Archive for the ‘Alcohol’ tag
Boosting Memory, Perils of Diet Soda, and Getting Unstuck (Sunday Reads #3)
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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High-Performance Work and Life
Fantastic post on the differences between a high-performer and a workaholic. In my experience as someone who could maybe appear to be a workaholic from the outside, the conclusion rings true: “The big difference isn’t how many hours are logged, but how the individual feels on the inside about who they are in relationship to their work.”
When it comes to creativity, the “myth of epiphany” is commonplace.
An amazing episode of the Tim Ferriss podcast with Pavel Tsatsouline on the Science of Strength and the Art of Physical Performance.
Your Microbiome, Bone Broth, and Fancy New Fitness Gadgets (Sunday Reads #2)
Welcome to Sunday Reads #2 on Refocuser, a collection of my favorite weekly links from around the web spanning topics like creativity, performance, focus, exercise, and positivity. I’m posting this on Saturday this time to make sure email subscribers get this on Sunday.
Speaking of which, join thousands of other readers by subscribing to this blog and email newsletter or by following @Refocuser on Twitter.
On Moving, Eating, and Sleeping
The healthy human microbiome is the new frontier. All the more reason why I’m surprised I didn’t know about uBiome (10% off with that link!) – it’s similar in spirit to WellnessFX and 23andMe. They send you a sample kit for only $89 (!) so you can learn more about your body’s own bacteria in an effort to improve your overall health. Don’t need to twist my arm to do this – I’m in! We’re super early in this citizen science movement but I love it. You can also learn more on Fast Company.
Mark Sisson challenges some of our common misconceptions when it comes to calories (part 1, part 2).
How does exercise really affect our brains and how does it really make us happier? Fast Company set out to understand the science. Turns out addiction to exercise isn’t a crazy concept since BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) and those ever-popular endorphins have the same characteristics as nicotine, heroin, or morphine. Big takeaway: Daily exercise of just 20 minutes is all it takes.
How to Become a Morning Person
For as long as I can remember, I haven’t been a morning person, preferring to stay up late over prying my heavy head off the pillow in the cold morning. I’ve been a night owl most of my life, with some of my best work and inspired thought happening after 10pm. Throughout the years, I’ve been following the growing body of research that points to night owlish (or ‘larkish’) as a genetic trait: there’s apparently a specific genetic variant that can indicate whether someone is a night owl, a lark, or somewhere in between the two. Unfortunately this indicator wasn’t included in my 23andMe genetic profile a few years ago so I’m not sure where I fall on the continuum.
But even if I knew where my genes wanted me to be, there isn’t much I (or most of us) can do about societal, professional, or family pressure to wake up early. Every single day, one of our kids wakes up at or before 6:30am. At least 3 or 4 mornings per week I need to be out the door by 7:20am for school drop-off prior to a can’t-miss 8am meeting. And when I get home at night, by the time I’ve eaten dinner, cleaned up afterwards, spent time with my family, and put the kids to bed, it’s already after 9pm. So in order to do anything beyond “the basics” in life – including strength training, meditation, writing, extra work, or anything else – I have a simple choice: I either do it late at night and suffer the next morning, or I get up 30-60 minutes earlier. I choose not to suffer.
Now, for a night owl, the thought of waking up earlier than 6:30am is anathema. But for the last several months I’ve been doing it, and not only has it gotten easier, but I’ve ‘dialed it in’ to be a habit that I feel has dramatically improved my overall well-being, productivity at work, and presence at home. These days I’m up at 5:45am to drink a cup of loose-leaf green tea and get a focused kettlebell or bodyweight workout in – or some dedicated writing – before my kids wake up and the house starts buzzing.
I’d be lying if I said the transition was all kittens and rainbows. It was actually quite hard, and is still not without its challenges occasionally. But I’m consistent about it and am determined to make it work. Oddly, on the days I “sleep in” until 7 or 7:30am I don’t feel quite as right compared to those when I’ve gotten up and have broken a sweat before the sun rises.
Here are the ways I became a morning person and how you can too.
Sleep Better: 6 Sleep Habits To Help You Focus
“I’ll sleep when I’m dead” – Some Anonymous Idiot
We’ve all heard this quote, most likely from an interview in a business magazine with some mega-billionaire CEO. Of course this person is either a walking collection of crazy or some genetically gifted mutant. I’m actually not kidding about that mutant option, as those who thrive on little sleep may have a rare genetic mutation according to a recent sleep study at the University of San Francisco. Of course, that mutation was found in just 2 out of 1000 study participants – so rare is right.
The rest of us need sleep and need it badly. And we probably need more of it than we think, or at least more than we’re inclined to let ourselves get by on.
In a 2002 study conducted by the National Sleep Foundation (PDF), it was found that the majority of American adults (68%) don’t get the recommended 8 hours of sleep needed for good health and optimum performance, and more than one-third (39%) sleep less than 7 hours nightly. Strangely (yet ironically) enough, a staggering 85% of those surveyed said they would sleep more if they knew it would improve their health.
Guess what? It does improve your health. And your sex life, body shape, and ability to stay awake during Avatar in IMAX 3D. It’s also the best way to improve your mood and the way you respond when you’re frustrated or stressed out. In other words, good sleep can keep you from being a jerk AND help you look and feel better.
Lack of sleep can also have a profound effect on memory and other cognitive skills. In an interesting study, researchers measured cognitive function in sleep-deprived, right-handed men and found that sleep deprivation has a negative effect on cognitive functions associated with "right-brained" functions such as "motor, rhythm, receptive & expressive speech, memory and complex verbal arithmetic function." (PDF link)
