Trick or Treat?

155 pound Squat Clean and Jerk, 30 reps – Results

The barbell goes from ground to overhead, passing through a front squat in which the crease of the hip passes below the height of the kneecap.  The finish position is with the arms, hips and knees fully extended, arms overhead, with at least a portion of the ear visible in front of the arm. Dropping the barbell is acceptable.

Austin Malleolo 3:01, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet 3:53 (105#)

Rico’s prowess on the barbell.

So now that most of us have at least dabbled in eating like our Paleolithic ancestors, and we are doing our best to restore primal movement patterns with our wods and mobwods, what about sleeping like a caveman?  Ok, realistically, this might not happen for most of us, but I wonder what it would be like:

1) To go to bed when I’m tired.  I imagine this might take place a couple hours after the sun goes down.

2) To wake up without the use of electronic devices. I imagine I would wake up when the sun came up.

3) To sleep deeply and wake up feeling ready for anything.  I imagine 9 hours would do the trick.

4) To wake up without the need for coffee or other stimulants for that matter to feel “awake”.  I imagine sunlight would be the only stimulus I would need to know that is in fact up time.

5) To feel so rested that I don’t feel I need a nap.  Except in the case of a really grueling workout in which a 20 min nap might be all my body would want.

6) To wake up without my body feeling it needs an extra 20 min to warm up before I do anything.  I imagine that a habit of steps 1-5 would mean better recovery and therefore less of that morning creakiness.

Well, a girl can dream…..                                                                                                                                                In the book “Lights Out!”, the authors assert that with the invention of the light bulb we have altered our physiological harmony with nature.  It goes on to state: “the disastrous slide in health of the American people corresponds to the increase in light generating night activities and the carbohydrate consumption that follows.”  Our internal clocks are governed by seasonal variations in light and dark, extending daylight artificially leads to a craving for sugar in the form of refined carbohydrates that cause obesity. More seriously, lack of sleep inhibits the production of prolactin and melatonin, deranging our immune system and causing depression, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.  Now, with light available 24 hours a day, we stuff our pie holes all year long.  So Wiley and Formby suggest it is light, not what we eat or whether we exercise, that causes obesity, heart disease, etc. If we considered our waking periods as equivalent to the long days of summer and the short ones of winter, we would avoid these problems. As we approach the end of daylight savings, I feel my desire to be in bed by 7 is ruled by a real physiological desire to harmonize with nature!  What do you think?  Do you regard your sleep in the same manner as your workouts and diet?  Could lack of sleep be the chink in your armor in your pursuit for better perfomance?