Final Piece of the Deep Sleep Puzzle

Discovering the pathway to the ultimate life hack, deep sleep, was a frustratingly slow journey for me. Until I got an Oura ring I didn’t even know that I was only getting on average of twenty minutes a night. I felt like I was doing all the right things - eating well, exercising, de-stressing through yoga and meditation, avoiding alcohol, fasting after 7pm, yet still my results were lagging. I found I was still sitting well below the average range or my age, not a place I like to be! But it wasn’t until I got the sauna and then the ice bath that my results starting excelling. The missing pieces of the deep sleep puzzle found at last!

But lets jump back to the beginning of this journey, hormones raging, my lower abdomen felt like someone was wringing out a tea towel inside of it, the pain coming in waves.  No more I thought to myself, this isn’t actually okay and surely there is something more than painkillers can help out with this monthly situation.  This seeking eventually led me to a doctor who was focused on taking a proactive approach to health, rather than a reactionary one.  It was expensive, but I’d come to the realisation that without our health what do we have. 

A friend of mine was going through her cancer journey at the time.  She’d recently been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and was prepared to do, and throw money at, anything to fight this.  It really was an eye opener for me as to what is required, when disease has overtaken the body and the true value in putting my health first and really listen when my body gives me some information to indicate something isn’t right.  I thought by eating a healthy diet, consuming a minimal amount of alcohol, practising yoga, meditating and exercising that I was in the low risk zone, but then again so was she.  No stone was left unturned with all sorts of tests done, including on my DNA to determine what my underlying weaknesses, and strengths, were.  There were five areas of focus - sleep, nutrition, metabolism, physical performance and resilience.  Sleep is purposefully mentioned first, as without getting the right amount of quality sleep then my body isn’t being given a chance to fully restore itself. 

Purchasing an Oura ring was instrumental in this journey.  This device is the market leader in sleep tracking and keeps me honest in what impacts a good nights rest.  If I eat later than 7pm or have even one alcoholic beverage my results will be impacted, with my resting heart rate lower in the later half of the night.  This is an indication of my digestive system working hard, rather than been given a chance to rest, so my body can start working on repairing other vital organs.