Sleep and breathwork are the evolutionary drivers of our health, energy levels and longevity in life. If you know about my M.A.P.S. system, you’ll know that Strong Resting is the fourth pillar of the system.
First, let's talk about sleep.
Sleep is the foundation of our health, and plays a key role in disease prevention throughout our lives.
As a multi-passionate business owner, many people might be surprised that I fiercely guard the beginning and end of my day. I have learned the hard way that if I don’t refuel my body’s battery, I’m not able to perform at 100% or give my clients the energy they deserve.
It’s a new fad in the 21st century to boast about how busy you are, or how you are so hyperproductive that you only sleep five hours a night. Here’s the deal, you are burning your candle at both ends. It’s not going to last, and in many ways, you can set yourself back further than if you just leaned into some quality rest and relaxation.
Guinness world records banned people from trying to set the record for the longest time without sleep. Why? Because lack of sleep is so dangerous for mental health, metabolic health, cardiovascular health and more. People can shoot for extremely high-risk records, but sleep is off-limits. When you put that into context, it’s a pretty big deal!
According to sleep expert, Dr. Matthew Walker, one of the most prominent physiological changes that occur when we age is that our sleep gets worst.
Sleep is the regulator of your immune system.
It’s when your body consolidates memory, repairs muscles and tissues, and releases hormones. In the world today, sleep is stigmatized as laziness. Rarely do we go around asking, are you getting enough sleep? Is there anything I can do to make sure you have the bandwidth to sleep and rest every day?
If you reduced your oxygen supply by 20-25%, this would feel monumental. However, over the past 70 years, we’ve lost 20-25% of our sleep.
So why aren’t we treating Strong Resting with the same importance as breathing, eating, and other biological functions? One of the biggest things about ‘wellness’ communities today is that there is a huge emphasis on the outside, and not on what’s going on inside.
If we started prioritising health based on the wellness of our nervous system, mental health, cardiovascular and immune health— our routines would certainly look a lot different than just trying to hit a time in a race, a number in the gym or working to slim down for bikini season.
If you are familiar with my work, you know I like to teach from a place of sustainability, fun, curiosity, and longevity. I’m not here to transform your life in ten days. I help you get into a healthy rhythm that fills up your cup, gives you permission to take days off, and gets you to your goals with consistency.
Sleep and Strong Resting is a huge part of that and it’s not just about how long you sleep, but the quality of your sleep.
If you are reacting to everything in your life, and are stuck in a stressful state, your sleep quality will decrease. This isn’t just my opinion, it’s science.
If more people approached health from a place of balance, things would feel a lot less overwhelming.
You can’t control the evolutionary needs of your body, which leads me to my next point, breathwork.
I’ve recently become a breathwork instructor under the Oxygen Advantage system, and I want to cover a brief rundown of the power of our breath. I know at this point you might be thinking, okay Julie we get it, breathing is important. But just like sleep, as humans, I really think we are so prone to overlooking the simplicity of what it means to be healthy.
We want to purchase something that will transform how we look, think and feel, instead of changing our everyday actions. Everyone has access to takes part in sleeping and breathing everyday, therefore, everyone has the tools they need to make a difference.
The Oxygen Advantage is a collection of unique breathing exercises that advance health and optimise human performance. The two main pillars are establishing functional breathing and the simulation of high altitude training. Functional breathing allows you to breathe more easily and boost oxygen availability. Simulation of altitude training allows you to recover faster, delay lactic acid, and reach your full performance potential.
When we can nasal breathe lightly and slowly we are able to calm the nervous system, soothe racing thoughts, and bring ourselves back into our body. This aids in our wind-down routine, transitioning from work mode to rest mode. Additionally, how we breathe while we sleep influences the quality of sleep we receive. We should all be nose breathing when we sleep, similarly to how we should be nose breathing throughout the day.
During the day we can consciously switch when we become aware of it and depending on how demanding the task at hand is most people can nose breathe when they focus on it and are in a relaxed state. How we breathe during the night is a reflection and product of how we breathe during the day.
The nose is where our body produces nitric oxide, filters our air, and signals to our nervous system that everything is okay. Breathing through the nose may reduce snoring, sleep apnea, and even colds and respiratory infections.
The main reason I incorporate breathwork into Strong Resting is because building these routines helps you unconsciously transition your sleep breathing pattern. Scientists are getting increasingly concerned about open-mouth sleep breathing, and it’s something many of us fall victim to unconsciously.
My primary takeaway for you here is that sleep and breathwork are an evolutionary reset.
In my M.A.P.S. system, I focus on Movement Snacks, an Age Positive Mindset and Adventures, Parkour and Play and Strong Resting. Just as much as I help my clients implement the first three pillars, we also carve out habits for Strong Resting: sleep, breathwork, recovery and how to down regulate your nervous system so you have more energy, get stronger, healthier and are happier.
As your start to adjust your habits and step into full-body wellness, not just gimmicky diets and workout plans, you feel the difference in catering to your biological demands within the ebbs and flows of modern day to day life.
Slowing down and refining how you sleep and how you breathe is not laziness, it’s the necessary foundation for all your other hard work to make a difference.