I just got back from the city that never sleeps last week.   My wife and I had a great time with our son and his wife, and we got a lot of exercise.  We walked at least 12,000 steps each day.  New York could also be called the city where everyone walks. 

When I weighed in on the day I got back, I was half expecting to have dropped a few pounds. However, I was shocked that I had gained 5 lbs. in 5 days. How did that happen? I ate a little more, but not to excess. I did not eat pizza, steaks, or more than a beer a day. The extra exercise should have countered it. 

After reviewing my Fitbit data while trying to soothe my aching muscles, I identified the twin culprits.    I should have known since both problems have waylaid my wellness journey in the past.  The person who barely sleeps and seldom stretches went to the city that never sleeps and always walks! 

Too little sleep and insufficient stretching have been the two most significant negative factors in my health, including during my weight loss journey when I lost 170 pounds. Here are just a few anecdotes to prove my point. If you want to read more about my wellness journey, read our blog page. You can also listen to our Change Well Podcast.

1. Impact of Sleep Apnea on Health. 

I had undiagnosed sleep apnea as I was heading to my peak weight.  Sleep apnea is a severe sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly starts and stops.  I thought I was tired from too much work, but I was not getting a restful sleep.  I also was impacting the sleep of others, as my kids noted (and recorded) on a vacation trip.

I went to a sleep study, where they confirmed sleep apnea and prescribed a C-PAP. As you see below, a C-PAP is a medical device that forces air through a mask to open up your airways. Even though I looked like something out of my Son-In-Law’s Steampunk movies, I wore it every night for a year until I rectified the condition.  The impact of getting more sleep was immediate and positive. In one month, without changing other habits, I lost twenty pounds.

Sleep apnea causes several conditions that lead to weight gain. The first one is metabolic syndrome, which includes high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels, high blood sugar, and an increased waist circumference and is linked to a higher risk of heart disease.  I had all of these, including yet-to-be-diagnosed with heart disease. Another symptom is daytime drowsiness and irritability, which makes it harder to exercise and raises the level of cortisol. 

I could go on discussing how lack of sleep wreaks havoc on the hormones that control appetite, but the bottom line is that sleep apnea and lack of sleep must be tackled head-on. I got so much benefit out of my C-PAP that I took it with me on all my business trips. It was a pain lugging it around in airports and finding distilled water late at night once arriving (the machine requires it), but that ugly mask in an equally non-stylish grey case saved my life and my health.  And after a year of using it and losing a great deal of weight in part because of it, my sleep apnea was resolved.

2.  Anxiety and sleep deprivation. 

Sleep apnea is not the only thing that detracts from a good day’s rest.  Anxiety and worry can cut into your sleep time and can cause weight gain and lack of productivity.  I still struggle with getting enough sleep, and more often than not, it is due to the worst casting of upcoming events or replaying negative things from the day before. 

The impact of less than seven hours of sleep due to anxiety is harmful to health.   I have now tracked my eating and health habits for ten years in Fitbit and the WW applications, and the number one factor correlating to a weekly weight gain, in my case, is not getting enough good sleep.  I have maintained my weight through a momentary eating binge or a weekend on the couch, but if I have had a bad week of sleep, I will gain.  Everyone is a bit different, but that is the case with me. 

3.  The Benefits of Stretching.

Now, let us switch to my other nemesis: stretching. Some people love to stretch; I hate it! However, after tweaking my back numerous times and having all the flexibility of the Tin Man in The Wizard of Oz, I know I need to do it.

The health benefits of stretching are well-documented.  One of the most significant benefits is that it helps prevent injury.  I know this firsthand from the times I have been laid up in bed due to a back spasm or my legs locking up on me.  However, these problems have significantly reduced since I started my daily stretching habit.

Another benefit of stretching is reducing anxiety. Deep breathing practices combined with stretching have been shown to reduce stress and stress eating. You do not need to be a Yogi to benefit from stretching, deep breathing, and meditation. As for me, I stretch in a pool while silently praying. The pool’s buoyancy helps me with my tight muscles and ability to do stretches that require balance, like a hamstring stretch.

Now that we have examined the adverse effects of not sleeping and stretching and the positive benefits of doing so, let’s return to my recent trip to New York.  NYC is called the city that never sleeps for a good reason.  If you are anywhere in the city, you must deal with street noise at all night hours (even eight floors up as we were) and light pollution (in our case, we are directly across from the Empire State Building).  Even though I wore a sleep mask and earplugs provided by the hotel, I could not sleep well.  Also, anxiety from having to make a big decision and meeting new people for the first time seriously curtailed my sleep – an average of less than 4 hours of sleep for the time I was there. 

Next, let’s look at my failure to stretch.  Despite walking the whole High Line, Chelsea Market, and most of Brooklyn, I did not do as much as a calf stretch.  This contrasts with my wife, who had scheduled a robotic massage from Aescape.  If you are interested in seeing what a robotic massage is, I have included a link to a video from Aescape, a company mentioned on The Late Show.  The result of my lack of stretching and my wife’s forethought in scheduling a massage is I tweaked my back on the return flight, setting me back a few days while she was back at it the day we returned to working at our Apiary.

4. How to Sleep and Stretch Better

My previous experiences and a recent trip to  New York indicate the importance of sleep and stretching on health.  Here are four practices to help you sleep and stretch more.

1.  Establish a relaxing pre-sleep ritual. To sleep better, you need to quiet your mind before going to bed.  Read a book.  Listen to quiet music. Pray or meditate.  And most importantly, turn off the TV and your phone.

2.  Limit noise and light pollution. This may not be possible in cities like NYC, but try your best with blackout curtains, earplugs, and sleep masks.  Also, if you can, turn off your Wi-Fi.  I have found that turning off the router at night helps with sleep.

3.  Turn on white noise or natural sounds.  I have found that listening to the ocean or rain sounds helps me sleep.  Several manufacturers make devices that play soothing sounds for sleep

4.  Stretch to reduce anxiety and encourage sleep.  Keep up your daily stretching habit when on vacation to relieve muscle tightness and stress.  No matter the small size of a hotel room in NYC, you can still find room to do a calf stretch.  Better yet, have the forethought to schedule a massage like my wife.

I will close in my usual manner with a song.  I may not be Frank Sinatra, but I started spreading the news about the importance of sleep and stretching in NYC and worldwide.

Start spreading the news, you need it today,
You must sleep and stretch in New York, New York.
These ragged boat shoes have walked all day.
Right to the very heart of it in old New York.

I want to sleep in the City that never sleeps,
And find I am rested well; top of the heap.
My muscle fatigue is melting away,
I got a robotic massage in old New York.

If you can sleep and stretch there, you can do it anywhere.
It’s up to you, New York, New York.