Fit Tip: Better Sleep

Welcome to this week's edition of Fit Tip Friday!In the FTF newsletter, I will periodically provide a quick, actionable tip you can apply to your life right away that will take you one step further in your fitness journey.Each tip will be different, but all will orbit around what I've call the "habits of fitness": Routine, Replenishment, and Rest.Routine is the regular activity you commit to that keeps you moving. Replenishment is what you eat and drink to fuel movement. And Rest is the required inactivity that recharges future movement. And this week's Fit Tip focuses on the habit of "Rest". Fit Tip: Keep your smartphone out of your bedroom when you sleep.

I was skeptical when I first heard this advice. Firstly, because I'm on call regularly for my day job and I didn't think I could actually have my work phone outside my bedroom. Secondly, because I didn't think I would actually get better sleep. But... here I stand corrected. My sleep has been both deeper and longer since I put my phone outside of my bedroom while I slept. I tried this trick first during an afternoon nap. There was a rare afternoon recently with both my kids went down for a nap at the same time, and my wife and I took advantage of it and followed suit. Before we went down I told my wife I wanted to try this. She shared my skepticism, but we decided to give it a try.About two hours later we both woke up incredibly refreshed. Here's a very quick look at the science, followed by some tips and tricks on keeping your phone out of your room. Melatonin is a hormone released by the pineal gland. Its production is prompted by darkness and it works alongside your circuidian rhythm (your body's internal bio-clock). This hormone helps facilitate your body's transition to sleep. Blue-light, which is emitted from most electronic devices, supresses melatonin. It disrupts and distorts the natural slowing down of your body at night, which means that looking at your smartphone, tablet or laptop before bed disrupts your body's sleep cycle.There are dozens if not hundreds of reasons why lack of sleep is bad for your health, which is why the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Harvard, and Layman's Fitness* ** all agree that maintaining some distance and discipline in phone utilization before bed.*Obviously, Layman's Fitness is the most credible medical resource out of the bunch.**Hopefully you enjoyed the sarcasm there. The benefit of having your phone outside of your room is that you are not tempted to look at it before going to bed, during the middle of the night, or right after you wake up. It's not right beside you at all hours of the day. It's not there to greet you first in the morning when you turn off its alarm. Your bedroom becomes a place free of one less distraction. And its one step towards managing your phone instead of your phone managing you.Here are some tips for maintaining discipline over your phone at night: 

• Set your phone outside of your room while you sleep. 

• Use an alarm clock instead of your phone (remember these?!) to wake up in the morning. 

• If you have a job that requires you to be on call (mine does), keep your volume on and keep your phone right outside your door. Works just fine.

• Try to limit screen utilization (phones, tablets, etc...) 30 minutes before bed. This helps limit blue-light intake before bed.

• Some people utilize blue-light blocking glasses for the same effect. I have never tried these, so I cannot personally vouch for their effectiveness. 

• Redeem the time you would have been on your phone before bed with another activity. Read, pray with your wife, reflect on the day, write, etc...

Try it and let me know how it works for you! 

  15% Discount 

For the entire month of January, I am offering a 15% discount to the LF 12 Week Workout Program. This discount ends February 1st, and it is not just for you. This discount code can be shared with up to 5 people.All you need and your friends need to do is input the following discount code on the bottom of the LF Workout Page at checkout. Discount Code: Strength2022This program takes you through 12 weeks of progressively more challenging bodyweight workouts and is paired with a 12 week devotional series. Both the workouts and devotions take you through three phases: stability, endurance, and strength.

This program utilizes bodyweight movements as its foundation.Bodyweight training has been the core of my own training program for the last 5 years. It's not the only type of training that I do, but whether I'm using dumbbells, a boxing bag, or a playground for exercise, I find myself frequently incorporating bodyweight movements. Here are some older LF posts about the benefits of bodyweight training:

1. 6 Reasons to Master Bodyweight Training

2. Bodyweight Training: Progressions & Regressions

Regardless of if you pick up my program or not, I'd encourage you to incorporate bodyweight training into your own repertoire!