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Unlocking the Benefits of Sleep: The Most Powerful Free Health Drug You're Not Abusing




If there is one aspect of fitness and training that is massively overlooked and is probably the most powerful performance-enhancing drug that is legal and free, it's sleep.


I've heard this from people a million times: "I can survive on 4-5 hours of sleep and feel fine!" Research from Matthew Walker, the leading sleep expert on earth, shows that the actual number of people that are fine (no health problems showing in blood work or MRI/brain scans) is 1 in 10,000. Statistically, you're more likely to be struck by lightning than to be fine. Just because you feel fine doesn't mean you are fine!

I have probably clocked over 60 hours of research about sleep, and it is probably my most knowledgeable subject outside personal training! From a recovery point of view, sleep is the most powerful muscle-building, testosterone-boosting, libido-enhancing, fat-loss wonder drug that is free. For women, an extra 2 hours of sleep is more powerful than the leading women's Viagra for boosting libido. For men, not sleeping well for one week can age your testosterone by 10 years!!

So it's stronger than the leading Viagra, builds more muscle than any drug, strips more fat than any product, suppresses appetite, boosts brain function, and is the most effective anti-aging stimulant known to humans.

So now I have your attention, right?


Health Issues of Lack of Sleep


There are so many issues that arise from lack of sleep that I could be here all day, but I'll try to mention the most essential ones.


Muscle Loss and Fat Gain

Let's say you're trying to lose weight, you're in a calorie deficit, and you're experiencing a lack of sufficient sleep. 70% of the weight you will lose from dieting will come from lean muscle tissue and not fat! This means you gain what you're trying to lose and lose what you're trying to keep. When you're tired, your body becomes stingy at giving up its fat.


Reduced Testosterone

As stated earlier, under-slept males who have less than 6 hours of sleep for 5+ nights in a row will experience a 13% reduction in testosterone, which roughly will age you 10 years!


Increased Risk of Alzheimer's

There are 2 proteins in the brain that are massively involved in Alzheimer's: beta-amyloid and tau protein. These proteins get cleaned out when we sleep, and if an individual is having a lack of sleep for a prolonged period of time, then these proteins will start to build up. In the last few years, there have been massive links between lack of sleep and an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease. The 2 notorious short sleepers in history who said they could survive on 4 hours or less of sleep were Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Guess what they both died of? Alzheimer's. Point proven.


How Much Sleep Do We Really Need?


Research proves that only one in 10,000 people can survive healthily on 6 hours of sleep or less. People say they are fine, but when you study the health markers (blood work, MRI scan, CAT scan, blood pressure, inflammation), 9,999 out of 10,000 are simply not fine and have a ticking health time bomb going on underneath their skin. Between 7 to 9 hours is widely considered to be the sweet spot when it comes to sleep, but it doesn't continue to improve as you get more! The mortality rate actually increases once we start to get more than 9 hours of sleep, so more is not always better. In this case, it would be wise to look at the quality of sleep you're getting and why you need so much.

Don't forget this is 7-9 hours of quality sleep and not simply being in bed with your eyes shut! The number of sleep disturbances per night does vary with age, but generally, for people under 65, fewer than 17 sleep disturbances is considered normal. Any more, and you may be bordering on sleep apnea.



Tips for Better Sleep


  1. Make the bedroom dark like the bat cave! 


    We are programmed to get sleepy in the dark and wake up in the light. Having just a little light on your skin can make you wake up. In the modern world, it's always light; we never have any dark time, so the body thinks it's always daytime and doesn't get sleepy. Invest in some blackout blinds, and it will change the game.

  2. No devices used in bed.


    The modern world drives me crazy; nobody is ever off their phone!! The light emitted from your phone tells the brain it's still daytime, so you will murder your sleep and also keep your brain engaged! A great tip I was given by a sleep expert was to only use your phone or pad in the bedroom standing up. This way, you will get pretty bored of it and want to lie down, with the added bonus that you see the bed as rest, not a social media entertainment centre.


  3. Make the bedroom colder.


     The body's core temperature needs to drop in order to sleep. One of the primary complaints why people struggle at night is because they are too hot. As a caveman, it should be cold and dark at night! You can always warm up.


  4. Don't stay in bed if you can't sleep.

    You wouldn't stay at the dinner table waiting to be hungry, so don't stay in bed waiting to be sleepy. Sometimes it's not your night, so get up and go to a different room. Remember, you want to associate your bedroom with rest and sleep, not a battle and stress.


  5. Limit alcohol and caffeine intake.


    Try not to have any caffeine 12 hours before you sleep. It takes that long to exit your system and will hammer your sleep if taken too late. Alcohol robs you of your deep sleep, so best to avoid it. If you have it, expect to be tired the next day. There is a big denial culture for both these, but remember they are both drugs, and even if you deny it, you still can't sleep.


  6. Clear the mind. 


    This one changed everything for me. I have a busy head and look after a lot of people, and I can do all these tips, but sometimes it's my brain that won't switch off. Make a list on paper of everything floating around in your head, and next to each one write either DONE or CAN WAIT TILL TOMORROW. Do this 1 hour before you go to bed and put your devices away for the night till the morning. Your head will feel empty, and your mind will be clear, getting rid of the noise so you can rest.


Follow these steps, and you will make huge progress towards the best performance-enhancing drug there is.


Try this excellent video by the world's number 1 sleep expert for some more excellent tips. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us8n8VBQn_c


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