SLEEPY AFTER A BIG MEAL?
The reason many people get sleepy after a big lunch or dinner is usually due to too many carbohydrates, including sugar. In the case of a typical holiday meal, it’s not the turkey but the bread (usually high glycemic), potatoes (including sweetened sweet potatoes), gravy (made with flour), cranberries (sweetened with sugar), and, of course, those extra servings of pie (there’s always more than one type to taste). Throw in some alcohol and it’s no wonder you’re craving more than just one cup of coffee.
The carbohydrates cause a rise in the level of the brain neurotransmitter serotonin—this has a calming, relaxing, sedating effect on the brain, because the more carbohydrates you eat, the more sedating its action.
Sleepiness after any meal may be indicative of carbohydrate intolerance because of higher levels of insulin. This would also indicate that your body is burning more sugar and less fat, just the opposite state you want for optimal endurance. So if you often feel sleepy after meals, it’s time to evaluate, or reevaluate, your eating habits. While sweets are traditionally thought of as providing energy, they are in actuality mentally sedating. Sometimes sweets may give the feeling of a pick-up, but that is very short-lived, until insulin lowers the blood sugar, resulting in more fatigue.
If you need a mental pick-up, try eating some protein. A protein-based meal with little or no carbohydrates causes your body to produce less insulin, and provides a higher amount of tyrosine and increased norepinephrine levels. This neurotransmitter has a stimulating effect on the brain.

Music “therapy” is similar to heart-rate monitoring; it’s just a different form of biofeedback. You listen and your body responds. This approach to brain biofeedback is basic and one I like using because the increased alpha waves can improve brain and body function (which regulates our exercise activities), improve oxygenation, balance the nervous system, and control stress. With music therapy, there is no need to pay for a series of expensive biofeedback sessions, courses to take, or lengthy learning curve. Using music during respiratory biofeedback helps make this technique even more powerful as a brain therapy.

Music as therapy is thousands of years old. Perhaps the first written therapeutic use came from Chinese medicine about five thousand years ago. About 2500 BCE, followers of Pythagoras developed a science of “musical psychotherapy.” Today, the long winding road of music includes treatment for many types of patients, including those with depression, autism, learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s, and others. But almost anyone can enjoy the music as well as its health benefits. In fact, music therapy has been making substantial inroads into contemporary mainstream health care. Music therapy is used at many medical facilities, including Greenwich Hospital in Greenwich, Connecticut, Beth Israel Hospital in New York City, and Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The University of Michigan Medical Center is among a growing list of schools that offer programs to certify music practitioners. The American Music Therapy Association has specific curriculum requirements including courses in research analysis, physiology, acoustics, psychology, and music and therapy. There are about six thousand certified music therapists in North America alone.

Music can even enhance mental visualization, which has long been an effective training technique in endurance sports. That’s why music is often a part of the process—not only when learning a particular visualization but when putting it into practice.

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While many athletes are familiar with visualization, other music-brain relationships are equally important. The musical beat or rhythm can also help improve certain brain areas such as the cerebellum, which acts as our internal metronome. Maintaining a continuous natural rhythm of running, biking, or swimming is something most athletes can relate to. You don’t need to listen to music when working out, but encourage your brain to mentally play it. In a long workout, once warmed up, your body gets locked into that wonderful continuous rhythm, whether it’s your feet hitting the ground or the repetitive circular motion of pedaling. This natural rhythm helps keep you going—it’s the athlete’s dance. Additionally, this movement involves communication between at least two brain areas—the cerebellum and motor cortex—to maintain steady, continuous, muscle activity. These actions can improve the economy or efficiency of our gait or stroke movement used during running, biking, or swimming. These benefits from the cerebellum occur because this part of the brain controls physical coordination and balance.

So which songs or type of music produces the best training or therapeutic response for endurance athletes? That depends on you and your circumstances. I could name hundreds of songs. But first let me explain something important here. Music can rev you up as easily as it can relax you. Thus, one key is picking the songs most appropriate for what you want. Most athletes need additional help with their rest and recovery, so soothing music—like the slower classical pieces—may be best. Sometimes, it’s how we listen as much as what we listen to. When hearing high-energy songs that get us moving, it’s often the drums and bass guitar that affect our nervous system and rev us up. The melody (in songs with words, it’s the part that’s sung) is what most people remember and can be a powerful therapy. Or, by listening for things you may not have heard before in a familiar song, such as one of the background instruments like a subtle piano or acoustic guitar, the brain responds.

Often, those who normally don’t respond to music can’t take their mind off everything else around them when the music is playing. Try a good pair of headphones (especially the noise-cancellation types) and close your eyes. In this state, the brain doesn’t have to listen to anything except the music, and there are no distractions from visual stimuli, which turn on more of the brain than anything else. This gives the brain more “energy” to focus on the music, and often in this state you can hear things in a favorite song you may never have heard before.

Which songs do I like listening to? Ask me this question tomorrow and I’ll have a different list. Virtually any Beatles song will work well, especially “Hey Jude,” “Yesterday,” or “Here Comes the Sun.” I’ve used “Day Tripper” in measuring brain waves with patients. I also like “For No One.” Most classical music works exceptionally well, too. Like many Beatles’ songs, Mozart’s modal music is great, but experiment—there is almost an endless supply. Some great pop picks include: “Chelsea Morning” by Joni Mitch ell, “Heart of Gold” by Neil Young, “Hey” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen, “San Diego Serenade” by Tom Waits, “Time of No Reply” by Nick Drake, Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” or “Desolation Row,” James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain,” John Lennon’s “Imagine,” Paul Simon’s “Graceland,” and Tom Petty’s “Learning To Fly.”

Music can also help you calm pre-race tensions. It could even be better than meditation because many people can’t meditate successfully since it takes some training. Music, on the other hand, is right there, front and center, especially when you wear headphones and close your eyes.

Most athletes are generally smart about their own bodies, and incorporating music therapy is worth trying. It potentially offers a high return on a small investment and with virtually no risk. The results will speak for themselves, that is, if you listen carefully. There’s nothing like listening to Mozart, the Beatles, or Cat Stevens to reduce stress or meditatively ponder life. There’s a place for Chopin and Dylan in your training schedule—but not while biking! Match the music and your mood, and you’re on your way. After a hard training session, relaxing and listening to some good music can help the brain and body—both can come together in a healthy way.