👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #143 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
☕️ The caffeine race day reset myth
I used to limit caffeine before tournaments.
The idea was to reset my tolerance so I'd get a bigger performance boost on competition day.
Turns out I didn't need to.
Recent research shows caffeine's performance benefits don't fade with regular use.
You just feel less of a buzz.
But the actual physical benefits — better focus, reduced fatigue, improved endurance — stay the same.
So particularly if you're sensitive to caffeine, you'll perform just as well pounding cuppas throughout the week (without the jitters and anxiety).
Plus, there's now no need to suffer through withdrawal headaches for a performance boost that was already there.
Neat.
💨 30 breaths for better sleep
If you stick to a bedtime that respects your mornings — and still sleep poorly — there’s a good chance you’re a victim of dysevolution .
Dysevolution is a term that describes how our modern world overstimulates our brain and nervous system.
We’ll go from working on our computer to “taking a break from work” on our phone. Switch between the two all day. Then commute, exercise and cook with a podcast on.
Resulting in nearly zero input-free time.
The only stimulation-free time we get is often in the shower — no wonder it’s such an idea factory.
See, this stimulation subtly triggers our sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system — keeping it on all day.
And then we're too wound up to sleep. We either go to bed wired and can’t get to sleep. Wake up at 3am, brain ticking. Or sleep through but rarely wake up feeling rested.
Stimulation-free breaks (like lunch without headphones, or outdoor walks without phones) help calm our nervous system throughout the day.
But this study found a 1-2 punch we can use before bed to:
- ⬇️ Decrease sympathetic nervous system activation (measured by stress hormone levels, metabolic rate, and brain wave activity)
- ⬆️ Increase parasympathetic nervous system activation (measured by heart rate, heart rate variability, breath rate and vagal tone)
Which improved how quickly people got to sleep + their sleep quality.
The study protocol was simply breathing for 5 seconds in, 5 seconds out, 30 times.
It even outperformed sleep meds – without the grogginess.
5 minutes of slow breathing. The natural sedative.
🍽️ Front-loading calories is helping my sleep
A poem I wrote without AI (my first draft weirdly started rhyming so I had to keep going):
Some nights I’m eating dinner after 8 and in bed by 9.
No surprises, those nights I don’t sleep so fine.
Because eating turns the metabolism on to digest,
when the body should really be winding down for rest.
Short walks after meals can help speed up digestion.
If you eat close to bed, try it, is my suggestion.
But, still, it’s certainly not the cure-all,
So now - additional tactic - I’m keeping dinners small.
I’ll have a bigger lunch, then a smaller plate for dinner,
And from a few days testing, it seems to be a winner.
--
The last two lines may have been AI.
Anyway, the bigger lunch means a post-lunch walk is a non-negotiable (or I'll be a bit sluggish at work in the arvo).
So if you know you're gonna have to eat late one night, consider getting more in through the day and a lighter dinner.
Certainly helping me sleep better.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service nor a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information shared in this email is general and written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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