one of the first items i read in terms of sleep and how it affects the body

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/hardgainer4.htm

So before you go buying all the fancy new products on the market make sure the basics are covered because nothing can replace a good nights rest.

Yes common sense, but today common sense is not all that common.