Clear Your Sleep Debt
You can get all the muscle-building, appetite-controlling benefits of sleep while you’re awake. So, if you’ve lost the average 1.1 hours of shut-eye a night, here’s how to reclaim it.
9am
Take Some ‘E’
“When you lack sleep, your immunity is hit,” says sleep scientist at the University of West England, Dr Chris Alford. Fix this by feeding your system with selenium and vitamin E supplements at the start of every day. Their antioxidants boost your immune system.
Sleep Credit: 10 mins
11.30am
Get Kelp
Sleep deprivation damages your thyroid, leading to fatigue. “This means you struggle to problem-solve,” says, Dr John Shneerson, president of the British Sleep Society. Take a 30mg kelp for all the iodine your thyroid needs, and watch those solutions appear.
Sleep Credit: 10 mins
1pm
Pig Out
“Lack of sleep causes over production of hunger- hormones leptin and ghrelin,” says Shneerson. You need a high-protein lunch to dampen their effects. Forget chicken, a wild boar
sausage sandwich gives the maximum protein punch.
Sleep Credit: 20 mins
3pm
Go Nuts
“You’ll see a natural dip in alertness between 2 and 4pm,” says Shneerson “This is made worse by the fact that your sleep-deprived body is more insulin-resistant. Grab a bag of peanuts to combat this – they release energy slowly without spiking insulin levels.
Sleep Credit: 10 mins
7pm
Fish For More
“Human Growth Hormone (HGH) is released during sleep, but a fragmented night suppresses it, leading to repair problems,” says Alford. Fix this with dried cod, which contains 5.7g of lysine per 100g – an amino acid known to promote your HGH and help build muscle.
Sleep Credit: 10 mins
11pm
‘Ave An Avo
“In the mid-term, sex drive becomes a casualty of sleep debt,” warns Alford. “Without proper sleep, your hormone cycle is broken.” Eat an avocado before bed: its vitamin B6 ups male hormone production. So you’ll miss out on sleep for the right reasons.
Sleep Credit: 10 mins
Image from Stockexchange
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