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Tryon Daily Bulletin / The World’s Smallest Daily Newspaper
Friday, July 8, 2011
Sleep more like your cat One thing cat lovers can tell hormone.” This is the hormone that is you about their pets is they responsible for much of the sleep an awful lot. Big cats and even their do- repair that takes place in our mestic counterparts can sleep bodies. Without this release as much as 20 hours a day. of HGH, our bodies age preCats are also pound for pound maturely. Also, getting enough sleep among the strongest animals on is essential earth. for our imDoes the Diet & Exercise fact that they by David Crocker m u n e s y s tems to funcsleep so much tion properly. have anything to do with their extraordinary Now some people try to use alcohol to help them sleep. strength? They usually refer to this as a Actually, it just might. Getting enough rest is cru- “night cap.” The problem is, that while cial to keeping our bodies strong. It’s also very impor- alcohol does make you fall tant in our body’s healing asleep quickly, it only allows you to reach stages one and processes. In fact, when I’m working two of sleep. To get a better night’s sleep, with a client, and we have a specific time line (an athlete, there are several things I recmodel or even someone trying ommend you do: to lose a specific amount of • Exercise daily, but not too close to bedtime beweight in a given time frame), cause exercise can cause an one of the very first things I readrenaline rush, which can quire of them is that they get an actually prevent sleep. extra hour of sleep every night. I tell them to do this, wheth- • Avoid alcohol, especially too close to bedtime. er they have to go to bed an hour earlier, or get up an hour • Try to establish regular sleep patterns. later. There are actually five dif- • In extreme cases of insomnia, consult your doctor. He ferent stages of sleep that may be able to help. Proper we experience. They are catstrategies in diet and exeregorized as stages, “One, two, cise can help you make real three, four and REM” sleep. changes in your body. Stages three and four are referred to as “Deep Sleep.” Diet or exercise question? REM sleep is the fifth stage Email me at dwcrocker77@ of sleep, and is called REM, because of the “Rapid Eye gmail.com or visit fitness4yMovement” experienced dur- ourlife.org. David Crocker of Landrum has been a nutritioning this phase. REM sleep is also the stage ist for 24 years. He served as strength diof sleep where we’re able to rector of the Spartanburg dream. During stages three, four Y.M.C.A., Head strength coach and REM our bodies are in a to the S.C. state champion girls constant state of repair. This gymnastic team, USC-Spartanis the time when brain cells burg baseball team, Converse are being replaced and muscle, college equestrian team, Lead bone and organ tissue is re- trainer to L.H. Fields modeling agency, taught four semesters paired. REM sleep is also the period at USC-Union. Crocker was when “HGH” is released. HGH also a regular guest of the Pam stands for “human growth Stone radio show.