Excerpted from CORE PERFORMANCE ENDURANCE by Mark Verstegen with Pete Williams. © 2007 by JOXY LLC. Permission granted by Rodale Inc.

GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP
By Scott Peltin

What if I told you that there was a magic pill that could slow the aging process, increase your energy level, improve your overall health, reduce your risk of premature death, enhance your immune system, make you more mentally alert, and improve your physical and mental performance. Would you believe me? What if I told you that you take it every night, but you may not take enough of it?

This magic pill does exist. It's called sleep.

Getting proper nutrition is crucial, but if you eat a bad meal or even skip a meal, you rarely feel like you're ready to collapse. Regular exercise is paramount, but if you skip a workout, it doesn't weaken your immune system, decrease your mental clarity, or destroy your mood. Sleep, on the other hand, is the foundation of everything we do. It allows us to rebuild our bodies, to replenish our chemical stores, and to have the alertness to function throughout the day.

In 2001, the National Sleep Foundation performed its famous Sleep in America survey, determining that 63 percent of adults get less than the recommended 8 hours of sleep per night, and 31 percent get less than 7 hours. More than 40 percent of adult Americans reported having trouble staying awake during the day.

Sleep deprivation can interfere with memory, energy levels, mental abilities, and mood. In a study conducted by the University of Chicago Medical Center in 1999, researchers found that the condition drastically affects the body's ability to metabolize glucose, leading to symptoms that mimic early-stage diabetes.

Sleep deprivation also can contribute to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer. Without sleep, you simply cannot function at your best. Sleep debt undermines your ability to eat healthfully and exercise. When the brain is exhausted, it doesn't know whether it is sleep-deprived or starving for glucose. So its natural response is to crave sugar. This is why you have so many late-night cravings when you're tired. When you're low on energy, your brain wants to conserve energy, so motivation to exercise is greatly reduced.

Sleep occurs in stages, each with a different EEG (brain wave) pattern. While sleep researchers may classify sleep into many stages, there are just two basic forms of sleep: slow wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.

As we age, less of our sleep is REM sleep. REM sleep is where dreams occur but our muscles are inactive. SWS sleep is actually four different stages, and it's important for many of the restorative functions of sleep.

During the first deep sleep of the night, the greatest amount of growth hormone is secreted to help the body repair the damage that has occurred throughout the day. This may be why phone calls that occur within the first hour of falling asleep seem to leave you so worn out the following day.

Early researchers believed that sleep cycles occurred every 90 minutes and that therefore, healthy sleep should fit into these 90-minute blocks. Newer sleep research indicates that sleep cycles actually vary throughout the night, with the first and final stages being closer to an hour and the middle stages being up to 2 hours. Even more significant is the finding that it is total sleep that is the final determinant of sleep debt, since the body actually adjusts the length and number of sleep cycles based upon the needs that night. This is why consistent sleep patterns are the most conducive to restorative sleep and inconsistent sleep patterns are the most likely to lead to sleep deprivation.

Proper sleep is paramount for an endurance athlete, not only to recover and regenerate but also to be prepared for the next day. It's by far the easiest way to boost performance.

Scott Peltin is a founding partner of Tignum AG, a performance institute for corporate leaders and a strategic partner of Athletes' Performance Institutes.

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