Off peak performance

Ever notice that your mental state is bleh?

Over the past little while (years, not weeks), I have been noticing definite connection between how much sleep I get and how I mentally feel the next day (actually, it has more to do with what time I get to bed). Sleepiness is easily controlled, but mental attitude is not - whether you are feeling good about yourself, the world, etc or not.

I also notice that calorie dense foods have the same effect. While cashews, chocolates, or cookies may satisfy some immediate need for gratification, the bloaty, bleh, I'm in insulin shock feeling that follows is not conducive to being a happy and chipper camper.

So where am I going?

(Home in a few minutes to cook dinner)

As I get older, I find there seems to be a lot of truth regarding healthy living and taking better care of oneself than I gave credence when I was younger (mind you, I have never really abused myself like some have).

So what do you think, is a younger body able to accept more punishment and abuse without feeling the effects so much or is it just that younger people aren’t sufficiently cognizant of what is happening to them?

In other words, when we were younger, were we just too stupid to recognize that we were off our peak performance?

Comments

Colleen said…
I think I may still be off my peak performance. maybe i never had a peak performance.. who knows..
Prince Romp said…
I've been abusing my body all this while. Smoking, alcohol ( occasionally )less sleep and unhealthy diets.

Now Im pretty worried if my body is going to revenge on me.

I do have problem closing my eyes whenever after i had some chocolates and cafeine.
Cavalock said…
Eat, drink and be merry, i always say!
Richard said…
colleen: a friend of mine, told me that for the first 42 years of her life, her health was always a problem. Now she feels much better, but she does this by watching carefully what she eats. Diet seems to have played a large factor in her well-being.

I know there are certain foods that affect me negatively - anything that is very carb dense - pasta, pizza, chcoclates, candies, chips. So now, I try to substitute healthier choices. If we go out to eat, I don't get the fries or rice, instead I opt for the steamed vegetables (which is especially true of you go to a place like Baton Rouge where they serve enough fries to feed a family of four for a week).

prince romp: as they say, it is never too late to start. In fact, your little ones should be an incentive.

cavalock: what more can you expect from someone who buys Hagen Daaz by the crate ;-)

I think life is to be enjoyed, but responsibly.
Kay said…
Like the saying goes you eat to live and not live to eat...

Of course we do have to watch out our diet for beterhealthy living if you want to see your children grow up get married and see ur grandchildren that is...

But in the end, it is with god's will that you are healthy or ill.
Personally when we were younger, we do have a much higher metabolism rate. We can stay up the whole night clubbing, cramming for exams, partying - and don feel a tinge sleepy even if we have not slept the whole night.

We have so much energy that we need to do something to expend it.

Now that I have reached 30, everything slows down by 50%. I prefer to walk slower, eat less stuff that makes me feel bleh (because as you get older your digestive system seem to be wearing thin too), and of course, sleep more and exercise less.

It's not really a state of mind, but our body slowing down - which is only natural. Only wine and cheese grow in value as they aged. Humans - are just like any other machines. We wear and tear....quite easily.

Bruises heal fast when i was young. Now they can stay on my skin for weeks.

I was able to work more than 16 hours everyday - and wake up the next day equally refreshed and prep for work. Nothing could stop me. Nowadays, i can't wait to go home to idle.

I don think people deliberately abuse themselves, just that they would like to enjoy life a little better and not impose so many health restrictions on themselves when they are young, wild and experimental.

I was there once, so I know. But as my body winds down, I also know it's time to control and discipline myself so that I will not suffer as I grow older.

You can just feel it.
Richard said…
It is true that our body becomes less resilient and takes longer to recover, but I am interested in knowing if we were affected by say lack of sleep, but were unaware of it or ignored it.

As a teenager, I used to get by on typically 4-5 hours of sleep per night and I don'r recall being groggy, heavy headed, or otherwise impaired. Was this because I wasn't or was it because I simply was unaware?

I know my kids can get very cranky if they are overtired (despite their protests that they are not).

One thing that seems to get better with age is colds. I don't suffer as much as I used to when I was younger.

And how can you say people do not deliberately abuse themselves? If they chose to do something stupid to themselves, then they chose to abuse themselves.

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