The Inner Armor Podcast

In our last episode we talked about what sleep is and why we need it. It turns out that those are very complex questions, because sleep is very complex. It’s not just shutting down the body and resting. In many ways, our bodies are as active during sleep as they are when we are awake, but the brain and body have an agenda, a structured set of tasks and processes that it must accomplish in sequence.

Sleep architecture refers to the basic structural organization of normal sleep. It is broken into phases and subdivided into cycles. The first priority is tissue repair and calorie restoration in muscles and organs. After that, energy is redirected to regenerating and reorganizing brain tissues and neural pathways.

So, when sleep is cut short, only the most basic bodily repair is accomplished. The brain and nervous system are shortchanged, leading to cumulative distress and disorder. That leaves us susceptible to disease. If we are serious about our health, much less performing at our potential, we must build on a solid foundation of restorative and regenerative sleep.

In this episode, Dr. Royer explains how our sleep is organized and how we can optimize it through lifestyle changes and discipline.

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Before the 1950s, most people believed sleep was a passive activity during which the body and brain were dormant. Over recent decades, science has proven that the brain and body are remarkably active during sleep. Muscles and organs repair and regenerate tissues. Toxins are cleared, and the immune system fights disease, restoring homeostasis. The brain reorganizes memory storage and restores neural pathways. Our sleep may be the most important hours of our day. Just as an airliner can't take off again without getting refuel and maintained, we can't function without sleep. In fact, it may be the most important hours in our daily cycle. Humans can live for weeks without food, but we will die within a few days without sleep.

And yet we shortchange it, overlook it, and sabotage it with our lifestyles. Not only does that undermine our recovery, it makes us susceptible to disease. If we are serious about our health, much less performing at our potential, we must build on a solid foundation of restorative and regenerative sleep.

In this episode, Dr. Royer explains why we sleep and why we must change our approach if we want to achieve health, success, and happiness.

Inner Armor Website

Doc Royer says, "One of the greatest things is how well we can adapt and learn to function in different environments under different stressors. I wouldn't do my job if I didn't believe that people could learn and change and that the human brain and body are amazing, even in the worst situation. That it can learn new pathways can learn new responses. It can learn to be at its best in pressure situations. Change and learning are at our core, and that's how we exist; as we grow, it comes from that."

Inner Armor isn't just for elite athletes. Everyone, from children to adults in every field, can become more resilient and come closer to performing at their potential.

Learn more at ForgeInnerArmor.com.

It's that time of year: everyone is heading back to school. What opportunities does that bring for personal and professional development? What does it take for students to perform at their potential? And what unique challenges does it present for growth, resilience, and mental health?

In the second of three installments, Dr. Royer speaks with Gena VanderMeulen, currently an academic coach who taught high school for 31 years, about what "back to school" means for teenagers.

Inner Armor isn't just for elite athletes. Everyone, from children to adults in every field, can become more resilient and come closer to performing at their potential.

Learn more at ForgeInnerArmor.com.