CONTROL THE CORTISOL
I used to be a chronic sleep depriver. Going to bed late and then waking up early. It was to the point that I would find myself nodding off frequently if I allowed myself to slow down.
While I knew this wasn't helping my mental state, I didn't realize how it was impacting my hormones.
As I've gotten older and continually monitor my bloodwork, once I started getting more sleep, I saw an immediate improvement in my hormone levels, specially testosterone.
Due to the sufficient sleep, I was able to pull waaay back on my caffeine intake. That, along with leaving a high stress and unfulfilling job, compounded the reduction in cortisol.
While I recognize that we can't eliminate all the stress and circumstances in life, certainly there are aspects that we always improve. Focus on the areas you can control along with how you react to the things you can’t.
Not only will controlling cortisol have a general impact on quality of life, but will help your progress in the gym.
