Hey pack members 👋
Having a cherry mocktail, wearing your socks to bed, and hitting snooze… sounds like a rough night? Actually it might be the recipe for a perfect sleep routine! Find out more in this week’s edition of the Sleep & Fitness news. Let’s get into it…
⏰ New Study Finds Hitting the Snooze Button Might Be Your Best Morning Hack Yet
If you often find yourself reaching for the snooze button in the morning, here's some reassuring news: a new study suggests that snoozing might not actually be as bad as we once thought! In fact, the study found that for some people, repeatedly hitting the snooze button over 30 minutes could even increase alertness faster than uninterrupted sleep. The study revealed that 69% respondents sometimes hit the snooze button, with 60% often falling back asleep between alarms. Interestingly, snoozers tend to be younger and more often identify as "night owls." Even though a sleep-lab-based experiment showed snoozing participants lost an average of six minutes of sleep, their overall sleep structure remained unchanged. Moreover, immediate post-wakeup cognitive tests revealed a temporary advantage for snoozers. The phenomenon might be due to snoozing allowing a more gradual and gentle awakening process, preventing individuals from being jolted out of deeper sleep stages.
🍒 That Tart Cherry Mocktail Can Help You Fall Asleep
Seeking a delicious, alcohol-free drink that promotes better sleep and aids muscle recovery post-workout? A tart cherry mocktail might be just the thing. This Insider article highlights the benefits of tart cherry juice, which contains polyphenols that help alleviate post-exercise muscle soreness. Moreover, tart cherries boast melatonin and tryptophan, ingredients recognized for promoting sleep. While the core ingredient for the mocktail is tart cherries, enthusiasts have included flavors like mint, ginger, cinnamon, and even magnesium for enhanced sleep benefits. Registered dietitian Jenna Werner recommends a straightforward approach: mix tart cherry juice with a probiotic soda, considering the juice's natural sugar content, to ensure steady digestion and avoid sugar spikes before bedtime.
👯♀️ Is Sleep As Good for Your Heart as Cardio Exercise?
Sleep isn't just beneficial for mood and focus, but it's also crucial for heart health. A recent article in the Journal of the American Heart Association proposed adding sleep to the American Heart Association's "Life’s Simple 7" prescription, which highlights the major predictors of cardiovascular health. The original guidelines emphasized four behavioral changes and three biometric measurements. By including sleep, the updated prescription notes that good sleep health predicts lower cardiovascular disease risk in older adults. The CDC recommends between 7 and 9 hours of sleep per night, yet a third of American adults don't meet this standard. By emphasizing sleep as important as regular exercise for heart health, we’ll hopefully start to see that number shrink!
🧦 Doc Weighs In On Whether To Sleep With Socks On
Sleep enthusiasts have long debated the merits of wearing socks to bed. Now, research from the National Sleep Foundation suggests that individuals who warm their feet, either by wearing socks or other methods, tend to fall asleep faster and experience a more sustained sleep. Dr. Biquan Luo, a San Francisco-based biomedical scientist, explains that the act of warming the feet aids in promoting a lower core body temperature, essential for sleep. The body's core temperature naturally drops during sleep, aiding in maintaining the sleep state. By dilating blood vessels in the feet through warming, the body can better regulate its heat, leading to a decrease in core temperature. This sensation also brings about relaxation. Warming the feet can especially benefit those with poor circulation. However, Dr. Luo cautions that everyone's sleep preferences are unique, and what aids one person's sleep might disrupt another's.
🏉 Power Naps Before Taking the Rugby Pitch
Rugby teams at this year's Rugby Union World Cup finals in France might have an unexpected strategy to enhance their performance: taking a midday nap. A study from the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, reveals that a lunchtime nap can notably boost performance for professional rugby players before an afternoon or evening game. The short rest can increase power levels during matches, alleviate fatigue, and lessen muscle soreness. The research involved 15 full-time players who underwent rigorous morning training, with the group taking a nap of up to one hour around midday during the second training session. The results showed that the players who napped post-training produced higher power outputs and felt less tired. This discovery suggests that a daytime nap could be as vital as diet and hydration for ensuring peak performance in critical matches.
That's it for this week's sleep news highlights. Stay tuned for more exciting updates on optimizing your sleep and health, and remember to follow @lagoonsleep on Instagram for your daily dose.
