Hit the Hay

As ever, the Composite research, coding, and field-testing continues. And, in an interesting confluence of events, I stumbled across a research paper today that perfectly lines up with something I’ve recently experienced anecdotally in my own life.

For a while, I’ve been playing with biometric data sources that track fatigue and training status, so the Composite algorithm can square a theoretically ideal workout plan (heavy back squats today at 85% of my max) with the ever-changing reality of day-to-day life (I’m feeling run-down this morning, slept terribly, and think I might be coming down with a cold – better reduce the weight of those squats). And, actually, I’ve been making a bunch of progress on that front, measuring things like daily increase / decrease in grip strength (using a device called a dynamometer, which research shows correlates well with central nervous system fatigue), and tracking heart rate variability (using the excellent HRV4Training app to collect similarly research-backed data).

But, thus far, though I’d wanted to track sleep, too, most of the iPhone apps I’d found to do so were pretty much garbage. Though they all kicked out impressive-looking visualizations, they were often demonstrably incorrect – apps would show me deep in REM sleep when I knew I’d actually been awake and headed to the bathroom to pee.

So, on a friends recommendation, I bit the bullet, downloaded the Apple Watch app AutoSleep, and figured out an early-evening charging schedule that let me wear my watch to bed rather than just charging it overnight. And, in short, AutoSleep is pretty amazing – both in the detail it provides, and the accuracy with which it does so. Even if I end up just passing out for a nap on the couch without meaning to midday, the app somehow accurately senses when I do, and kicks out a ton of related data about the siesta.

From my first month of AutoSleep, however, I made an unhappy discovery: I sleep much less each night than I’d previously thought. Before, I would have said that I get 7 to 7 1/2 hours nightly. But, it turns out, that’s how long I spend in bed, trying to sleep; I’m actually out cold for only 85-90% of that time – more like 6 or 6 1/2 hours – once I factor in falling asleep, and waking for random small pockets throughout the night.

Even so, it turns out I may still be doing better than most. As I mentioned, I found a study this morning which estimates most people only really sleep about 80% of the time they’re trying to do so. Getting 7 1/2 hours of shuteye therefore probably requires shooting for a whopping 9.

If you want an accurate sense of how much sleep you really get yourself, and you happen to own an Apple Watch, I’d suggest you, too, download AutoSleep and check things out. And, if you don’t, but are serious about sleep for performance and health, you should probably assume you’re not too far from the rest of us, and add some substantial padding to your sleep time, Netflix be damned.

Che Avventura

I love Manhattan, but our Little Italy is touristy garbage. For the real deal, you’ll need to head up to Arthur Ave in the Bronx.

Head to Tino’s Deli, Casa Della Mozzarella, or Mike’s in the Arthur Ave Retail Market for a sandwich that will change your life:

Tino's
Casa Della Mozzarella

Buy handmade pasta at Borgatti’s, the city’s best cannoli at Artuso’s, and fresh bread at Madonia:

Borgatti's
Artuso's
Madonia

Or eat dinner at Zero Otto Nove for truly excellent pizza and red-sauce standbys, paired with always delicious and much more interesting nightly specials:

Zero Otto Nove

It’s a short walk from Fordham station on the Metro North, or a slightly longer (but still totally manageable) one from the Fordham stops on the D or 4 subways.

However you get there, it’s worth the trip. Vi auguro buon appetito!

Classy

As I mentioned previously, I recently started testing Composite with clients in the real world. Which has gotten off to an excellent start. Enough so, in fact, that I’m already putting the pieces in place to start doing small-group classes there by the start of next month.

Fortuitously, Jess is off in North Carolina for the weekend, celebrating a belated Mother’s Day with her mom, sister, and two adorable nieces. And though I’m sad not to spend the weekend with her – because every day is way more excellent when I’m by her side – I’m also grateful for the 72 hours of nonstop work time.

So, while the rest of the world is barbecuing and enjoying the pre-summer sun, I’m on lockdown indoors, brainstorming and planning and coding away. And I’m totally thrilled.

Life Advice

Alice: Which way should I go?

Cat: That depends on where you are going.

Alice: I don’t know.

Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you go.

Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

Inky?

Fifteen years back, while shooting a game for the Israeli soccer documentary I was producing at the time, I got a henna tattoo of one of the teams’ logos stenciled onto the inside of my forearm.

And I kind of loved it. But I was also pretty sure I wouldn’t be getting a real tattoo any time soon, as there were very few things I thought were excellent ideas ten years before that I still thought were excellent then, and I definitely didn’t want to get stuck for a lifetime with permanent body art I’d later come to regret.

But, at the same time, I also noted that if I did get a tattoo, it would just be the text ‘Amor Fati‘ on that same inner forearm spot.

Over the last year, Jess made good on her own long-held desire to get a few tattoos. And, frankly, I’ve been jealous. They look amazing (and, on her, super hot). And they’ve reminded me that, actually, my concern about whether I’d be happy with any choice over the long haul increasingly seems incorrect. Fifteen years later, I still feel certain that, if I did get a tattoo, it would indeed be that inner forearm ‘Amor Fati.’ I’ve even regularly looked back at a favorite Nietzsche quote about the phrase at least monthly in all the years since:

“My formula for greatness in a human being is amor fati: that one wants nothing different, not forward, not backward, not in all eternity. Not merely bear what is necessary, still less conceal it, but love it.”

So, increasingly, I’m thinking maybe I should get the tattoo. I’m holding out at least until the fall to further contemplate. But, as of right now, I’d say the odds of going for it look pretty good.