How to Take the Perfect Nighttime Bath or Shower That Will Put You to Sleep

New research shows the optimal time and temperature in order to wind down for the night.

By Danielle Zickl

 

Aliaksandra Ivanova / EyeEmGetty Images

• According to a new study published in the journal Sleep Medicine Reviews, taking a hot shower or bath one to two hours before bedtime can help you fall asleep faster.
• This is because your body temperature plays an important part in regulating your sleep/wake cycle.
• However, if you take a shower or bath too close to bedtime, it’s too late to have any effect—and it may even disrupt the natural circadian process controlling sleep.

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Getting a good night’s sleep is important not only for our performance as an athlete, but also so we don’t feel like a zombie going about our other daily activities and responsibilities. Sipping a cup of tea, reading, or meditating are all things that help people wind down before bed.

But how about a sleep aid that pulls double duty? Taking a warm bath or shower—you needed to do that anyway, right?—can help you get an adequate amount of shuteye, according to a new review published in Sleep Medicine Reviews.

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin reviewed 5,322 studies to figure out if “water-based passive body heating”—a.k.a. a warm shower or bath—before bedtime can help improve sleep. They looked at how presleep showers or baths affected things like how long it takes to fall asleep, total sleep time, sleep quality, and sleep efficiency—or the ratio of total sleep time to time spent in bed.

Their findings? When people took a bath or shower that was between 104 and 109 degrees Fahrenheit one to two hours before they wanted to head to bed, they were able to fall asleep about 10 minutes faster on average.  According to lead study author Shahab Haghayegh, Ph.D.(c), of UT Austin’s department of biomedical engineering, body temperature is important in regulating your sleep/wake cycle.

“It’s an essential factor in achieving rapid sleep onset and high-efficiency sleep,” Haghayegh told Bicycling. Translation: It makes you nod off faster and spend more time in bed actually sleeping as opposed to just laying there staring at the ceiling.

Warm baths and showers stimulate the body’s thermoregulatory system—or the system that regulates your body’s core temperature, Haghayegh said.

“Therefore, if baths are taken at the right biological time—one to two hours before bedtime—they will aid the natural circadian process and increase one’s chances of not only falling asleep more quickly, but and getting better sleep.”

In other words, the hot water raises your body temperature, and the resulting fall in your body temperature as you cool off mimics the drop in body temperature that signals it’s time to go to sleep.

However, if you take a shower or bath too close to bedtime, Haghayegh said, it’s too late to have any effect—and it may even disrupt the natural circadian process controlling sleep.

But not everyone knows exactly what temperature their bath or shower water is. So how can you tell that your bath water is the right temperature if you don’t have a thermometer handy?

According to Haghayegh, your water temperature should feel warm to a little hot. So as long as you feel comfortably hot—but not hot enough that you’re scalding your skin—that should be about the right temperature.

The bottom line? Taking a hot bath or shower one to two hours before hitting the hay can help you get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer.

Danielle Zickl Associate Health & Fitness Editor Danielle specializes in interpreting and reporting the latest health research and also writes and edits in-depth service pieces about fitness, training, and nutrition.

4 Heat Stroke Prevention Tips to Ride Healthy and Happy All Summer Long

Human performance experts give the lowdown on how to stay cool when the temperatures rise.

By Michael Nystrom

Let’s reflect for a moment: It’s Stage 2 of the 2013 Tour of California, and the peloton faces a 200-kilometer day from Murrieta to Palm Springs. After a hilly route that included a 4-mile climb to the finish, Javier Acevedo and Tejay van Garderen ride under the flamme rouge together, indicating 1 kilometer to go. Acevedo throws down a last-minute acceleration, not only securing him the win, but also the leader’s jersey.

If you don’t remember this stage for Acevedo’s breakthrough performance, perhaps you remember the conditions. The peloton faced temperatures reaching 120 degrees Fahrenheit, with pavement temps measuring even hotter. A few riders abandoned on the final climb (with Pieter Serry in serious condition) due to the heat, and those who crossed the finish line collapsed on the tarmac, suffering blisters and burns on exposed skin. Naturally, this brought up criticism of the race organizers and questions of when a race should be shortened (or canceled) due to dangerously hot conditions.

While we’d never advise anyone to ride in such extreme conditions, this stage serves as a solid reminder to take the right precautions once the mercury starts to rise. Here, experts share their best heat stroke prevention tips so you can protect yourself from overheating and ride happy and healthy all summer long.

Heat Exhaustion vs. Heat Stroke

Before we break down how to monitor and limit the effects of heat, let’s dissect the difference between heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The distinction isn’t always clear cut, but symptoms of either should be addressed immediately.

“Heat exhaustion symptoms include heavy sweating, cool clammy skin, fast weak pulse, nausea or vomiting, feeling dizzy with headache and maybe fainting,” says Andy Pruitt, founder of Boulder Center for Sports and a medical consultant for Specialized Bicycle Components.

To treat heat exhaustion, Pruitt recommends moving into the shade as soon as possible, loosening clothing, wetting the body for evaporation, and sipping on water or eating ice chips. “Get medical help if your symptoms begin to change toward heat stroke,” he says.

On the other hand, “heat stroke symptoms include fever, hot red skin, fast pounding pulse, severe headache, nausea or vomiting, mental disorientation, or loss of consciousness,” says Pruitt. If you or a fellow rider are experiencing any of these symptoms, he says the treatment is simple: Call 911. “Move the person to the shade, douse the body with water or an ice bath, do not give food or water, this is a medical emergency.”

As mentioned, the lines are slightly blurred between heat exhaustion and heat stroke, so if you’re uncertain which one you’re experiencing, it’s always safer to err on the side of caution and contact a medical professional immediately.

Heat Stroke Prevention

Diagnosing your heat-related condition can prove to be difficult, but there are some surefire ways you can prevent an issue from happening.

1. Use Your Data

Utilizing your heart rate monitor and power meter can help quantify some of the effects of riding in the heat. Generally, riders with these two devices know what metrics to expect on an average ride, so if something looks off, it probably is.  “On hot and humid days when heart rate values are high relative to power output, it can be a sign the body is heating up and mechanical efficiency is declining,” explains Todd Carver, Head of Human Performance at Specialized Bicycle Components. “Part of this heart rate increase is an autonomic cardiovascular strategy to send more blood to the skin for cooling, and part of it is an increase in HR to maintain cardiac output while the heart’s stroke volume is declining due to dehydration.”

Make sure to stay on top of your hydration plan. Pruitt says you can consume twice as much of a cool, diluted sports drink as you normally would. Replacing the electrolytes you lose through sweat is extra important when riding in the heat.

70 calories per serving, available in a women’s specific formulas to manage blood plasma changes during the menstrual cycle.

2. Keep Your Cool

To mitigate the effects of heat on the body, Carver recommends stopping to frequently fill your bottles with ice cold water, and squirt some water over your head and down your back throughout the ride. We saw this at the Tour of California, especially after the race when riders were resting on wet towels soaked in icy water. Some pros have even been known to stuff pantyhose with ice and stick them in their jerseys to keep their core temperatures down.

3. Avoid High Heat

When possible, try to exercise outdoors when it’s not extremely warm, suggests Pruitt. Schedule your rides during the early morning hours for a #dawnpatrol spin or late afternoon before the sun sets. This allows you take advantage of the cooler temps throughout the day without being stuck on an indoor trainer to get the miles in.

4. Adjust Your Kit

Hot days are not the days to reach for that all black kit, no matter how light or breathable the fabric. Instead, Pruitt says to opt for a light-colored, loose-fitting kit—bonus points for mesh vents in high heat areas such as the underarms or back. Choose a well-ventilated helmet and wear a wet cloth or sun cap to keep your head cool. And always, always Wear sunscreen of at least 30 to 50 SPF on exposed skin.

Michael Nystrom Freelance Writer Michael Nystrom is a two-time IRONMAN finisher and a former editor at Active Network, Muscle & Performance and Oxygen Magazine.

How to Exercise to Cut Your Age-Related Fitness Decline in Half

The benefits of breaking a sweat persist even 10 years later, new research shows.

By Danielle Zickl

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• The benefits of being aerobically fit and participating in high-intensity cardio in middle age can last for up to 10 years, according to a new study from the journal Frontiers in Physiology.
• But low-intensity exercise can also benefit your metabolic health—like blood pressure and insulin levels.

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There are tons of reasons why you might love being on your bike: to get from point A to point B, to chase that PR, or simply just to stay in shape. Regardless of your motivation, the physical benefits of cycling—among other forms of exercise—can stay with you for longer than you might expect, according to new research from the journal Frontiers in Physiology.  

Researchers followed up with participants of a different study—published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise that ran from 1999 to 2003—10 years after the fact to see what their current health was like.

The 2003 study involved 384 sedentary, overweight people between the ages of 40 and 65 years old who had to either remain sedentary or start exercising regularly for eight months. Those who had to exercise were randomly split into the following three groups: low amount of moderate-intensity exercise, low amount of vigorous-intensity exercise, and high amount of vigorous-intensity exercise. Those who exercised in any capacity saw improvements in their aerobic fitness, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and waist circumference.

So, to figure out what the lasting impact on these improvements might be, researchers gathered 104 of the previous study’s participants for a new “reunion” study. First, they filled out medical history and physical activity questionnaires. Next, they had their heights, body masses, resting blood pressures, and minimal waist circumferences measured. Finally, they underwent a maximal treadmill exercise test to measure their cardio fitness.

The results? The participants from the 2003 study who either remained sedentary or who did a low amount of moderate-intensity exercise were less aerobically fit. They lost 10 percent of their aerobic capacity in the 10 years that followed—a rate that was twice as high as those who performed vigorous activity in the original study. 

People start naturally losing aerobic fitness after around age 28 or so due to a 1 percent decrease in max heart rate per year, says study coauthor William Kraus, M.D., a professor of medicine Duke University’s Division of Cardiology. This suggests that vigorous activity could stave off the age-related decline in fitness more than moderate activity, possibly because vigorous activity helps strengthen your heart, improving its ability to pump blood to—and strengthen—your lungs and other parts of your body, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

But while those who did moderate-intensity activity didn’t gain as much cardio benefit, they still experienced metabolic benefits, such as no increase in blood pressure and a decrease in fasting insulin and glucose levels. Lower fasting insulin and glucose levels means you have less of a chance at developing conditions like obesity and diabetes.

And while researchers aren’t totally sure why vigorous exercise helps maintain a good level of cardio fitness in the longterm, but low or moderate exercise helps maintain good metabolic health, they are working to understand the connection better.

Bottom line: Your hard rides can help preserve your aerobic fitness for years to come, but don’t dismiss the health benefits of lesser-intense exercise. Make time for both in your daily life—say, walk a little more each day, even if you have a workout scheduled for later that day.

“One does not have to do vigorous exercise to have some very substantial health benefits—particularly on blood pressure and glucose control (like diabetes prevention),” Kraus said.

What’s Best for Keeping Weight Off: Diet or Exercise?

New research takes on the age-old question—and the answer may surprise you.

By Danielle Zickl

Apr 23, 2019

 

Brian Barnhart

• Working out is just as important as diet when it comes to maintaining weight loss, according to new research out of the University of Colorado.
• Those who had lost weight and maintained it burned about 300 calories more a day than those who had normal body weights in the beginning of the study. (And of those calories burned, 180 of them were burned through physical activity.)
• The research suggests that physical activity, rather than reducing calorie intake, was responsible for keeping the weight off.

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If you’ve ever heard the saying, “abs are made in the kitchen,” you’re not alone. The saying suggests that what you eat is more important to keeping off unwanted pounds than hitting the gym or going for a ride. But now, there’s research to suggest that the opposite might be true—at least when it comes to maintaining any weight you’ve already lost.

Published in the journal Obesity, researchers from the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center compared those who had already lost weight and maintained it for a year (and weighed around 150 pounds) to two other groups of people: those with a normal body weight (around 150 pounds, similar body mass of weight loss maintainers) and those who were overweight (around 213 pounds, similar BMI to what the weight loss maintainers had before they lost weight).

Participants’ total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), or the amount of calories they burned, were measured through urine samples. Their metabolic rates were also measured in order to know much of their TDEE each day came from resting versus physical activity.

During the course of the study, all of the groups maintained their weight—meaning that the total energy expenditure, or the number of calories they burned per day, was equal to the amount of calories they took in.

The researchers found that total energy expenditure in the weight loss maintainers was greater than those of the normal weight group, and similar to that of the overweight group.

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This suggests that the people who had lost weight before and kept it off were taking in a similar amount of calories as the overweight group.

So why weren’t the weight loss maintainers gaining it all back? The researchers believe it comes down to their increased level of physical activity: The weight loss maintainers burned about 300 calories more a day than those who were a similar weight—180 of which came from physical activity.

For one, the weight loss maintainers were taking more steps per day than everyone else—12,100 versus 8,900 (normal bodyweight group) and 6,500 (overweight group).

When a person loses weight, their body experiences several metabolic adaptations that attempt to get their body back to their starting weight, said study coauthor Danielle Ostendorf, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at the Colorado University Anschutz Health and Wellness Center. You burn fewer calories at a lower body weight than a heavier weight. So you either have the reduce your calorie intake or increase your calorie burn (through physical activity)—or a combination of the two—to keep the weight off.  “Based on our study’s findings, it appears as if the successful weight loss maintainers are relying more on energy expenditure through physical activity rather than a reduction in their caloric intake,” she told Runner’s World.

The bottom line? Exercise is just as important as diet when it comes to the maintenance phase of losing weight, if not more so. However, Ostendorf points out that everyone is different.

“Some individuals can maintain weight loss successfully through diet and not as much physical activity, whereas others may require very high levels of physical activity,” she said. “The best strategy is the one that works for that individual, so trying different things to see what works can be an important step to successfully maintaining weight loss longterm.”

From: Runner's World US

A Bad Diet Is More Deadly Than Smoking or High Blood Pressure

The researchers pinned down which dietary habits are most problematic.

By Jordan Smith

Apr 4, 2019

Layla Dartry / EyeEmGetty Images

• A new study published in the Lancet found that, poor diet is responsible for more than 1 in 5 deaths globally, making it more deadly than tobacco and high blood pressure.
• Consuming both low amounts of healthy foods and high amounts of unhealthy foods are key to these findings.
• Diets high in sodium and low in whole grains and fruits had the strongest link to worldwide causes of death.

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What you put on your plate can play a serious role in how likely you are to die before your time: According to a new study in the Lancet, a poor diet is actually the leading cause of death worldwide, contributing to more of them than conventional risk factors like tobacco use and high blood pressure.

In the study, researchers analyzed food consumption habits of adults ages 25 and older from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries and compared how that affected their chances of premature death.

They found that in 2017, 11 million deaths—or 22 percent—worldwide were caused by poor diet. More specifically? Of these deaths, 9.5 million were due to cardiovascular disease, over 900,000 to diet-related cancers, over 330,000 to diabetes, and over 136,000 to kidney diseases.

On the other hand, more commonly known risk factors like high blood pressure and tobacco use was linked to 10.4 million and 8 million deaths, respectively. Researchers also found that poor diet is linked to more years lived with disability, too.

“Poor diet is an equal opportunity killer,” lead study author Ashkan Afshin, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told Runner’s World.

As for what made the diets so poor? There were three main things that affected risk of early death most strongly: high intake of sodium (more than 3 grams a day), low intake of whole grains (less than 125 grams a day), and low intake of fruits (less than 250 grams a day). Additionally, diets low in nuts and seeds and low in vegetables were also top contributors.

In fact, nut consumption had the largest gap between optimal consumption and actual—people only ate 12 percent of the recommended 20.5-gram intake. On the opposite end, consumption of processed meat is 90 percent higher than the recommended 2-gram intake.

A bad diet can mess with your body in many ways. Not only can it increase your risk of obesity, which comes with its own health risks, including heart disease, but getting too much or too little of specific nutrients can also hurt your health in other ways, too. A diet low in fruit is associated with an increased risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease; diets high in sodium can increase risk of stomach cancer; and diets low in fiber can increase risk of colon cancer, Afshin explained.

So though it is important to limit your intake of sodium and added sugar, it is just as beneficial to make sure you are subbing them wisely, by increasing your consumption of fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, and vegetables.

From: Runner's World US