Cortisol | CrossFit Toronto

Sleep Deposit

Thursday, November 12, 2009

We can all agree that sleep deprivation is bad. It makes life a whole lot harder to deal with, not to mention messing with appetite and metabolism. So yeah, it’s bad. Life will be life, and sometimes there just is no sleep to be had. Some survival tips:

Keep your carbs and caffeine low. Low caffeine, you say? But… But… Well, remember all that cortisol talk from last week? Sleep deprivation is a systemic stress, and caffeine can stimulate cortisol production. Low carbs will help keep your sugar metabolism in check… And since cortisol triggers a release of glucose into the bloodstream it’s even more important to keep dietary carbohydrates low during times of limited sleep.

But let’s say now is not terribly busy for you. Can you really do anything to prepare yourself for future sleeplessness? You betcha. You’ve got a sleep bank account, and while you can’t overfill it, you can at the very least make sure you’re not running a deficit. Sleep deficits don’t go away, they just carry over month to month. So why not make use of the darker days to pay down some debt? Keep a log, see just how much extra sleep you can rack up in the next month. Consider it a deposit against future crises.

Workout

Push press 5-5-5 reps

This is Your Brain on Cortisol

Welcome back to cortisol week! Here’s yet another reason to keep your stress level in check: chronically elevated cortisol can mess with your head. Specifically, it can mess with your memory. This paper from McGill found that seniors with higher cortisol levels had weaker memories. Luckily for most, the memory-impairing effects of the hormone are reversible… but to inspire you to chill out sooner than later, consider this: high cortisol for long enough can result in an atrophied hippocampus… and there’s no coming back from that.

It’s not just for senior citizens: High daily levels of stress can screw with your memory even in your prime.

Workout

Deadlift 5-5-5-2-2-5 reps

Visceral/Abdominal Fat Recipe

1 part chronic tendency to undersleep
1 part stressful work or life environment
1 part overtraining
1 part massive caffeine addiction
1 part heavy alcohol consumption

Combine all ingredients and stir it up… remember, you want elevated cortisol levels at all times to maximize that abdominal fat accumulation. If possible, have a pot of coffee after no sleep right before squeezing in a two-hour run then going to work too hard at a job you hate. When you get home, don’t go to sleep! Have a few beers, then a few more, then stumble to bed as late as possible, and start the whole thing again tomorrow. Congratulations! You’re on your way to that sexy apple-shaped physique.

Workout

Angie

For time:

100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats

Sleep Deposit

Workout

This is Your Brain on Cortisol

Workout

Visceral/Abdominal Fat Recipe

Workout

Angie

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