Sleep – The Healer of all Things

The body and mind require sleep to heal, repair, rejuvenate and prepare you for the next day.

Sleep is a healer of all things, even your muscles, after you workout. Ever noticed how exhausted your muscles feel, especially after a good weight-training workout? That is them telling you they now need to rest to allow sleep to do its work of healing. Weight training, (I mean serious weight training) causes small tears in the muscle fibers worked. These tears heal over time to produce stronger, larger muscles and this happens while you rest. You do not grow in the gym. That sensation of your muscles being bigger immediately after a workout is what is called ‘the pump’ in weight-training jargon. It is only your muscles increased in size temporarily with blood and fluid. This gives way for the real increase in size and strength as the muscles heal – while you sleep.

In your enthusiasm to show your undying loyalty to your fitness routine, you may disregard sleep, dragging yourself out of bed even when your body is clearly craving sleep. I know because I’ve done this! Catastrophe! You fall ill, you can injure yourself (and then set yourself back several weeks with your much loved fitness routine! Not very smart). Being sleep deprived prevents you from actually listening to your body.

Working out without rest and adequate nutrition is like trying to drive a car without fuel. It does not work! Your muscles never recover. They will feel fatigued all the time.

The worst part of being an Obgyn are the night calls. Sleep deprivation is so common amongst us Obgyns that it is almost a way of life. One of the highlights of going away on holiday or just ‘away’, even on work, is the thought as ones head hits the pillow that one does not need to anticipate hospital calls. You don’t need to fall asleep every night hoping, THAT ring tone doesn’t rudely pierce through your slumber.

I am sure many other professions, nurses, new mothers dealing with bawling babies, people who travel frequently etc also suffer various levels of sleep deprivation.

Lack of sleep can affect us in a variety of ways. The most obvious of course is the fatigue. You eyes burn, your body hurts, you are irritable and intolerable to be around and your attention span is shorter than that of gecko.

You could make dangerous, even life threatening decisions when sleep deprived. Accidents, disastrous business decisions, poor judgement, unnecessary arguments and fall outs can all result from JUST not sleeping enough.

Lack of sleep has been linked to increased levels of stress and even obesity. This of course also works vise-versa. Stress can lead to insomnia and obesity to sleep apnea, which in turn impair sleep. Hormones Ghrelin and Leptin are responsible for hunger and satiety respectively. Sleep deprivation causes an alteration in these hormones, which change your perception of hunger and satiety.

Ever noticed how you tend to eat more and/or indiscriminately when tired and sleep deprived? You may not even be hungry, just sleep deprived. However, when your body tells you that you are experiencing discomfort, (IT means, you need to rest), but YOU interpret it as – you need to satisfy hunger! What’s more, preferably with the most ill-advised food choice available. So, you reach for that mid-night snack. A recipe for disaster when trying to lose weight.

A good nights sleep is important for ones psychological health. Depression and anxiety can result from and cause poor sleep patterns. Depriving one of sleep is akin to torture. It is THAT significant!

Sleep is a healer of all things. What seemed frustrating slips into insignificance after a good nights sleep. You wake up with a new perspective, a new energy and whole new point of view.

In today’s world though, its not just work, babies or stress that keeps one awake. There is the Internet for endless surfing as it sucks you into its vortex of the virtual world. Face book, chatting, trying to connect and keep up with just about everybody in the whole world. The television, with the incessant supply of news or mindless drama. For some, it’s a can’t-put-downable book (again, guilty as charged! You suddenly look at the time and its 1am! GROAN… and there’s a 5am wake up call)!

Late nights, early mornings as one is climbing the social ladder or bettering ones career or just partying for fun and alcohol. All of this somehow take precedence over much needed sleep.

It all comes down to priorities. Sometimes you may just need to refuse a party invite, or shut down that computer/television when you know that it’s sleep you need. It is a matter of mental and physical health and well-being.

As someone said – “If you don’t sleep, you are never really awake”.

Learn form the cat. Sleep can be a healer of all things……..

Ref-

–      Mental distress, obesity, and body fat distribution in middle aged men. Rosmond et al. Obesity Research, Vol 4, May 1996.

–      Inadequate sleep as a risk factor for Obesity: Analysis of NHANES. Sleep, Vol 28, 2005

–      Insomnia as a Health Risk Factor. Daniel.J et al. Behavioral Sleep Medicine/ 2003, (4), 227-247

Have you ever bought a Ferrari?

Have you ever bought a Ferrari?

Well, maybe not a Ferrari, but a great car, or the latest phone, or an expensive watch. Or, for that matter, anything that costs a bit of money? What do we do once we invest in expensive gadget/gizmos? We ensure good maintenance. In fact, we go to great lengths to ensure GREAT maintenance. We buy the best possible insurance policy, upgrade, service, fuel up, buy protective gear, shine, polish and basically spend a whole lot more money, time and energy on protecting our worldly investment. We are talking about a piece of metal here. A car that can be repaired, even replaced if need be.

Lets take the human body. The phenomenal human body. How much do you think it should cost? Remember we have only one body. It serves us all our lives. We need it to work for us 24/7 through all our impossible times, highs and lows. We have no spare parts and no, it cannot be replaced. How much do you think we should price it at? Priceless don’t you think?

And yet………..we place it under an inordinate amount of pressure and then fail to nourish it properly. We starve it. Alternately we stuff it with appalling food choices and expect it to behave itself. We get upset when it doesn’t. We are annoyed that it has “gained weight” or “fallen sick”. We stress it further to lose weight rapidly and unhealthily. The abuse is relentless.

Sure, we buy Life insurance and Health Insurance. That however is not the same as a “maintenance strategy” now is it? Buying life Insurance does not ensure a better QUALITY of life.

What is it that drives us to be quite so careless about our own bodies and yet pay so much attention to inanimate, material things? Is it the sense of infallibility? The conviction that somehow, we will be the ones to slip through the cracks and escape the implications of a reckless lifestyle?

We believe the rules of life do not apply to us. Perhaps justifiably. We do see some heedless humans cheerfully leading long or disease-free lives. On the other hand, we also see apparently healthy individuals sometimes dying or falling ill unexpectedly and shockingly. This is what is pointed out to me only too often when I advise people to follow a healthier lifestyle. “But what’s the point?” they ask, “look at how Mr. so-and-so dropped dead. He was fit, exercised regularly, eat healthy and yet he dropped dead”

I never said fitness was a guarantee against death! Only that it is a guarantee for a better QUALITY OF LIFE while you live. I for one, would much rather lead a full and productive life however short, than a long arduous one that is spent mostly in bed or a wheel chair in pain or depressed, suffering ailments that could have been prevented.

Have you ever bought an AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract) for anything from a water heater to a washing machine? Most of us do, for almost every piece of equipment we own. I even know someone who has an AMC for his treadmill, which by the way, he never uses!

I believe we need a DMC (Daily maintenance Contract) for the human body. If our bodies came with an instruction manual, it would probably say the following:

– Eat clean (most of the time. Occasional indulgences are allowed).

– Sleep at least 6-8 hours a day

– Exercise regularly.

– Drink enough water

– Manage stress appropriately.

– Stay busy and productive!

However, we do not come with an instruction manual now do we, so we do not bother with a DMC. Occasionally we realize the jeans do not fit or the triglycerides are sky-high and panic. Then come the desperate measures to right the wrong. Usually resulting in running for the nearest “quick-fix” remedy available. Drugs, massages, wraps, fasting, starving, drinking nasty concoctions that would probably make a skunk throw up, anything for instant results.

The panic however is short-lived. We get used to the weight gain or the high blood sugars/triglycerides. We tell ourselves it is part of the aging process. That we need to go with the flow, relax and take life as it comes. After all, most people around us suffer the same maladies don’t they? Therefore, it is absolutely natural. This is how we justify ill-health or a poor quality of life.

What if we pay as much attention to our own bodies as we do to our various material assets?

What if we begin to follow a DMC and consider our own wellbeing, both physical and emotional, as important and relevant to how we experience life?

What if we accept that WE are responsible for our own choices and subsequently the quality of our lives?

What if we treat our bodies as we would our Ferrari?

Droog

Droog is situated about thirteen Km from the town of Conoor. The hill is also called Bakasura Malai (after a fabled, cruel demon from the Mahabaratha). It is a hill about 2000 meters above sea level. One gets to it through the NonSuch Tea estate on the most dreadful roads. Estate roads, meant for a four-wheel drive and a strong stomach.

Parking on the road, we began our ascent to the top of the hill. It was a fairly steep incline. Initially, through the most beautiful tea estate and then through the shola forest. There was a charming little paved path to follow through the forest. The path was steep and winding in places. Innocently effortless in others.

The lush foliage looked alive, breathing in the morning air. There were so many unusual flowers, trees and plants. Lemon grass grew in plenty deceiving us with its sharp edged leaves camouflaging the fragrance and flavor of the plant. Beautiful wild flowers in the most vivid colors. Growing in abandon, unaided, content to be blowing in the breeze.

We passed the remains of the fort of Tippu Sultan. Build in the 16^th century it is said to have been a vantage point and the out post to oversee the surrounding areas. What remained was only the wall of the fort. Just piles of stones stacked to build a semblance of a wall.

On the top of the hill was situated a Lookout tower of sorts. Now vandalized of course, with scribblings all over the walls of names of lovers and new-gen heroes. A reminder of those who have managed to get to this point, not to absorb and appreciate the incredible view but to record their pathetic presence on the walls of this monument. Reprehensible, to say the least. The last time we were here, we were startled by a group of police officers in their camouflage uniforms said to be combing the forest for terrorists. Very reassuring that was! Thankfully, no such incident this time.

Beyond the tower, a little further through the forest leads one to an even more stunning landscape. The sun had already risen but was still partially concealed behind gloriously patterned sheets of clouds. Ornate and almost surreal, it was the work of a brilliant artist, the sky, the mountains, the rivers below the trees and sheer rocks. The cliffs were sheer drops of thousands of meters to more forestland.

After spending some time taking in the splendor or the surroundings, we headed back to Conoor town. A delicious breakfast at the famous canteen in the quaint Conoor railway station. A welcome indulgence after that long walk.

Walks like these test the endurance of your leg muscles. The uphill climb definitely also tests your cardio vascular endurance. It was about ten Km and the pace was certainly not leisurely.  Improvement in fitness levels is one of the additional spin offs of these walks. The encounter with nature only adds to the experience. Including activities such as treks, walks even dancing which are more for pleasure and not specifically focused on either weight loss or improving fitness create the environment to include physical activity as a form of a “lifestyle”. It becomes something you do as an extension of ones day. You tend to then make better choices more often. You choose to walk up the stairs instead of taking the lift. You choose to go for a run on a Sunday morning instead of lying around, wide awake wondering what to eat. You choose to throw a dance party with light finger food instead of a sit down meal. It becomes more ‘natural’ to stay healthy and fit

The Bamboo Train – Sept 2012

Getting to Batang Bang from Siem Reap had been an adventure in itself. A local bus, strange stops along the way at roadside restaurants (if you could call them that). Obviously, the nexus of the bus drivers and owners of these places was intent on us spending some of our money there. We had to pay to use the toilet (which was super clean btw) and on the way to it were greeted loudly with a, “heloooooo, heloooo, welcome, welcome” by a parrot in his cage.

Outside were women selling huge baskets of some kind of crisply fried insect. It was even garnished beautifully with red and green chilies. There were several eager buyers for this delicacy.

We got to the local market at Batang Bang. Asking around, we finally found a tuk tuk that would take us to the Bamboo train. His name was Chai. A sweet Cambodian boy with a cherubic smile, eager to please and intent on speaking to us in his quaint english. He couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. He assigned himself our tuk tuk driver for the day. After much deliberation, trying to figure out if we REALLY wanted to go to the Bamboo train, if we wanted him to wait for us, bring us back and so on, he sped of excited at the prospect. Zipping through narrow lanes and obscure parts of town, we finally reached the ‘station’. I had made up my mind that I would sit in the station and wait for my friends to take the ride. I was squeamish I said, maybe next time. Somehow what I had seen of the Bamboo train online had not impressed me. Frankly, I was petrified!

On getting off at the station however we were received by a very genial stationmaster (not sure if that’s what he was, but he seemed very much in control of that little station). He escorted us to the “train”. Somehow, I found myself being shepherded on to it along with the others. I was too embarrassed to protest at that point.

The ‘train’ was essentially a plank of bamboo placed on four wheels. Imagine two barbells with the plates for wheels; well the plank was placed on these barbells, which by the way were not even connected to each other. How they stayed symmetrically under that plank and carried it forward without the barbell in front running away ahead was beyond me. In any case, we were on it and now there was no turning back for me. The ‘engine’ was a small motor place on the plank operated by the ‘driver’ of the train. Chai decided to come with us. Somehow I felt safer!!

So then, we started down the track. The thing picked up speed until we were literally tearing down the tracks and bouncing over the gaps on the rails. The bushes on the sides of the track slapped us cheerfully in the face as we sped along. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. The wind whistled in our ears as the train picked up speed.

It got better. Up ahead we saw another such train approaching in the opposite direction. Hurtling towards us. There was only one track, of that I was sure. The two drivers reflected on each other’s passengers. Am not sure how they figured it out or even agreed on protocol, but the passengers on the other train were requested to get off. There were about five of them I think. Perhaps the heavier train was supposed to unload. An unwritten rule? The two drivers lifted their bamboo plank off the barbells, and then lifted the barbells of the track so we could pass by! It was incredible! We set off again waving to our equally bemused fellow travelers. Our train picked up speed once again and we flew blithely down the track. I noticed Chai was grinning all the way. Maybe he was amused at our reaction to the whole experience.

After about 45 minutes of this mind-numbing journey we finally reached another ‘station’. With a lot of fanfare, we were greeted by a bunch of terribly cute children and ushered in to have a drink. There was beer, (that seemed like the national drink in Cambodia) and some other juices. The kids displayed some of their wares. Grasshoppers, spectacles, bugs, people …. all made from grass. It was amazing. We sat around admiring their handiwork, chatted with the old man who seemed to own the restaurant. He told us many of the children were his and the lovely lady serving us was his wife. Quite a story that!

Finally, bidding farewell to the merry family we climbed on to our tremulous means of transportation again and set off back to our station. The ride back was not quite as intimidating. In fact, we felt like quite the professional riders!

On reaching our station our bamboo train was dismantled and set aside near the tracks by a couple of local men for the next group of visitors. Those men were certainly not weight lifters, but they picked those barbells with the ease of professionals. I furtively felt the barbells. My god they were heavy! The men looked amused.

Our charming stationmaster then proceeded to entertain us with a little history of Cambodia as he stood leaning stylishly against out tuk tuk, gesticulating for emphasis. The invasion by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. The terrible massacres and the worlds worst genocides of the twentieth century. And yet, listening to this gentle man who had evidently lost several people close to him in that horrendous time, I could sense no bitterness. His tale was told with a calm and detachment that was truly admirable.

Heading back with Chai in his tuk tuk, besides the incredible journey we had just experienced, it was the stationmaster’s stories that stayed with us. His ability to move on in life with such dignity was only to be admired. A lesson learnt. Overall, an amazing experience.

Trekking Mukurthi Peak.

It was a 3.30 am wake up call this time. Unbelievable, but true. We had to leave by 4.30 am.

Just the previous day, I had traveled 230 Km on appalling roads getting back home only by 9 pm. Saying I was exhausted was putting it mildly.  Considering I had managed just a couple of hours of sleep, I seemed to have enough enthusiasm to rush out the door at 4.30 am still pulling on one boot to meet my pick-up party – The usual four, huddled in a rented jeep (anticipating bad roads) in the early morning cold.

The drive to the Fishing Hut in Mukurthi was a mix of exchanged news, loud laughter, (much to the horror of the driver and the escorting guide, considering the hour!) and a mostly ineffective attempt at staying in ones seat as the jeep tackled some absolutely crazy terrain. As we drove in the darkness, there wasn’t much to see. Only feel. Bad pot-holed road!

Along the way, after some seemingly official sounding conversation with forest guards regarding the necessary permissions that needed to be obtained to enter the Mukurthi National Park as it was called, we finally made it to the Fishing Hut from where we were supposed to start trekking.

Our guide, a slight, cheerful man, and the driver of the jeep, a rotund cheerful man set of in front of us wielding sickles. Apparently to hack through the undergrowth, I later figured. Our guide was clad in a thin sweater and a pair of open sandals while I though I might need a blanket to wallow in until my body warmed up with the walk. However, he seemed oblivious to the cold and rough landscape. The long grass beside the trekking path white with a layer of frost.

The forest we walked through was truly incredible. The path, if you could call it that, was essentially a tunnel. One had to crawl under tree trunks in places, climb over broken branches lying across in others, while trying not to get your eyes gouged out by the protruding, menacing dry twigs. I now understood the significance of the sickle. Our guide hacked away gallantly wherever he felt we might not make it through the maze. It was mainly wattle, some pine trees, cypress, eucalyptus and others I could not identify. There were several extraordinarily beautiful streams along the way. Some had rocks to balance on in order to cross. Others had unconvincing branches of trees placed across them that we were expected to maneuver.

We finally crossed the forest and reached the clearing at the base of the mountain peak. Surrounding us was the most spectacular, glistening lake. It reflected numerous shades of blue as it lay calmly soaking in early the morning sun.

The Mukurthi peak looked like a small sharp nose in the far distance. It seemed like an awfully long walk to get there. Our rotund friend decided he would go no further. He somehow did not strike me as a guy who climbed hills. So, he sat by the stream while the guide led us on.

As we began to climb the terrain changed to picturesque grassland. A few rhododendrons huddled together in the small ravines near the flowing water. Some beautiful foliage with the young red leaves twinkling in the sunlight.

The climb was steep and arduous. The sun began to beat down relentlessly even though it was just about 9 am. It began to get unbearably hot.

Some parts were strewn with stones and rocks making climbing quite an adventure without losing ones footing. Huge piles of elephant dung greeted us half way up. How does that enormous creature make its way up this hill and why? Surely if it was water, there was plenty in the lake below. Perhaps it was making its way across to what lay on the other side.

About an hour of steady climbing, catching ones breadth occasionally in the shade of the bushes, we finally reached the top. The peak is a small area on the top of Mukurthi with a 360-degree view all around.  There was an absolutely vertical cliff on one side. Beautiful rolling grassland topped hills another. They reminded me of ‘The Sound Of Music’ for some reason. We could see the Nilgiri Peak across from the cliff. Story goes that it has never been trekked. Find that hard to believe. The British seem to have covered every nook and cranny of the Nilgiri hills. More mountains, the lake, Kerala in the distance on one side, Karnataka on the other. It was magnificent. What’s more the wind up there felt like it would blow us right off the cliff. Our guide had spotted the Nilgiri Tahr on the opposite hill, which we could just about define with binoculars.

After some time spent soaking in the beauty, climbing down was a challenge. One missed foothold and one could very easily end up injured. These are the times when I really am glad I train regularly with weights to improve leg strength. It is a test of the endurance of the leg and core muscles.

Reaching the stream we found our driver sprawled on one of the rocks, in the midst of the running water, under the blazing sun, fast asleep! Well at least he had managed some rest! Slipping off our foot wear we dipped our feet in the icy cold water. It was a well-needed natural foot spa.

We managed to make our way back through the strange forest of broken trees. Then through the pine glade with a carpet of pine needles to walk on.

A short picnic lunch sitting in the verandah of the old fishing hut. The hut was used by trekkers. One could stay over night apparently. It looked suspicious to me, all boarded up. I was quite sure it wouldn’t be the best maintained place! I was glad we were heading home.

On the drive back, I contemplated the various walks we had done over the months. Each was so different. The terrain, the incline, the foliage. For me at least, it was more about the actual experience of walking that drove me. I am essentially not an out-door person. The sun bothers me. Insects seem to find me interesting. I am always bitten even if nobody else is! I would never miss these experiences for anything for course, but every time, at the end of it, I admit, I AM glad to get home to a hot shower!!