Natty Power

Good night sleep is irreplaceable. Go to bed early in the evening. Turn off all light and sound sources. Make sure your bed is hard and flat.

Muscles grow when you sleep, so it is essential to have enough of deep sleep at night. First of all, it is important to quickly fall into a deep sleep and stay uninterrupted in this first phase of sleep for at least 3-4 hours. Make your room dark. Open windows and let the fresh air in. Turn off all sounds that may wake you up. Go to bed early in the evening. Sleep for as long as you need and let your body decide when is enough. You can let the sunlight wake you up, that is natural. Sleeping longer then 8 hours is not necessary, but adapting to sleeping less has been proven to be healthy and sobering.

If you feel tired and sleepy during the day, take a short nap, but no longer then 1 hour, because anything longer will ruin your night sleep. Short afternoon nap will be refreshing and will energize you for the rest of the day.

During the day, try to spend as much time outside as possible. You will fall asleep quickly and easily. Be active outside and soak the daylight, especially sunlight. Of course, you should never directly expose your bare skin or eyes to dangerous rays of strong sunlight. Overexposure to UV rays can lead to skin cancer and cataract. Only early in the morning and late afternoon you can safely take off the clothes and enjoy the bare skin sunbathing. If you are interested in sungazing, play it safe and sungaze only in the late sunset and with eyelids shot. Also, keep in mind that any type of physical activity during the day will highly improve the quality of sleep.

Never eat large amounts of food prior to sleep. Also avoid heavy sauces and spicy foods in the evening. Especially avoid foods high in fat and simple carbs.

The best sleeping position is on the back, particularly for heavy athletes. Sleeping on side is also fine, but try to alternate the sides. Avoid sleeping on the stomach. Choose pillow of adequate size and firmness, then test it. If you have wide shoulders and sleep on the side, pillow should be thick enough to keep your head in neutral horizontal position or slightly upwards.

As far as the bed types, the traditional Japanese “futon” bed placed over “tatami” is very natural and very practical option. This kind of bedding is not popular in the Western world, so it will be hard to find in retail stores, but you can always buy it online. Even better, make an improvised version by stacking a few thick blankets on the floor. The main characteristic of this type of bedding is the firmness, which is good for spine and back muscles. If it feels too firm, you can make it softer by simply adding more blankets. Beside firmness, another advantage of this bed is the straightness or the uniform flatness. There will never be a “valley” in the middle of the bed, which is a standard problem of all mattresses after a few months of use. Furthermore, you can make your bed as large as you like. You can easily move it around. You can pack it and take it on a trip. You can wash it easily in a washing machine. You can not fall down from it. You will never hit your shin on the pointy wooden corner of the bed. So, give it a try and you may be pleasantly surprised.