VITAE Health Coaching

I was on a call with a men's group recently. Early in the conversation, we were discussing goals, and at one point, one guy on the call said his goal was to lose 40 pounds and get in better shape, but then made a comment saying that goal "may seem a little shallow when I could be spending time with family with the amount of time I spend at work". I had to chime in and say there's nothing more selfLESS than prioritizing your own health - building strength, increasing cardiovascular fitness, losing weight, improving gut health - for the benefit of his family.

I get it - it's alot to think about, try to prioritize with life's hectic schedules and do it correctly. But focusing on anyone one of these reduces your risk of premature death AND increases your healthspan later in life. That means less of a burden to your loved ones, both from a stress and financial perspective, as you age. So if you want to make your loved ones lives easier and get more quality time with them in your later years, now is the time to start lifting weights, getting that heart pumping, meditating, eating clean and getting proper sleep. Your family and your future self will thank you later.

4th time running the today. Still not sure how I’ve only ran this four times in the 15 years I’ve been living here. Regardless, this is always such a fun race. 50,000+ participants. Some run, some walk, some do slip ’n slides. Everyone smiles.

And it's always a little extra fun to set a new PR in a race distance. Whoever says you have to get worse with age is full of s**t. Have fun, do cool s**t and kick some ass this week!

Quality sleep is the foundation for holistic health. It's critical for cardiovascular health, mental health, your immune system, and recovery from a hard workout. Getting just four hours of sleep in a given night reduces your immune system's ability to fight off disease by 70%.

Sleep expert said, "Sleep is the greatest legal performance enhancing drug that most people are probably neglecting." A typical adult needs 7 - 9 hours of sleep per night to maintain optimal cognitive and immune system function. If you're an athlete, 8 - 10 hours of sleep is even more ideal for recovery and build back up properly. A few quick tips:

1) Try to stick to a consistent schedule. Your body loves a consistent schedule when it comes to sleep, as this helps keep your circadian rhythm in check. The more consistent the time you go to bed and the time you wake up, the more easily you will fall asleep at night and get restorative sleep. Try to keep that range within an hour (ex. 9:30 - 10:30 every night).

2) If you take naps during the day (I certainly do), try NOT to nap after 2:00. There's a chemical in your brain called adenosine, which continues to rise throughout the day. As adenosine rises, your need for sleep rises. When you nap, you wipe out adenosine, which may make it harder to fall asleep at night.

3) Avoid caffeine after 2:00. Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors. That late afternoon cup of coffee could be blocking your body's ability to increase adenosine. And even if you do fall asleep quickly, your quality of sleep could be impacted.

4) Keep your bedroom cool. The ideal room temperature for quality sleep is around 65 degrees.

5) Get in a sauna, hot tub, or hot bath late in the evening. This sounds counter-intuitive, but getting into a sauna or hot tub actually decreases your core body temperature. The body's core temperature needs to drop by about 2-3 degrees to fall and stay asleep. The closer to your bedtime, the better.

6) Avoid alcohol late at night. You may have no problem falling asleep, but alcohol will increase your resting heart rate and lower heart rate variability, both of which lead to poor sleep quality.

Wishing you all a happy & healthy week ahead.