Napping After a Meal,Birthdays and Western States Trail

"Self-reverence, self-knowledge, self-control. These three alone lead to sovereign power."– Alfred Tennyson

In a November 22, 2011 edition of the Wall Street Journal, there was a brief article about napping after a heavy meal.  This napping is commonly referred to as a food coma.  However, what causes this postprandial somnolence is not clear. There is a popular belief that this sleepiness is caused by a lack of blood supply to the brain as the blood rushes from the head to the stomach to aid with digestion.  Unfortunately, this is just a belief and is not a fact.  Some ideas as to the cause of the sleepiness are as follows: 1.   Sleepiness is associated with changes in certain hormones induced by food. 2.  Sleepiness is simply feeling weighted down by a large amount of food sitting in your stomach. 3.  Sleepiness is caused by our bodies that are wired to feel tired during the afternoons and evenings, when there is a natural dip in the circadian rhythm. A person with a normal sleep wake cycle typically feels sluggish around 1 PM to 3 PM and again just after midnight.  Sitting around after a satisfying meal might make it that much easier to doze off. 4.  Food activates our parasympathetic nervous system, which regulates our resting and relaxing  responses as opposed to the sympathetic nervous system, which regulates our fight or flight responses.

 For me, I remember sitting in a college class and having great difficulty staying awake after lunch, usually around one o’clock.   The subject matter of the class did not seem to matter as I had difficulty staying awake and taking notes.  Today, if I want to take a nap, after lunch, all I have to do is turn on the TV and off I go rather quickly I might add.

My 72^nd birthday was Saturday.  That is a lot of birthdays.    On my birthday day, I ran with Randall and Diane and ran extremely well and fast. Randall had not seen me run that fast before, and commented about it at my party that evening.  It was a good way to show off on my birthday.  Sunday was Chris’s 54^Th birthday, and we ran a nice easy 6 mile loop.

Today, I got serious and hit the trail with my dog Digger. We ran to the Quarry Trail at Highway 49 so I could refill my water bottle.  I saw couple people on horseback that I knew and then proceeded along the Western states trail towards Dead Truck.  That section of the trail is called dead truck, because there is a “dead truck” alongside the trail. Then we reached the Western states trail at about the 20 mile marker and headed in the direction toward third gate.  From there we ran up to 3^rd gate and proceeded home.  Digger and I probably ran about 18 miles or so and I was happy to reach home.  I can only speak for myself.  I had some discomfort with my left Achilles that bothered me on and off.  It is time for Advil and ice.

100 Year Old Marathon Man, Sleep Deprivation, and Naps

Today Secretariat, Randall, and I ran a short loop.  The Secretariat Man is tapering for his Malibu run this weekend.  Unfortunately, I will be in the desert partying with Jack and Joan Sholl and Jonathan and Tara Jordan .Secretariat’s mother and sister live in Southern California, and he will visit them as well.  Have a safe trip Secretariat.

Randall, almost 57, is intending to run more consistently so that he can increase his mileage and be like Mr. Singh the 100-year-old youngster that ran the marathon. The last mile or so of our run,  Randall continued running, and even did repeats, while  Secretariat and I leisurely walked for our cool down.  In essence, we were door-to-door within the hour.

At about 9:30 Secretariat had his beer and I drank my smoothie.  They also munched on muffins, while we talked.  Incidentally, Randall had to go to work and Secretariat and I smiled.  Randall said something about working to support a lifestyle and retiring.  Keep running Randall.

Yesterday, some of you took the self-assessment test to determine if you are sleep deprived.  Scoring key is as follows: 0-15; no, you’re not sleep deprived. 16-24; you are on your way to sleep deprivation.25-36; yes, you are sleep deprived.

Now for physiological symptoms of sleep deprivation: 1. Increased reaction time or slower response time ;2.  Decreased body temperature; 3.  Decreased immune function, or increase in colds, flu; 4.  Stomach problems, like heartburn indigestion or menstrual irregularities; 5 .Higher blood pressure.

Psychological symptoms: 1. Mood swings, irritability, impatience, anxiety, depression; 2. Fatigue, sleepiness, decreased alertness and concentration, impaired memory; 3. Impaired judgment, increased errors or accidents especially traffic.

Which statistics are you?  A national poll indicated that 65% of people report that they do not get enough sleep.  Are you one of them? Lower marital satisfaction impacts sleep habits according to a poll taken by the National Sleep Foundation.  Almost ½ of those with less marital satisfaction say that they are sleeping less than five years ago, and more than 3/4 are more likely to experience a sleep problem than their more happily married counterparts.  34% of all adults report sleeping alone.  12% of married adults report sleeping alone.  Some medications used for sleep or depression have sexual side effects.

If you are experiencing excessive daytime sleepiness you might consider: 1. if you cannot get enough sleep or feel drowsy, naps as short as 20 minutes can be helpful.  Naps can maintain or improve alertness, performance, and mood.  Some feel groggy after napping, but these feelings usually go away within 1 to 15 minutes, while the benefits may last for hours. 2. Studies show that napping at the workplace is especially effective for workers who need to maintain a high degree of alertness, attention to detail, and who must make quick decisions.

For me, I enjoying naps and recommend it wholeheartedly.  I always feel so much better after a nap.  It helps me to relax and get centered.  Tomorrow, I head for Palm desert, to talk about my book, “It Has Nothing To Do With Age.”