Sleepy Bear and Grumpy Bear are close cousins

I dont know what the deal is this year

But personally, i am heading into round 3 (its only March) with cold and flu like symptoms ---

I am already caught up on Breaking BAd and the Walking Dead (at least whats on Netflix) - and am slowly working my way through Parks and Recreation ---   but enough is enough

I wrote about this in recent memory ---  Our body is constantly fighting off illness, but when we are at a low point for whatever reason, - illness leaks through


Its enough to drive a guy or gal crazy


In the meantime though ,  i am going to write a little bit about something that is near and dear to my heart  ------ sleep

My thoughts on sleep have been met with some amusement from some of my non-professional colleagues ----- evidently the need for sleep is still seen as a sign of weakness

 --- just dont tell this guy

There are people out there (many people) who swear that they dont need any more than 5 hours or so of sleep a night ---
    A lot of these folks are so caffeinated during the day with coffee, sodas, sugars and other stimulants that it almost serves to mask the need for sleep .
      But here's the thing about masking sleep -- its also been said that people never really get accustomed to sleep loss, they just become less aware of how impaired they are, even as performance starts to decline - and the decline can start so slowly you dont even know it

Yes -- im yawning too just thinking about it

Lets look at a couple of different issues


1)    Lights     (BIG DUHHHHH )  ---but  soft blue light , like is emitted from computer screens and energy efficient light bulbs, is something we are sensitive to for some reason  ---  start turning /em off and down an hour before beddy time if possible
    probably not doing yourself many favors staying up in bed an extra hour  a night internet surfing on an ipad either , sadly enough

2)  Directly tied in to lights is our recent (within the last 20 years - and really bad in the last 10 ) dependence on technology  --- like i mentioned , -- laying up in bed looking at Facebook on a tablet while your partner snores away in dreamland is exactly what i am talking about.
       Our brains process more garbage now than possibly ever before in mankind's existence --- and it leaves us a tad wired - to the point that after we shut off the computer device, it may tke extra time to get to sleep
   Garbage in, garbage out---  most of us dont wake up from a midnight i-pad session full of enough knowledge to solve our health and financial woes -- We just spent an extra hour of valuable rest looking at selfies and reading humorous little photo captions  like i sprinkle through this blog !

     See this bear?   Hilarious ! -- And far more wholesome than anything you will see on facebook --- so if you have to stay up late , just re-read my archives and tell your friends to do the same  ----  Insomnia is never better

3)  Another thing that is hard to BEAR is temperature  -- too hot is not great -- if its too warm, your body cant cool properly and higher core temperatures lead to restlessness ----  

   Its been researched that 66 degrees or so is the optimum temp for sleep 

4)

   Another thing that is critical is stress level

           --- When your full of anxiety , like these cranky bears, -- it interferes with the ability to relax ----  it also causes you to wake up too early, or wake up in the middle of the night unexpectedly --

Anybody ever wake up at 4 am the night before some big day , when you were supposed to wake up at 630?     Thats what im talking about

If you are tossing and turning ---  get out of bed and do something different for a little bit ---  read a book (not TV, video games,  or i-pads  that only provides more soul crushing blue light stimulation )

                     See? When your cranky you take it out on other people , like the little bear above !

Researchers still cant pin point exactly how much sleep is "enough"  - but many say at least 7 hours to 8 hours per night is associated with the best outcomes 

On a personal level , i will second that,  and i also encourage daily naps when possible.    lots of high end trainers also recommend up to 10 hours sleep a day broken out between nightly sleep and a 1 to 2 hour nap at midday  

       --  I dont train at an elite level personally, -  and not many do because of the extreme time committment ---  so i am fine with a 20-45 minute nap when i can , but i dont freak if i miss a day or two  

          2 hours only seems to be needed when you are flirting with extreme exhaustion everyday  , - but there are many among us who do just that

As for me , im a very poor example right now because im up typing this at 2AM,  -- but rest assured  I am on my way

Thanks once again for reading this everybody

Keep the comments flowin' --- While i obviously encourage everyone to eat well and train regularly -- these are the most words i have spent on the subject of sleep  --

Try to get a little more in if you dont fit the 7-8 hour a day mold , plus an occasional 20-45 minute power nap during the week  --
   -- you might like it !  

Goodnight

_______________________________________________________________________

  Just a quick reminder, if you like what you read, forward this email to a friend, or use the little tab at the bottom to link it to your facebook page.  

 Thank you very much in advance for your support and send me an email at   Dougmcbride@fitclaimspro.com   to be added to the hard subscriber list

---- Doug

_______________________________________________________________________________
disclaimer:    The information contained here is not intended to replace the medical advice of your physician and is not intended as medical advice.  This newsletter/blog is a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of the staff of Fitclaimspro.com and professional colleagues unless otherwise noted

The Bricklayer's Story

This post is a far cry from my usual monologues but bear with  ------

There is iron in these words and its inspired by 2 great men, as well as a song that reminded me of their story, (or parts of )






The Bricklayer's Story


            I am not in the habit of celebrating pop culture too much,  --- but i posted a link to an obscure song below from Dicky Barrett and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones


Why?    ----  I am remembering my dad and a dear friend of his. ---  Both from SE Oklahoma, -- a poorer section of the country you would be hard pressed to find 40-50 years ago.  

         They didnt know each other back then, although they were likely only a few miles apart at any given time ---  it wasnt until 1988 that they came in contact ----

My dad needed a bricklayer due to an incident at my childhood home that i instituted (hit the side of the garage with my truck)

          My dad (Doug McBride Sr ) and Bob soon became fast friends due to their common geographical bond ----  in later years i remember many afternoons of them playing horseshoes and having good old fashioned bull sessions in the backyard
        When my dad retired after many years of government service with the FAA and the Army,  he occasionally helped Bob with some bricklayin' jobs from time to time  
        ----  they were both roughly the same age, - mid 50's -- and my dad related to me that it was rewarding work for him compared to what he had been used to as an executive with the federal government.      He had to blend economy of motion, stamina and perseverance together everyday to get jobs done , and -- for him at least, it was fun  (i dont think he needed the check - i think he did it as a personal challenge of sorts - and for that, i have much respect)

    On the other hand , Bob was a bricklayer by trade and needed every check he got -------  the 2009 song from the Bosstones reminded me of my dad his friendship with this good man

   The chorus explains it all

"A lifetime lifting cinderblocks, stacking bricks and mixing mortar
Gave this man his crooked walk and kept his life in order" 

Bob didnt exactly walk crooked, as the song implies ----- but i never heard him utter a word in anger, nor a curse word, -- everyday he acted the true professional that he was and lived close to his beliefs in living a clean life  ---   and physically, kept working harder than most until the point that he couldnt lift a trowel 

 
My dad and Bob both contracted (diagnosed - who knows how that disease actually works)  cancer within a few months of each other -----  Both in their early 60's,  neither one smoked or engaged in high risk activities associated with that disease  ---- it just hit them   and they passed away within a couple months of each other in 2008 -----  My dad was gone first and i broke the news to Bob, who was hairless from chemo at the time and recounted to me some of the telephone conversations he had with my dad concerning their shared disease ---

----  2 months later Bob was gone as well, from this earth at least, ---- but i would like to think they are together in heaven pitching games of horseshoes, drinking cheap beer , and b-sing around about politics




Live a good life  --- Live a clean life --- reap the benefits that go along with that --- but realize that we all have a target on our backs --- the date may not be set in stone ,  ---- but its there.           In the meantime,  live your life with the thought of being a great example for those younger than you --- through actions, not words,  and with the quiet strength that comes from hard work without bluster



             We can't all be bricklayers,  ---  but we can live our lives as if we were
     



Godspeed Bob and Dad


This song made me think of Dad and Bob   -----

in Bob's case,  as the chorus implies,   a lifetime lifting cinderblocks, stacking bricks and mixing mortar ---- kept his life in order

link to the song is highlighted below, -   and the lyrics are attached as well


The Bricklayers story -- Bosstones


Just a bricklayer by trade a harder worker you won't find
He was like fifty when I met him maybe fifteen years ago
A Scottish American and a master with the trowel
He swears that he's the urban legend you hear about on every job and site

A lifetime lifting cinderblocks, stacking bricks and mixing mortar
Gave this man his crooked walk and kept his life in order

Here's about half an explanation and then not too much information
Until the day he died he bragged that he's the one that rode the rope
All six stories of that building from the pavement to the roof
And then all the way back down to earth

A lifetime lifting cinderblocks, stacking bricks and mixing mortar
Gave this man his crooked walk and kept his life in order
A lifetime lifting cinderblocks, stacking bricks and mixing mortar
Gave this man his crooked walk and made his lifetime shorter

"On the way up my skull was fractured and my collarbone was broken
The barrel i was working with broke both of my forearms and the bones in my wrists"
Don't believe a word of it, but the one thing that I'm sure about is this:

A lifetime lifting cinderblocks, stacking bricks and mixing mortar
Gave this man his crooked walk and kept his life in order
A lifetime lifting cinderblocks, stacking bricks and mixing mortar
Gave this man his crooked walk [x3]
And made his lifetime shorter






  Douglas McBride Sr. 1946-2008

The epilogue :       Keep your life in order through hard work, diligence and perseverance  -------  attack each day like you have a wall to put up

------   Im still working on mine


Your next 5,10, 20, or 30 years are not guaranteed but live your days to the fullest anyway