👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #108 of The Everyday Athlete Newsletter.
🤰 Bit of a theme this week. Looking at tools for female menstruation, pregnancy and after pregnancy.
Here are my 3 favourite ideas, learns and resources to help you improve your performance this week (4 min read):
😴 Combatting sh*t sleep through the menstrual cycle
Hormonal changes — particularly serotonin and progesterone — during a female’s menstrual cycle can disrupt sleep duration and quality.
Which affects everything.
But can be more pronounced in active females, impacting their exercise and recovery.
So researchers looked at a group of young, active, naturally menstruating females.
One group supplemented 5g of creatine for 6 weeks. The other group had a placebo.
Both groups did 2x weekly resistance training sessions.
Compared to the placebo group, those on creatine got — on average — an extra 50 minutes of sleep on training days!
Creatine is one of the most studied, effective and safest supplements on the planet.
It supplies the brain and muscles with energy.
But most of the research has been done on guys. And it's traditionally viewed as a supplement for muscle-head blokes.
But what's interesting is that men and women use and store creatine differently.
One study found women have 70-80% less creatine than men.
Suggesting women might actually benefit more from supplementing it.
And when we see effects like getting nearly an extra hour of sleep twice a week, that suggestion is certainly being supported.
So if you're female, active and naturally menstruating (but also if you're not female, not active, or not naturally menstruating... cause there's just that much research on it), 5g of creatine monohydrate is a serious one to consider for the brain and body benefits.
🛏️ Making post-natal sleep a touch easier
How good's good sleep?
So good.
I'm an 8-9 hoursman. And a bit full on about no bright lights at night, keeping the room cool and getting to bed before 9pm.
What a dream I must be.
“What happens when we have kids”, gets asked a bit.
So I was pretty excited to come across the Snoo.
Now...
To preface this. I am not a parent. I really have no idea what I'm talking about. I have no doubt pissed many parents off already with my "8-9 hours" chat. But – hey – thought this thing was worth sharing...
So... the Snoo is a bed for babies (think they call them bassinets). But this is a "smart" bed. It uses tech and AI to create motion and sound to improve sleep.
Research compared non-Snoo-ers to Snoo-ers and found:
- ⏰ Longest sleep period increased by 42 mins to 2 hours
- 📈 Total sleep duration increased by 33 mins to 1 hour 24 mins
- 😴 One less waking per night
Reviews say what you'd expect:
It's not the cure-all but it helps.
So this expensive af bed will be going on the list when the time comes.
🏋️ Lifting during pregnancy
I’ve been learning as much as I can about training during pregnancy and after birth.
The gist of it is:
- For most, it is absolutely play on to keep doing what you’ve been doing, as long as it’s all feeling comfy
- Towards the end of the second trimester, substitute high-impact activities (e.g. running, box jumps) with low-impact options (e.g. cardio machines, squats)
- And above all, work together with your doc, and go by feel rather than blanket recommendations like the above
Then I came across this research paper…
Now, being an online survey, it’s certainly not the gold standard in scientific research.
But either way, it found heavy resistance/weight training improved health outcomes for the mum and baby.
It found those who lifted (relatively) heavy weights during pregnancy, had lower rates and risk of:
- 😃 Post-natal depression and anxiety
- 🩸 Preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy)
- 💉 Diabetes during pregnancy
As well as:
- 🏃 Fast recovery after birth and return to physical activity level
- 💪 Less weight retention and muscle weakness
And those that lifted all the way up to pregnancy:
- 📦 Had nearly 50% less delivery issues
But you don’t really wanna start any new kind of training during pregnancy.
So if you're interested in potential benefits like the above, best to get going on this before you start trying.
That's it!
Have a great weekend 🤙
Matt
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The Everyday Athlete Newsletter is not a licensed health service and is not a substitute for professional health advice, treatment or assessment. The information given in this email is general in nature, written for a specific audience. If you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional.
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