Articles I’m reading this week
1. Overdoing it on Exercise (pdf copy)
This popped up in Google Reader today, when I was already feeling kind of sick but really wanted to work out… oops, one of the signs of exercise addiction. This is an interesting read on people who exercise so much it’s negatively affecting their work, relationships, and health. Have you ever thought you might be an exercise addict?
2. Does your diet influence how well you sleep? (pdf copy)
This article really piqued my interest because I’ve been eating healthier and have had so much energy I am not sleeping through the night well AT. ALL. According to the article (among other things) – “For the study, very short sleep patterns were defined as less than five hours a night, short sleep was five to six hours a night, standard sleep was seven to eight hours, and long sleep was nine or more hours a night. Short sleepers consumed the most calories, followed by normal sleepers, then very short sleepers. Long sleepers consumed the least calories. Normal sleepers, however, showed the highest food variety in their diets, and very short sleepers had the least variation in what they ate.”
Hmm. I am calling BS. It is true that I sleep like crap when I eat like crap, but why am I still sleeping like crap now?!
I am calling BS on this too (from the March issue of Men’s Health):
Or maybe my lack of sleep is due to item #1 above?! Hmm…
3. Most Americans take breaks from Facebook (pdf copy) & Dad pays daughter $200 to quit Facebook (pdf copy)
You guys know I love reading articles about the social dynamics on Facebook, so I had to share these two! People’s comments on why they take breaks from Facebook was amusing to me. What causes you to take Facebook breaks? I actually know a few people who periodically go on and off of Facebook. I go to tag them, and they’re gone and then I realize they are taking another break.
4. Getting into your exercise groove (pdf copy)
An interesting article explaining how our bodies want to stay at their preset paces for running/walking, and that a strong rhythmic beat is a good way to overcome that (if you want to speed up step frequency). I would love to use this as an excuse to start listening to music on my runs again!
What are you reading this week? Any interesting articles you want to share?
Themocracy
I totally agree on listening to music affects your pace! I LOVE a good, upbeat song- I really do go faster! I also read an article on a study that said that people that use Twitter is a valuable support system to help people lose weight. Not the case for me, but very interesting! Wonder if the same is true for Facebook…
Oh! I think I have heard that before. That if you tweet what you eat it holds you accountable? Or were they talking more about the feedback you get?
That guy who is paying his daughter to take a break from Facebook is from my hometown. ha! I just finished a book I’ve been reading for 5 months (I’m terribly slow) and picked up another book to start reading. It’s one of those VERY rare weeks when I can say I’ve read two different books! =)
That’s awesome (about the books and the hometown thing, lol)!
Some books take me FOREVER to finish. I am always proud when I actually do (instead of giving up!).
Thanks for these. I think #1 is especially interesting. I definitely feel that I am sometimes an over-exerciser – not to the 3 hour a day level, but still. In fact my new year’s resolution in 2011 and 2012 was to exercise and run less.
I liked this article today at refinery 29 entitled “Is Social Media Making you Depressed” http://www.refinery29.com/effects-of-social-media (I wrote a post on a similar topic this summer: http://wp.me/p2m3ve-n3)
Ooo, that is a great post you wrote. I could go on about this, but comparison makes me so sad. I have one friend who is constantly down on herself, comparing herself to others 🙁
Me too, that was one of the things that made me write the post. I think our social media (and blog) personas usually put only the positive things out there. I think people think that I am always running, traveling and funning (which is only mostly true ;)) I work full time and have my share of stress, anxiety and blahs. I choose to share those (mostly) privately!
I find the connections between exercise and sleep really interesting. Sometimes when I’m doing a lot of high mileage I sleep like crap, I think because my body kinda gets stuck in overdrive. I found this article about recovery really interesting:
http://running.competitor.com/2013/02/training/improve-tomorrows-workout-today_21564
That article is interesting! I don’t think I ever take in carbs and protein during a long workout. I wonder if that would help me!
I find it helps me a lot. I’ve been using the Pacific Health Labs products (Accelerade, Endurox, Accel Gel), which unfortunately are vegetarian but not vegan. (I’m pretty sure they use whey protein.) I’m not sure if there are vegan options out there.
I thought I read once that a side-effect of over training was sleeping like crap. Did my brain make that up? Maybe you’re anxious about getting in your workouts and that’s making you unable to sleep? Actually, you’re probably anxious about work and that’s affecting your sleep, too.
Also, I SWEAR I’ve read that exercising too close to your bedtime can make it more difficult to fall asleep. So, I call BS on the Men’s Health article, too. Of course, I call BS on a lot of Men’s Health…
I know that if I exercise at night I have the hardest time sleeping. So, I agree with both of you too!
Yeah, not being able to sleep is a sign of over-training! You are not making that up. I just read it 😉 A lot of times I am so excited about the next day that I cannot sleep. Lamest thing ever.
1. I think I’m ok on the first one. I like running and exercise but I wouldn’t call it an addiction by any means. I don’t have one of those addictive personalities though so I’m not surprised. The article is really interesting though.
2. I usually sleep soundly 6-7 hours a night through the week and often 8-9 hours on the weekends. I’ve never really had trouble sleeping regardless of what I eat so I have no idea if it affects me or not. I do know that alcohol sometimes affects me sleep (negatively).
3. As for FB, I haven’t been active on there in over a week. I was mostly avoiding talk about the super bowl. I sometimes open it up to see if I have any alerts but otherwise haven’t read any status updates. I prefer twitter these days. I wish someone would pay me to quit facebook!
4. That article was really interesting. Yesterday I decided to do a quick 2 miles on the treadmill so I ran at paces I haven’t tried on the treadmill before. I maxed out at 9pmh for a quarter mile and finished 2 miles in 15:10. While I was terrified I might trip and fall off the treadmill, it was interesting how my legs just kind of knew how to run that fast when I bumped up the speed.
Thanks for sharing these articles! I haven’t read anything too interesting this week.
That sounds like a fun speed workout! 🙂
What i eat doesn’t so much affect how i sleep as how i sleep, as how i sleep affects what i eat! My mom is a sleep therapist, so i have all kinds of nifty sleep insights 🙂
They did mention in the article how the poorer you sleep, the poorer you eat. That is cool your mom is a sleep therapist! Does she watch people sleep in a lab, or do they come in to her office to brainstorm sleep problem causes?
She actually watches them sleep, and takes stats and stuff (oxygen, HR) But usually she calls them out for terrible pre-sleep behaviors, haha!
The overexercising article is really interesting. Using their criteria, it seems like a lot of people would qualify as overexercisers..I’m not sure how to better define it either. Very interesting!
I feel like some of what they list in the first article is BS. I think people absolutely can over exercise and over train and it can hurt them – but some of the symptoms they describe are true any time you break a routine. I definitely don’t over exercise – I think I top out at 6 hours a week. But if you break a routine, whether that’s a show you watch every day when you wake up, a cup of tea with breakfast and you run out of tea, or a run every day – if you break the routine, you’re going to get edgy and irritated; that’s why tapering is hard. So, while what they describe is possible, I feel like they’re being way too general, I guess?
Yeah, I see what you mean! Isn’t that why they say kids excel on routine? We are all cranky when you break our routine! Whether or not it’s too much!
I WISH I had an exercise addiction! I think I have the opposite of you–a sleep addiction. Ha ha.
I’m reading Nursing stuff. Nah, I don’t want to share, it’s quite boring to the world, unless of course you’re a nurse…lol
I’ve been sleeping like crap too lately. I am super stressed, yes, but I’m also working out harder (it seem to help with the stress)…not sure what’s up with that. I remember when I was training for the marathon last year how exhausted I was on high mileage weeks and how I slept so great…. Maybe I need to train for another marathon…nah…
Some great articles to print and read on my breaks in the jury room (no electronics allowed). Thanks for sharing!
I am thinking about giving up facebook for Lent. I still need to set my ground rules, but it would be something like a) I don’t go on facebook for 40 days (all of lent, until Easter Sunday) or b) I am only allowed on facebook once a day and thats it. I am trying to cut back on the time I spend on facebook at home, mainly after dinner. I need to stay busier at night time.
That is one of the reasons listed that people gave it up! I think for ALL of us to give ourselves parameters, like, once a day or so, would be a good thing 🙂 (I am on it like every hour, now!)