Welcome to Sunday Reads on Refocuser, a collection of weekly links from around the web to help you do incredible things.  These links span topics like creativity, performance, focus, exercise, nutrition, and positivity.  I’m posting this on Saturday this time to make sure email subscribers get this on Sunday.

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On Food as Fuel and Athleticism

Not that this is a surprise to most of you, but the science behind low-fat diet advice was undercooked.  “An international team of health scientists has completed a systematic study of the evidence available back in the 1970s and ’80s and concluded that a relationship of causation between fat consumption and coronary heart disease was never established.”

The U.S. is also dropping it’s crusade against cholesterol.  Another example of how misled we’ve all been for so long.

The flavonoids in dark chocolate have anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-cancer, and anti-diarrheal properties.  My favorite dark chocolate is Green & Blacks and I eat a cube or two every evening.

Is there a better way to become the ultimate athlete than the randomness of Crossfit?  Max Shank puts forth a dedicated system with programming to be as strong as a gymnast, as fast as a sprinter, and as flexible as a martial artist.

The Incredible Power of Sleep

If you want to reduce body-fat levels, insulin resistance, and systemic inflammation, you should sleep in a dark room and avoid blue light before you sleep.

This one is weird, but night owls tend to be more exploitive and entitled than early risers.

The benefits of mindfulness meditation just keep piling up.  “According to a new study from Carnegie Mellon University, mindfulness impacts physical health via stress reduction pathways inside your brain.”

Fall asleep in less than a minute with the 4-7-8 breathing exercise by Dr. Weil.

A short nap can help relieve stress and bolster the immune systems of men who slept only two hours the previous night, according to a new study.

On Creative Work and Listening

Once awake, you should have a morning routine according to Mark Sisson.  As usual, he nails it.

The most creative people in history “devised a schedule and a set of habits that suited their temperaments and life circumstances” and “organized their days (and, by extension, their lives) around creating the best conditions for their creative work.”

Boredom is important as it “helps to restore the perception that one’s activities are meaningful or significant.”  I need to explain this to my kids.

To become a better listener, the first thing you need to do is start caring about what people have to say.

Procrastination has a lot to do with unexpressed emotion, but there are ways to motivate yourself to get things done.

Random Musings

Are you obsessed about aging?  If so, here are some recommendations to get over it.

I love this Google Chrome extension called Momentum that changes your new tab page to a beautiful photo and a reminder to focus on what’s important to you.  Given the number of times I open a new tab, I’m finding it to be a helpful reminder throughout the day.

Why testosterone is the drug of the future.

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