Nas Was Wrong
"I never sleep,
'Cuz sleep is the cousin of death."
-Nasir Jones (Illmatic; 1992)
Thirty-three years (and 30,000 hours of reading) later, it is abundantly clear that Nas was giving his impressionable young fans the worst possible health advice that humans could ever receive. Nobody ever accused Nas of being a physician, but since I am, let me cook:
We generally formulate our health strategy around nutrition and exercise, but sleep is every bit as important and deserves to be prioritized with the same enthusiasm.
Via glymphatic activation, sleep literally cleans your brain and dramatically reduces your risk of neurodegenerative disease (alzheimers, parkinson, for example).
Sleep promotes release of growth hormone and reduces the release of cortisol; improving metabolism and reducing blood pressure, blood sugar, and risk of obesity...basically, all the problems my patients face on a daily basis.
NO HEALTH STRATEGY IS COMPLETE WITHOUT IT!
Now that you have given up bread and feel less bloated and more energetic, lets focus our attention on sleep.
The goals of this week are threefold:
Get at least 6 hours of sleep each night. Less than 6 hours causes hormonal disruption.
DO NOT be awake for more than 3 hours between 10pm and 5am. It is considered a "probable carcinogen" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to do so. In other words, get to bed early.
Do not consume anything other than water during the 2 hours before sleep...to do so causes hormonal changes that increase the frequency of 2am awakenings.
Stacking good habits.
Lets stay healthy together.
Have a great sleep...I mean week!!
Dr. P Fabian Garcia
Less meds. More Health.
