💪 The everyday athlete newsletter #87

👋 Hey. Welcome to issue #87 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):

🚂 Slowing the steam train

Your sympathetic nervous system is like a steam train.

Running all day, it builds up a heap of speed and momentum. Making it hard to slow down at night for sleep.

It's one reason why down-regulating the nervous system is something worth knowing how to do.

Because even if you don't have trouble getting to sleep, a jacked-up nervous system can decrease sleep quality and even cause insomnia.

And what we do throughout the day (particularly in the last hour before bed) sets the tone for the entire night, not just getting to sleep.

See, many associate our sympathetic nervous system with ultra-stressful situations like an important presentation, conversation, game or race.

But everyday things like traffic, notifications, social media and everything trying to grab at our attention can be a mild sympathetic nervous system trigger. Which—left unchecked—gives the train more and more momentum, making it hard to pump the breaks at night.

The trick is to slow down or stop the train throughout the day.

Stimulation-free breaks are most effective for me. No phone, no music, no podcasts. A couple times throughout the day. Removing these inputs lets the nervous system rest. Cutting its momentum. Making it easier to slow down at night.

But sometimes, at the end of the day the train’s still running hot. So the more stimulation—phone, light, work—we can remove in the last hour before bed, the better our rest will be throughout the entire night.

And then the cherry on top... The hydraulic breaks for our steam train... La crème of down regulating the nervous system…

The physiological sigh.

There are a million different breathing techniques to activate our parasympathetic (rest and recovery) nervous system. The physiological sigh is the most effective.

You take a deep inhale. Take another short, fast inhale (on top of the first). Then exhale slowly.

Inhales are through the nose. Exhales through the mouth.

👉 How-to video here

The second inhale is important to open collapsed sacs in our lungs, increasing oxygen intake and offloading carbon dioxide.

The extended exhale activates our parasympathetic nervous system. Shown to calm the mind, slow our breathing, and lower anxiety.

Inhaling deep into the belly also stimulates the vagus nerve, which runs through the diaphragm (further activating the parasympathetic system).

Even 2 or 3 of these sighs can shift our state.

But it’ll be most effective if you can repeat it for a few minutes.

So when stressed before bed, sigh.

Slow the steam train steps:

1. 🧘 Occasionally rest the nervous system throughout the day
2. ⏰ Start to slow it down in the hour before bed
3. 💨 Then really pump the hydraulics with the physiological sigh

It might just be the key to less insomnia and better sleep quality.

🍻 Schooner timing

Is there anything better than your first ice-cold schooner of Stone & Wood on a Saturday arvo? There is not.

But anyone with a wearable knows how even a couple drinks affect our sleep.

A recent study found even one drink decreases our time in REM and Deep sleep.

But... they found it's less impactful the further we drink from bedtime.

So the earlier we finish, the less sleep is impacted.

Research suggests it takes about an hour to metabolise one drink. Each round after that, another hour.

Plan accordingly and get the best of both worlds 🍻

🛌 Stealing sleep protocols from sleep pros

Bryan Johnson is spending millions of dollars optimising his health.

And while no sane person is following his lead—having his last meal at 11am, going to bed at 8:30pm 365 days a year, and pounding 100 supplements a day...

We can learn a lot from his extremes.

And so—if they sound doable for our lifestyle—there’s parts of his approach we can steal.

Like his sleep protocols. He's clocked 8 months of a 100% sleep score on his Whoop. So there's likely some gold nuggets in there for us.

His sleep protocols:

1. 😴 Identify as a professional sleeper
2. ⏰ Consistent bedtime
3. 🧘 Wind down routine
4. 🥑 Eat early
5. ☕️ Avoid stimulants
6. 💡 Regulate evening light
7. 🌡️ Temperature control
8. 😌 Peaceful environment
9. ☀️ Morning light
10. ⌚️ Gather data

He’s doing the hard work for us. Steal what works for you.

More detail on each in this video.

That's it!

I hope today's newsletter has been helpful for you in some way. If you're struggling with a specific health and performance problem, consider my free consult, Game Plan. Nothing to lose. But this'll be the last week it's offered for a while.

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.