So how much sleep did you get last night? Was it high quality rest? Do you really know the answer to this question?
You may want to study the amount of sleep you are getting. I measured this almost every night over the course of 2017, and the results were instructive.
You likely have heard this before – when you do not get enough sleep this is hit list of degenerative things you likely will experience:
- increased irritability
- lack of energy and drive
- as a man – lack of testosterone production
- increased cortisol in your bloodstream
- increased appetite
- degraded decision making
- elongated recovery times from illness or workouts
- increased likelihood of getting sick
- degraded cognitive function
- afternoon lags
- brain fog
- decreased retrieval of information you know you know
- lack of mental resilience
- lack of sexual performance and drive
- and an overall poorer quality of life…
Out of all of these, I highlight testosterone production and increased cortisol as the two big things that really suffer when you do not get enough sleep. As a man from your mid 30’s on – testosterone and cortisol both can make or break you.
Testosterone
Testosterone in men is the lynchpin chemical for so much in our lives. It is key to vitality, clarity of mind and heart, it helps protect your muscles and bones – inclusive of your heart, it enables you to maintain and build muscle mass, and so many other things that are associated with being a man. This is likely a post unto itself down the line.
Do you know the only time that testosterone is produced?
I’ve played this game with a few friends of mine recently, and it shocks me in this day that so many guys are clueless on the answer to this question.
I’ve heard the following answers in the past:
- after a big steak dinner
- after lifting
- when you wake up
- when you are aroused
- after having sex
- and other answers that I will not go into here…
Here’s the point – many guys have no clue how this critical chemical is produced naturally nor do many guys have an appreciation on when it is produced.
Testosterone is only produced when you sleep!
So when you hamper your sleep quality and duration – you are impacting your ability to manufacture this hormone that powers so much of your quality of life. Prolonged sleep deprivation can impact your body’s ability to produce this hormone, and now you start to develop chronic conditions that can seriously hurt your health – let alone the quality of your life.
Cortisol
Elevated cortisol levels are not necessarily a bad thing, although chronically high levels can really be dangerous. Elevated cortisol levels have been linked to a slew of bad things, such as belly fat, weight gain, increased inflammation, immune system degradation, essentially elevating your stress levels will trigger cortisol levels to rise.
Physically speaking – cortisol levels indicate your stress level in many ways. Here’s something that I recently learned about cortisol as well.
Elevated cortisol levels cause brain damage.
The study is linked out here, and in the study it highlights the physical damage and structural changes triggered by chronically elevated cortisol levels. I think brain damage says it all. It is insidious how this plays out over time.
Lack of sleep will impair your quality of life if you continuously under invest in your sleep habits and quality of sleep. Your health will be suboptimal, and your stress levels will increase. At some point you will begin to do damage to your brain.
To summarize, the most important part of the day is when you are asleep. It sets the tone for the rest of your day.
Benefits include:
- prevention of all sorts of bad diseases and health issues that are in many ways preventable – heart disease being one worth highlighting
- aging is possibly slowed – I believe this to be true…
- weight is better managed
- your overall performance is greatly magnified and improved – from the board room to the living room to the bedroom
There is no hack here.
Getting enough rest – is a basic thing that we could start doing a more mindful job of – today.