sleep

[madmutant]

As some of you know I've had a real hard time gaining, and came across this post on another board regarding sleep/when you go to bed and wondered what you thought of it? does the body really repair itself between 10pm and 2am regardless what time you go to bed? so if I'm going to bed at 12-1am I'm not giving my body time to repair because I'm awake at 10pm-1am?? I would have thought the body would adapt and the body clock would reset itself so it would repair itself while I'm alspeep and not at the set time of 10pm-2am - so what do you make of what's been said... have a read.

***********

Right off the bat a HUGE barrier to your progress are you sleep hours. Your CNS and endocrine system are out of whack and you need to fix this before you will be able to make any appreciable progress, basically you have a disrupted sleep/wake cycle. Your cortisol is elevated at night now which is not allowing the normal release of melatonin, growth hormone and other anabolic hormones.

The body physically repairs itself between 10 pm and 2 am, after that psychogenic repairs take place till we awake. Since you are going to bed late you are missing out on CRUCIAL physical repairs that need to happen. You are also causing yourself adrenal fatigue becuase of your hours, exposure to light and stress at night when you are supposed to be asleep requires your body to produce cortisol, which you have ben producing all day, your adrenals are wiped out.

This is also the reason that you overtrain so easily, your baseline level of stress is so high that any excess external stressors (stressors are either internal or external) will push you over the threashold very easily, this is why you are not making any progress.

You need to remember that the invention of artificial light is a recent one in the history of man, Since we walked the earth our bodies have regulated themselves by the sun. When it rises that is the cue to release cortisol and stress hormones for the daily activities and when it goes down that is the bodies natural cue for growth and repair hormones to come into play.

Your sleep problems are also having a marked effect on you attitude, phychological status and when you decide to fix your sleep and be in bed and ASLEEP by 10-10:30 and awake by 7( you must eat by 7 to prevent your blood sugar from falling and result in hypoglycemia which will release stress hormones and **** your glucose metabolism. That is why you get fat easily as well, your glucose metabolism is dependent upon your sleep cycle.

I know these are not what you want to hear becuase I was in the same boat and the change is hard for th efirst few weeks, after that the difference is night and day with regards to mental acquity and attitude, your recovery will imporve signifigantly as well, guaranteed.

*************

Could this be a major factor in my lack of gains ? and for anyone whi isnt familiar with my story, there's a thread in the supplements section asking about cortisol blockers.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

Some obvious questions to ask are:

Is this rigid 10pm to 2am BST or GMT?
Does it still apply if you move into a different time zone?
How does the body know it is 10pm?
What happens if your clock stops?
What happens if someone puts your clock forward by one hour without you knowing?
How did people cope before the invention of the first timepiece?

The only 'time' factor that the body can go by is the circadian rhythm and that is controlled by the degree of natural light [or lack thereof] that there is and not by what position on a clock face the hands happen to be!

So there is a chance the observations are correct, but it would have little to do with time per se and more to do with overall length and quality of sleep and whether you sleep during the night and are awake during the day [light]!

[ak12345]

Don't know how much truth there is in this article. For a long while now I've been going to sleep very late and waking up 8 hours later. This hasn't stopped me from making good progress with both bulking and cutting. I'm sure your body adapts after a short time and, providing you sleep in a sufficiently darkened room, you will be fine.

[madmutant]

I've jyst googled it and there has been a few discussions on it already it seems..

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...+and+2am&meta=

[NU_nutrition_TS]

Interesting...but one of the articles does state that it is the circadian rhythm which largely dictates this process including sleep [sunset until sunrise the next morning] and from this you can interpolate a 10pm until 6am time slot [8 hours for sleep]. However, sunset and sunrise vary throughout the year [for us in the UK at any rate] so how can you stick to rigid timescales year round and in different parts of the world? As long as you get around eight hours sleep before sunrise [or until it gets 'light' at any rate!] I would have thought you would be alright.

[madmutant]

for anyone who's interested, I found this


http://www.apollolight.com/apps/circ_assess_survey.html

like in the post above, the reults for me say that I am producing the hormones at the wrong time of day, so I think it's worth me trying to reset my body and get to bed/get up earlier, can't hurt can it?!

Quote

According to your score, you have mild Delayed Circadian Rhythm Disorder (DCR). DCR means your body clock is running slower than a normal 24-hour period. Because it is running slow, your body clock is producing the wrong hormones at the wrong time of day. This can cause Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), insomnia and other depressive mood disorders. DCR causes you to have difficulty getting started in the morning, you may feel a bit groggy or down during part of the day, and you may experience a second wind later in the evening. Those with DCR are often referred to as night owls, and find it easier to stay up late at night. Although some DCR sufferers have little trouble falling asleep, almost all have difficulty getting up or getting started in the morning.

Your Circadian Rhythm


As you can see from this graph, your circadian rhythm is running slower than a normal circadian rhythm, causing you to produce the wrong hormones at the wrong time of day. This means you may not have enough energy during the day, and have difficulty awakening. By shifting your circadian rhythm back to a normal cycle, you'll experience increased energy with the ability to sleep better during the night.

Your Target Zone
Your body clock will only respond to light at certain times of day, and light at the wrong time can cause your condition to worsen. It is very important to use your light during your target zone and not at other times . Refer to your personal treatment schedule to know when to start using your light.

[NU_nutrition_TS]

This sounds more likely...I probably have issues with this as I work a rotating 3-shift system at work [inc. night shifts] which screws up my body clock!

[madmutant]

NU, have you been working like that for long?

[NU_nutrition_TS]

Quote

NU, have you been working like that for long?

Probably been working that way for five years. Afternoon shifts are the only ones where I feel like I get anything like a normal sleep pattern.