Lagoon | Sleep Fitness News - June 15th, 2023

👋 Hey there pack members! 

Sleep is serious business for CrossFit Games athletes; Oura launches a new social feature to share sleep data; and Team Britain is changing the game in elite triathlon training including how they recover.  Keep reading below for the biggest highlights in sleep and fitness this week.  

💪 Fit-Man Eric Hinman Discusses Rest & Recovery Prepping for CrossFit Games 

Eric Hinman is a 5x Ironman finisher, influential brand ambassador, and all-around fitness junkie.  One of his latest challenges is preparing to compete at the CrossFit Games.  Recently he sat down with Sports Business Journal to dive into his approach to training and recovery.  Hinman is constantly trying new methodologies to get the most out of his body.  Not surprisingly, sleep is a non-negotiable for him, as he consistently gets eight hours of sleep every night.  He tracks his sleep and how it’s affecting his physiology and vice versa, and even experiments with supplements like CBD compounds to improve sleep.  To follow more of Eric’s athletic endeavors, give him a follow on Instagram. 

🔵 Oura Ring Launches “Circles” Community Feature

This week sleep and fitness tracker Oura ring launched a new community feature called “Circles” that allows users to share their sleep data with a self-defined group of friends or family.  It’s an interesting approach for Oura, as they look to bring a social element into their sleep tracking platform, while at the same time protecting individuals’ personal data, as their particular data set is more intimate than content shared on other social platforms.  I do give Oura “kudos” (thanks Strava) for attempting a social angle,  and believe that getting more people sharing healthy sleep information is one of the best ways for us to move the needle as a society towards better prioritizing sleep.

🇬🇧 How Great Britain is Using Monarchy Inspired Strategy for Triathlon Dominance

Britain has long been a powerhouse in triathlon, from Alistair Brownlee to Georgia Taylor-Brown, and a great deal of this has to do with the country’s elite training program.  In a recent interview with Triathlon Magazine, Michael Cavendish, the performance director for British Triathlon, explains that each year, the top one or two athletes come up through the “pathway program” in Leeds or Loughborough, but that they’re also rolling out additional district centers throughout the country.  This, in an effort to broaden the reach and impact of their elite training program.  How important is sleep in the eyes of the elite? “Recovery is, by and large, the thing that most athletes tend to get wrong,” Cavendish says. “If I were advising any weekend warrior or any aspiring young athlete, I would tell them to take your recovery more seriously, and your sleep, in particular, more seriously than anything else.” 

😡 Can’t sleep? These podcasts are better than counting sheep

Has someone, or a particular topic, ever literally lulled you to sleep?  What if you could bottle that up and use it to help you when you actually want to sleep?  That’s exactly the idea that Benjamin Boster had which led him to create the “I Can’t Sleep” podcast, in which he employs his baritone voice to read Wikipedia entries for subjects as riveting as “cardboard,” “logistics” or “Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.” He literally bores you to sleep with his soothing voice. Or there’s the “Boring Books For Bedtime” podcast,  where the Florida-based Sharon Handy launches a new 45 minute book-reading podcast episode every week.  Given that falling asleep is the most common sleep problem in the US, it’s great to see that there are so many new and unique content creators putting their spin on addressing it. If you need some help dozing off, try a few and see what works for you!

🧩 The Common Dreams that Puzzle Us the Most

Newly-compiled data from “Dream Moods” found that prevalent, recurring dreams may look quite different depending on where you live.  In northern, industrialized countries, one of the most common dreams is tooth loss. The reasons behind this dream are much speculated from increased anxiety, to dental irritation, or in reaction to major life changes. Meanwhile, snakes appear to be a very common dream symbol, particularly prevalent in Asia and parts of Oceania where they’re a part of everyday life. Their meaning could be related to a potential threat or a person who displays toxic or problematic behavior. You can drive deeper into dream meanings here.