Sleep and Wellness

This just in…if you are well rested, you have a much less likelihood of getting sick. We wish we could give you complete scientific data to support this assertion but we don’t have such at our fingertips – though we are certain there is such data available everywhere.

At our swim meet this weekend several coaches, us included, commented on the flurry of illness running through portions of each of our teams. No one seemed untouched. And of course kids are in school which is basically a petri dish so…

We also talked with Theo this weekend. Some of you know Theo or know about him. If you are curious simply Google Theo St. Francis and you can see more of his story.

For today’s purposes you need to know that Theo spends 4 hours a day, 4 days a week at SCI FIT in Pleasanton, CA. This is a very specific gym/rehab center for Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) clients. He works diligently pretty much all the time, every day regaining the use of his entire body.

He asked “How’s the team doing?” and we gave him the latest while mentioning the sickness some are experiencing. He said, “For the last 100 days I have been monitoring my sleep. I have been in bed averaging 8.75 hours a night; occasionally a little less, and then making up for it the next night. I wash my hands and face normally since at SCI FIT I am in contact with countless other folks from all walks of life, in all sorts of condition, using equipment that they are using as well. I have been free from illness for 100 days and I believe it has to do with the amount of rest I am getting.”

He says that even if he is awake he stays in bed resting. We ask our student/athletes to set their alarms for 9 PM and go to bed then. If they need to do more school work, get up early and do it in the morning when you are fresh. We know several, though not all are making this happen with a fair amount of regularity. We have many on our team who do not get sick when others do.

We think rest makes a huge difference. We know that humans adapt to stress (get stronger) during recovery. Sleep is a daily dose of recovery. Make sure you are getting all you need. Organize your day so you can sleep at night. Do it…