Hi there, it's Matt here and a warm welcome back to the show. And just a quick mention,

you may have heard me speak about the four macros of good sleep, quantity, quality, regularity,

and timing. Working with a group of other scientists, we have produced a free online sleep assessment

that helps you measure the four macros of good sleep and provides a detailed breakdown of

your performance, offers suggested tips for improving areas of weakness. And you can also get more

information about sleep disorders. It's free

and simple to complete within just a few minutes. If you want to do the assessment, just go over to

QQRT.org. Again, that's QQRT.org to complete your free assessment. But coming back today, we're tackling a topic that many

of us struggle with, sleep loss, and more specifically, what the latest science says we can do to

minimize its impact. We all know that not getting enough sleep affects both our brain and body, but what exactly

happens when we're consistently short on sleep? And perhaps more usefully, what can we do about it?

Recent research points to two interventions, creatine supplementation and high-intensity exercise that appear to help

buffer some of the consequences. Think of these as backup generators that kick in when your

main power grid goes down. They won't replace proper sleep, but they can keep essential systems running while you work

toward a better solution. Before we dive into the solutions, let's understand what we're dealing with.

Sleep deprivation isn't just about feeling tired. It's a systemic challenge that touches

multiple biological processes. research has linked chronic sleep

loss to increased risk of various health conditions, cardiovascular issues, metabolic dysfunction,

mood disturbances, and others. It's worth taking seriously, though it's also worth noting

that many of these

associations come from observational studies and individual responses very considerably.

One study examined young, healthy men who had their sleep restricted to four hours per night

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