I said I would post Mondays and here it is Tuesday afternoon. I made a conscience decision last night to go to sleep instead of publishing my post. Turns out the choice was pretty appropriate. I wanted to talk about another thing we need to give our bodies in addition to the healthy fuel and careful, deliberate movement.
Sleep
Every person needs 6.5 to 7.5 hours of sleep per night. Our bodies use that uninterrupted time so effectively and we don’t even have to participate. That is our reboot time. After we enter the famous REM sleep, after about 90 minutes, we get to work calming all our systems and getting them back in rhythm.
There might be more impact in saying how Not getting that much sleep is detrimental to your team. One of the things your body does during good sleep is secrete a substance that tells your body you are full. Ever wonder why you can go 8-10 hours without eating overnight, but not as long during the day? If your body doesn’t have a chance to release that because you don’t sleep long enough or soundly enough the more likely you are to overeat during the day. Also more likely to be too tired to make good choices for your team that might feel like more work to a tired body.
In the day following a lack of sleep, we are more likely to use sugar and soda containing high-fructose corn syrup to get us through the day. Those block this secretion too and we tend to eat more. Double Whammy!
Perfect Example
I got a total of 8 hours of sleep, evenly split between Saturday and Sunday nights this weekend. It was infinitely harder to give myself the things my body needs on that amount of sleep. I didn’t have the energy to do more than a total of 25 minutes of yoga over the two days and I woke up hungry both Sunday and Monday mornings. Resulting in poor choices in the food department which of course causes a ripple effect of not feeling on top of things. I believe there may have even been a stop at Dunkin for an egg and cheese croissant. Not only that but the pure mental capacity was limited. I had this general feeling of being off center, a little fuzzy and unable to connect the dots that I can on a day centered by sleep and natural fuel.
So last night I decided to end the cycle. Go to bed. Get a good night’s sleep and post a day later. You all got a better post for it. I hate to think what I would have put out there last night.
Sometimes we make “sacrifices” to do well by our team. It’s a strong word to describe the choices we make, but whatever the emphasis on the things we give up, our team needs to come first.
Give and Take
After 2 days of subpar giving, today we are back on the right track.
Breakfast: All Bran Cereal w/ skim milk
Lunch: Market Salad at the Sidebar Grille
Water, Cranberry Juice
Sidebar Grille is one of my favorite after-work cocktail spots in Chicago. Big salad menu which I love. (Order your dressing on the side for more control. True anywhere.) The Market Salad is fantastic. So many great, fresh veggies that may not make their way into your routine otherwise. Including…
Avocado - helps keep cholesterol in check, decreasing the bad kind and increasing the good!
Cucumbers -your body burns more calories digesting them than they contain, “negative calories”
Hearts of palm - great source of protein, iron and calcium
Tomatoes - contain the folate that helps prevent cancer
Fresh greens. Yum!
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