My doctor is a fool!

You've heard the old saying, A doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient and a fool for a doctor). So be it.

For some time now, I have had a strange form of insomnia, possibly related to my absurd eating patterns. I eat a good percentage of my calories after 6 pm. Actually, I have read in the literature that this pattern is presently being studied as a syndrome to see why so many of us do that, and why. In any event, I do, and I don't know why (I have my thoughts on it).

One of the problems with sleep is loss of deep sleep. This occurs early in the sleep cycle when we first slide into the arms of Morpheus. This is a very important stage of sleep, however short, because it is during this deep sleep that the pituitary gland secretes Growth Hormone. GH, in adults, is what catalyzes healing throughout the body, including the muscular system (see previous blog on exercise and recovery). So, as I continue to paddle the majority of days and sleep poorly, my poor muscles get over worked and never get their deep sleep vacation. Therefore, I feel like crap lately.

You may want to know that the rest of the night is spent gradually waking and going back down into deeper sleep with an upward trend. During this time we have REM sleep during which we dream. I remember in torture school that we were told that if we were captured our enemy would watch our eye lids for Rapid Eye Movements and immediately wake us. After two or three nights (and days) of this, we were assured, we would be nearlly wacko and tell them anything. In my case, the info would have been less than helpful to them (I kept trying to find someone to teach me to say don't hurt me I am a doctor in vietnamese...but I digress).

So, we need the two phases of sleep for physical and mental health. I am not doing well, at least in the deep-sleep department. Considering some of things I have written here, I may not be doing too well in the REM area either.

If I think I will do something, I might. If I tell one other person I will do something, it is more likely I will. If I write it here and all 3 of my readers see it, it is even more likely I will do it. It is a matter of upping the buy in and the chance I will really do it.. So, I will say here, if changing my eating pattern over the next two days doesn't solve my sleep problem, I will consult a doctor other than myself.

There, I said it. I upped mine (as an old REMAX slogan used to say), now you up yours.

Paddle safe.
DS