Issue #290: My Blood Sugar At Night
Good morning. It’s Saturday, January 13th.
In today’s email:
Focus: Noctural Hypoglycemia
Move: Plank
Explore: Bike the Balkans
Brain Games: Guesstimation Station
Stat of the Day
The projected CGM market size in 2028. That’s a 19+% CAGR from $4.9B in 2021 - unfortunately, diabetes is going nowhere fast. (Source)
Revisit
This week we covered the use of technology, specifically CGMs, in helping to shape your Health & Longevity journey.
Issue #288 - explore the benefits of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) for metabolic health and learn about fasting blood glucose tests
Issue #289 - learn how blood glucose levels fluctuate with diet and lifestyle choices, and gain practical tips for managing metabolic health
Click HERE to check out the entire Thrive25 archive.
Learn
Nocturnal Hypoglycemia
Last quick note on my experience with the continuous glucose monitor. I found that around 4am my blood glucose dips into the hypoglycemic zone - below 70 mg/dL.
For most people this quick dip isn’t a big health risk - but it definitely wakes me up at 4am and then I can’t get back to sleep and, inevitably, feel tired the next day. The reason I wake up is because when our glucose plummets we release adrenaline “fight or flight” - which boosts our heart rate.
Why? Everyone is different - but data suggests that 41% of nondiabetics wearing CGM’s go below 70 mg/dL. It’s most common at night and studies also show that our blood glucose goes down 5% during REM.
This makes sense because our brain is really active during this stage of sleep and our brain is using a ton of energy during this time - depleting our glucose storage in the liver.
Solution? One way to solve this problem is to make sure you don’t skip dinner. Or, have a spoonful of honey before you go to bed. Honey restores your liver glycogen and prevents low blood glucose.
It also turns down ghrelin - the hormone telling us we’re hungry and has been shown to improve our sleep.
So if you’re like me and struggle to stay asleep all night - try some honey.
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Move
Plank
Even better than doing a ton of sit-ups, the plank is a core-strengthening exercise where you maintain a position similar to a push-up (Issue #287) or on your elbows for a set period. It’s mostly about your core - but like the push-up, also engages the back, arms, shoulders, glutes, and legs.
Planks also improve posture, balance and stability, and back health.
Love the plank because you can do it anywhere at any time with no equipment.
Don’t worry about setting any records - which is 8 hours and 15 minutes (see Issue #9). Instead, focus on holding it for as long as you can in perfect form.
High Plank
Just like the push-up, keep your abs/core, quads, and glutes tight - should be a straight line from your head to your toes. Keep upper back/shoulder blades flat and neck in line with face looking down, not out in front of you.
High Plank
Lower to plank
Lower down to your elbows while maintaining your posture from high plank. Elbows remain under your shoulders with your forearms straight in front of you.
Hold it
Need a goal? Here’s the table for how to reach “excellent” status (measured in seconds).
Time in Sec (Thrive25 Fitness Playbook)
Plank 2.0
Raises: From low plank position, raise up toes from one leg off the ground while keeping leg in straight line - hold for as long as you can and alternate to the other side.
Shoulder Taps: From high plank position, alternate raising one hand and tapping opposite shoulder, then put hand back down and repeat on the other side. Try to do this as slowly as possible without shifting your weight and keeping your body in perfect form. Aim for 10-20 reps.
The Thrive25 Pro Tip: After your morning push-ups, add a plank for 60+ seconds to start the day.
Explore
Bike the Balkans
Get those bike jerseys ready - in July 2024, the Trans Dinarica Cycle Route is opening - it’s a 80-stage route (1,600+ miles) of bike trails, roads, and forest trails that will connect all eight countries in the Balkans. Don’t worry, the goal is to have parts of the trail for every rider - you don’t need to feel like you’re gearing up to put on the Yellow Jersey or anything.
Looks pretty amazing…adding to my bucket list.
Brain Games
Guesstimation Station
Time to work out the frontal (planning) and parietal (calculations) lobes. Estimate the following:
1) How many Titleist Pro V1 golf balls fit into a school bus?
2) In 2015, what is the order of these boy names ranked by popularity in the US: Andrew, Luke, Mason?
3) What is the weight of a Boeing 737 MAX 9?
Inspiration: SharpBrains
**For answer, scroll to the bottom of the post
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Thanks for another great week!
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** Brain Games Answer **
This exercise is less about the right answer and more about how you think through the problem:
1) ~800,000 for a Type C school bus (30’ long x 8’ wide x 6’ high). The volume of a golf ball is 2.48 cubic inches and the school bus volume is 2,488,320 cubic inches - so that’s roughly 1M golf balls - but then there’s seats! Let’s cut it by 20%
2) Mason (6), Luke (21), Andrew (48)
3) In the news for all the wrong reasons, but these planes weigh:
Why Thrive25
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To health!
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25, Inc. does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.