Issue #48: The sleep edition

Hey Radical Health Seekers 👋

Coming up in your newsletter this week:

• Did you know that poor sleep make brain not work too good?
• Or that poor sleep might be preventing you from losing weight?

This IS an important topic, so buckle up!

Meanwhile, over on Twitter:

Join the conversation.

Sleep ain’t sexy but it IS important…

Did you know that 1 in 3 of us aren’t getting enough sleep each night?

No siree, things aren’t looking good in the land of nod 🥱

Which is a shame, since we spend ⅓ of our lives sleeping (or at least we should be).

And when it comes to our health, getting quality sleep is right up there with eating liver…

Yes, it’s really that important.

Do you get 7-9 hours of quality sleep most nights?

Because if not, it just might be the biggest obstacle standing in the way of reclaiming your birthright to radical health.

4 nasty consequences of poor sleep

What is poor sleep? Think of it in terms of both quality and quantity. Good sleep should be deep and restful, and 7-9 hours in duration. If it doesn’t satisfy either of these criteria, its poor sleep.

#1. Poor sleep make brain not work too good

If you aren’t getting 7 to 9 hours of deep sleep most nights, you aren’t bringing your A-Game to life. 

FACT.

Because poor sleep, especially when it is habitual, significantly impacts our cognitive performance. 

This means a decline in your decision-making ability, emotional regulation, productivity, creativity, focus and memory. 

In fact, you could be performing at just 75% of your potential in those areas and not even know it.

You cannot catch up on lost sleep, and reaching for the coffee isn’t a solution.

There’s nothing for it but to strive for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night. 

Try it, and you might just realize an elite version of you appears when you get more sleep!

#2. Poor sleep increases your chances of disease and death

Many large-scale studies (e.g. here and here) demonstrate that the shorter your sleep, the shorter your life. 

And a lack of sleep is also associated with increased rates of chronic disease, including heart disease, cancer, obesity, dementia and more. 

Poor sleep impairs insulin signalling and increases inflammation, creating a perfect environment for metabolic dysfunction and chronic diseases to take root.

This is obvious stuff. 

Sleep is so crucial to our body that it makes sense that chronically poor sleep will lead to severe problems down the road. 

#3. Poor sleep keeps you fat and craving pizza

Insufficient sleep can completely derail your best intentions regarding losing weight. You could be doing everything else right, but poor sleep will literally prevent you from realizing your goals.

This is because a lack of sleep alters your appetite-regulating hormones (ghrelin and leptin), leading to increased cravings for high calorie, high sugar, high fat and salty snacks in an attempt to boost energy levels. 

That’s why sleep-deprived parents will often crave a bowl of Cheerios for breakfast, and why you’re most tempted to get a pizza on days when you’re hungover.

#4. Poor sleep sends your hormones into a vicious cycle

The relationship between sleep and hormones is delicate and extends far beyond the appetite-regulating hormones mentioned above. 

Poor sleep leads to poor hormones and poor hormones lead to poor sleep. It’s a vicious cycle.

Poor sleep puts your body in a state of stress, and increases your cortisol levels. But melatonin, AKA the sleep hormone, needs to be in sync with cortisol for a good night’s sleep. 

This is that vicious cycle we talked about, where you get further trouble falling asleep or staying asleep at night. Raised cortisol is also why you get that “wired and tired” feeling.

If that weren’t enough, poor sleep tanks your testosterone (and yes, that matters for you too ladies).

The impact isn’t insignificant – the hormonal blunting effect is so large that it effectively ages a man by ten to fifteen years in terms of virility.

Not good.

4 steps to better sleep

#1 Go to bed on time (seems obvious, but be honest we all stay up too late)

#2 Block blue light after sunset (get an app on your phone or just put it away)

#3 Eat your last meal at least 3 hours before bedtime

#4 Get early morning sun to regulate your circadian rhythms

We could write an entire book on how to get good sleep…

But focus on getting these 4 steps right first.

Over the next 7 days, practice getting your best sleep possible and see what it does for your energy, hormones, mood and performance!

Radical Health Hero Of The Week 👊

Meet Magda!

She had an INCREDIBLE experience taking our Skin, Hair & Nails supplement:

She told us:

“The photo on the left is the day before I started Skin, Hair & Nails, and the photo on the right is after just 2 weeks.

I didn’t change anything at all in my diet or lifestyle. No new beauty products, nothing. 

My skin cleared up so much. I am amazed. 

I am almost 40 and dealing with acne my whole life. 

Very grateful for this supplement, thank you!”

We are stoked for Magda’s success! 🙌

That’s all from us this weekend 👋🏼

Stay Radical!

The Heart & Soil Team