I’m gonna say
something that I doubt few will disagree with,
“Sleep might be one
of the most important aspects of a Warrior’s development.”
Without getting into the
scientific weeds [yet] practically all recovery [physical,
psychological/emotional, cognitive and some warrior traditions would add the spiritual
component here, as well] occurs while we are “dead to the waking world.”
·
Our muscular
microtears are repaired leading to greater waking robustness while we sleep.
·
We contextualize
and store memories while we sleep.
·
We work through
emotional ups and downs while we sleep, which is why often yesterday’s big
deal, can look a bit less “big-ish” after a good night’s sleep.
We could continue on
with the astonishing benefits of sleep and its compensatory effect on good health
but let’s leave it with one final consideration.
Stop training for 5 days
but continue to sleep.
If we then pitch a stressor
at you, likely you will still fare close to your training base-rate.
Now, let’s take you in
tip-top condition and deprive you of sleep for 72 hours. Performance plummets
to levels far below that of the untrained but well-rested.
Sleep is not
just relaxing; it is a high-performance treasure-trove.
Again, I wager we all
agreed with, “Sleep is super important to training”
But…How many of we
hard-charging, high-speed, low-drag, “Rangers, All the Way!” training cadre put
that much actual emphasis on getting the sleep game right?
No worries, no finger-wagging
here.
Sleep is so natural to
the human animal, like an appetite, one does not need to remind oneself with
some handy-dandy app, “Oh, I should probably get some sleep.”
But, since this repair,
recovery, super-tool is so useful, are there stumbling blocks we might be throwing
on the path that hamstrings our waking hours recovery?
The title mentions plainsmen,
strongmen, and astronauts.
Let’s quickly dispense
with the first two and then move on to see what those with the most hazardous
sleep can teach us about terrestrial sleep.
“Ah! This mountain
air, there is nothing like it for a sleep tonic.”-From a Pioneer’s Journal.
That sentiment is
expressed with such regularity they become almost invisible to the inveterate reader
of such historical accounts, but we should not ignore the lesson that these
single lines express.
Energy-expelling pioneer
life coupled with pure mountain air and all that noise.
Our noted strong men
and women through the ages have also finger-wagged we mere mortals with the “blessings
of the remarkable slumbrous period each night.”
We lesser ones nod our
heads and then inquire about dumbbell poundage and like daytime contributions
to strength.
Now, let’s spend most
of our time with our astronauts, a cadre for whom poor sleep habits mean more
than a cranky morning.
What
Sleeping in Micro-Gravity Can Tell Us About Earthly Sleep Problems
Sleep is easiest when
we are tired and/or feel secure. On earth, putting in true effort and providing
as much security [internal/external] as we can in the sleep environment are of
optimum value.
Many “sleep disorders”
are a function of the body not being used in real-effort and/or generating
excess “insecurity” [“Is Carol out to get
me?” etc.]
Many of us, are
fortunate victims of wallowing in luxury and simply do not expel enough energy
to make for truly restful sleep.
Benjamin Franklin’s witticism
“Fatigue is the best pillow” holds true for many sleep problems.
Let’s look at an
astronaut sleeping for a moment before we regale anyone with our “poor night’s
sleep” stories ever again.
·
Astronauts
face not having the usual comforting pressures of lying down. Many compensate
with straps across foreheads and or knees literally holding them into a familiar
sleep posture.
·
But…sleeping
in micro-gravity carries with it the dangers of suffocation.
·
The
sleeping astronaut must position themselves over a continuous flow of air so
that the carbon dioxide they exhale does not accumulate around the mouth and
nose and suffocate them.
·
On earth,
breezes and convection currents ensure a continuous flow of air.
·
In
micro-g’s warm air is no longer lighter than cold air and will not rise via convection.
·
One reason
a hot room with no breeze feels stuffy to us is because the temperature has equalized,
and the hot expelled carbon-dioxide is no longer responding to convection as
the temperature of the incoming and outgoing gases are equalized. The
“stuffiness” is a response to an accumulation of CO2.
·
Us being
uncomfy in a stuffy room is the body signaling us to move out of a CO2 rich
bubble that is starving us.
So, even on a not
stuffy night, we have it far better than astronauts and we have an explanation
for why stuffy often equals uncomfy.
The marvelously adapted
human animal responds to the CO2 rich “uncomfy” bubble and signals a shift in position.
But…ponder this, some of
us use imbibed “sleeping” aids to mimic the daily work we did not do while
awake.
These aids make us
both lethargic, and slow to respond to standard body cues such as CO2 rich bubbles.
We will shift, but it can take a little longer leading to a cascade of feeling
less rested than you would assume because you have imbibed “false fatigue” and resided
in a series of CO2 rich bubbles longer than your body would under normal
conditions thus depriving yourself of the habitual shifts to oxygen saturated
rest positions.
But, you may say, “Mark,
I don’t use any sleep medications and I still sleep for shit.”
Maybe, just maybe it’s
a weight issue.
If…we are overweight
[even by a mere ten pounds] we have limited positions in which we are
comfortable sleeping and can spend longer in CO2 saturated pockets than the
body would at lesser weight.
If we are overweight,
the reclining position alters the axis of g-forces from the upright to the
anterior/posterior plane making an already taxed diaphragm work harder—that is,
if we are heavy and breathe poorly during the day in an upright position, we
face 8 hours of shallow labored breathing in a more diaphragmatic-stressed
position at night likely too long in CO2 pockets.
Thusly, a “restful”
evening of overworked diaphragm and a series of prolonged CO2 bubbles.
If we add imbibed “false
fatigue” substances, we compound the diminishing utility of our recovery phase.
If we also lack the
daytime habit of deep diaphragmatic breathing and a strong core—these all
further exacerbate the sleep “problems.” [Shallow + Labored + Constricted
Positions=Not Ideal for Re-Juvenation. You will carry that into the day to
day.]
Sleep is our
“recovery” period from the day’s work/stressors—we robustify and anti-fragilize
during this time. If we have poor daytime habits, we telescope these into the
nighttime recovery and exacerbate this vicious loop.
Let us combine the
wisdom of Mr. Franklin, our old time strength athletes, our pioneer with his
ode to the tonic of mountain air, with that of our astronauts.
To improve this valuable
luxury and remarkable recovery period, in precis.
·
Sleep
outside, or with windows open, or with a fan—particularly in hot environments.
·
Tax the
muscular system daily.
·
Secure
your sleep environment and purge extraneous “insecurities” with a cognitive/spiritual
routine of choice. [The Comanche tradition has a ritual called “Hagwoit’u”
that I have found remarkable for relaxation. It is detailed in The
Suakhet’u Program.]
·
Purge blue
light [phone screens forestall melanin production.]
·
Get weight
under control so that you can roll comfortably into numerous sleep postures.
·
And, in general,
avoid “sleep aids.”—Sleeping pills, and all other “sleep” therapies are likely masking
the symptoms of g-force entropy.
We don’t sedate our
astronauts, we provide solutions. Much of this correction is in our hands.
Wanna
jump in feet first to the Real Deal Old School Way of Rough ‘n’ Tumble Combat
and the Lifestyle of The Warrior Tradition?
In
The Black Box Project we provide old-school combat nitty-gritty straight
from the historical record, and yes, it is empirically verified or it ain’t in.
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