Fitness Friday: ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Today I'm going to touch on something that deals with your overall health and affects your metabolism, diet, and exercise, but few people think about it as a component of fitness. If you know me very well, it won't surprise you to learn that I want to devote an entire Fitness Friday to SLEEP! Oh, and if you missed it, I just had a column in Abilene Families about sleep being my Olympic event! It is, people! I am ALL about the sleep!

Blessing or curse, I'm not sure I necessarily REQUIRE any more sleep than your average person (oh, but I do love it so very, very much), but I can't/ won't/ don't function being sleep deprived. I know millions of Americans walk around that way every day, and I have on occasion, as well, but nothing is working right when I do. God built into me a 'shut-down mechanism' (called 'sleep mode' on your computer for a reason) that prevents me from 'pushing through' my exhaustion for too terribly long. In the same way we connected the dots to understand that ignorance (of your numbers) can make you fat, let's think about two obvious current lifestyle situations in America: Americans are more sleep-deprived than ever and Americans are fatter than ever. Two isolated facts? Studies show that they aren't likely isolated, and one can very definitely lead to the other.

Let's think about two basics of sleep deprivation that can lead to weight gain. First, it stands to reason that if you're awake more hours, you are eating more than the person that's asleep. Sure, you don't HAVE to eat when you're up late (or early)-- but you do, don't you? Also, if you're sleep deprived, your decision-making skills (and discipline or willpower) are not functioning at their highest level. Maybe you think that the order of cinna-bites from McDonald's will give you some energy for the rest of the night. Maybe you think that an ice cream sundae is nutritionally equal to a bowl of cereal. Whatever the thought process, it sounds GREAT at the time, but probably looks a little pathetic when it shows up on the scale.

Okay, okay, those are just examples right? What if I'm following my eDiets or Weight Watchers or whatever? A calorie is a calorie, right? Don't worry, I'm not going to go down the "food eaten after 7 p.m. goes right to your thighs" road. I DO believe a calorie is a calorie. And, a properly rested person will burn those calories no matter when they are ingested. The trick is to be 'properly rested'. 

If you're reading this on Friday afternoon, it's probably because you've gotten off of work and can't work up the energy to go all the way to your bed to lie down at the end of a long week. Every step feels like you're trudging through molasses, and you can tell that fatigue is keeping your brain operating at 'battery-saver' mode. You know you can't be trusted to make any important decisions or think rationally -- you may even need some cinna-bites to clear your brain. The deal is -- your metabolism feels the same way. A calorie IS a calorie in a well-rested person, but a calorie is a huge hunk of fuel that your metabolism has to burn for fuel, but if you're sleep deprived, your metabolism can't even work up the energy to strike the match. So, it does what we do when we're too tired: it saves it to burn later. On your rear-end. 

I could go on and on about studies that show how proper sleep will affect (improve) mental skills, physical health, stress levels, and dozens of other components of being all-around healthy. And you could go on and on about all the reasons you CAN'T get enough sleep and all the things you have to do instead of sleep. 

I leave you with this thought:

After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, "Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world." Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. (John 6:14,15)

Y'all -- time and again, Jesus had to walk away from the sick and hurting, the needy and helpless to recharge. MANY times scripture tells us he went to pray. On occasion, we just hear that he was 'by himself' like in John 6. Because he was fully human, Jesus had to sleep. He slept in the middle of a storm! Jesus walked this earth for us to know how to walk this earth. Part of that includes 'shuttin' 'er down' BEFORE you collapse. It requires planning and discipline, but your health (and sanity, and the health and sanity of your family) is worth it.

Your assignment for this week is to get one good night's sleep -- and start PLANNING a way for you to get a good night's sleep at LEAST 4 out of 7 nights.

Get some sleep, stay healthy, and be fit.