Picked this off of Flexonline.co.uk.
Might be of interest to those with the symptoms:
HELP FOR GYM MOPERS Perhaps you're familiar with "gym mopers," people who wander around the gym in vain, searching for intensity like chickens pecking fruitlessly in a seedless desert. These legions of mopers are harming their physiques by not training, but also by the catabolic disturbances that come with stress and depression. It's no surprise that improving mood reduces catabolic hormones. Besides giving you flat workouts, a blue mood destroys muscle by way of cortisol. Depressed people have chronically high cortisol levels and this is disastrous for both bodybuilding gains and recovery in general. If you think you're clinically depressed, see your doctor.
Luckily, less serious mood problems in healthy bodybuilders under stress can be dealt with by using modern dietary supplements for better nervous system nutrition. If you're healthy and not seriously depressed, the following supplements could help you improve brain nutrition by supplying key precursors of the three mood-related neurotransmitters: serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrene (NE). Before using any of the following, check with your doctor about possible interactions between them and other medications you take, especially those for psychiatric or blood pressure problems.
1) 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP)
Suggested dosage: 50-100 milligrams (mg) before bedtime.
Anxious or obsessive-compulsive people often respond to serotonin-boosting treatments, and those low in serotonin may benefit from low doses of 5-HTP. Taken before bedtime, this supplement may help promote relaxation and sleep as well as help stabilise body rhythms.
2) Tryptophan
Suggested dosage: 2-3 grams (g) before bedtime.
This amino acid is still being kept off the United States market by the Food and Drug Administration for no good reason. However, if you can access it internationally, it can help boost serotonin.
3) St. John's Wort extract
Suggested dosage: 450 mg twice per day.
Also useful for serotonin boosting.
4)
ZMA
Suggested dosage: Follow label recommendations and take before bedtime.
Besides aiding sleep, this versatile supplement helps reduce overtraining risk and symptoms by helping to raise testosterone levels, and it includes magnesium, which is a natural muscle relaxant.
5) Starchy carbohydrates
Suggested dosage: 1 g per kilogram of bodyweight at dinner.
Although most bodybuilders cut back on starchy carbs in the evening, consuming a healthy portion of carbs can make a big difference in the brain serotonin level and help promote quality sleep as well as nervous system restoration. The amount required will depend on the individual, the total calorie intake and macronutrient ratio, and the specific carbs involved. Our suggested dosage should be considered a ballpark figure.
6) Mucuna pruriens, a.k.a. velvet bean
Suggested dosage: Follow label recommendations and take in the morning or before a workout.
Thrill-seekers who crave stimulus and have trouble getting motivated or focused for (boring old) work tend to respond to dopamine-boosting treatments. Brain dopamine may be increased by taking this herb, although this idea is still experimental. Mucuna contains
L-dopa (levodopa), the direct precursor to dopamine, which is used to control symptoms in patients who have Parkinson's disease. Unfortunately, L-dopa from Mucuna may cause nausea, low blood pressure and other side effects at high doses, as it lacks the moderating carbidopa that is
added to Sinemet and other pharmaceutical sources of L-dopa. The amino acids tyrosine and/or phenylalanine (both of which increase brain NE) may also help boost dopamine.
7) Tyrosine
Suggested dosage: 2-4 g daily in the morning or before a workout.
People who are meek and lack drive may be low in norepinephrine. The amino acid tyrosine boosts NE levels in a part of the brain called the locus coeruleus, thus also boosting mental alertness and drive in the process. Ephedrine causes NE release and has a similar effect, and caffeine strengthens ephedrine's action. Bodybuilders taking an ephedrine and caffeine (EC) stack occasionally suffer a sense of tiredness or depletion after weeks or months on it. The solution is probably no more complicated than either going off EC for a few days (drinking coffee as needed to avoid headaches) or adding 2-4 g of tyrosine to the stack. Tyrosine regenerates the thermogenic hormone norepinephrine, which is released (and depleted) by ephedrine.
As a result, it may regenerate the effectiveness of an EC stack. Tyrosine has been found to enhance EC's appetite-curbing effect in mice, and in military men subjected to chronic stress and sleeplessness, it has been shown to combat burnout and sustain performance.
8) Choline bitartrate
Suggested dosage: 500-1,000 mg per day in the morning or before a workout.
This supplement may play a role in mood and recovery. Choline helps
restore neurotransmitter levels, specifically levels of acetylcholine, in the branch of the nervous system that governs relaxation and recovery. For this reason, adding choline to your mood-and-recovery ****tail might be worth exploring.
9) Melatonin
Suggested dosage: 0.5-3 mg before bedtime.
Melatonin is a pineal hormone released at night; it regulates sleep. Low melatonin release at night is associated with chronic insomnia.
In addition to promoting sleep, melatonin supplements can adjust human circadian rhythms (see further discussion). To induce sleep and keep your circadian rhythms early, take melatonin at 9 pm, which is about the time when it naturally begins to rise in your blood. Melatonin can be taken earlier or later, depending on when you want to feel sleepy, and timed-release versions are available to prevent rapid reawakening. If you experience bad dreams or morning grogginess, cut the dose in half until symptoms disappear.
Although helpful, melatonin is less powerful than bright light at shifting circadian rhythms in humans, and it loses effectiveness over time.
GETTING IN RHYTHM If you suspect you're in an overtrained state, a painless way to boost nervous system recovery is by improving sleep quality - and we don't mean just wearing your comfy bunny pyjamas more often. You need to accurately set your inner clock. In fact, you may not need more sleep at all, just better sleep. The best way to improve sleep quality and get the most out of limited slumber time is to set and reinforce healthy biological patterns called circadian rhythms. Your deepest, most refreshing sleep phase should hit you at night, not in the morning when you have to get going. For example, most GH release happens around midnight, and if you're not asleep by then, you may not get your full 24-hours worth.
Athletes who have healthy circadian rhythms consistently outperform those with disturbed rhythms. Rhythms govern performance more strongly than sleep loss itself, just as nocturnal rhythms govern recovery.
To see if your rhythms are on track, write down the time you go to bed and the time you wake up over several days. Also, write down the times at which you experience any tired spells during the day. This will help you see inconsistencies in your sleep-wake rhythms from one day to the next.
NIGHT OWLS VS. MORNING LARKS If the time at which you fall asleep and wake up tends to vary, you may be suffering from desynchronisation of your circadian rhythms. This occurs when different circadian clocks (e.g., the one for temperature and the one for sleep) get out of sync with one another due to jet lag, shift work, irregular sleeping habits or even daylight-saving time.
Curing desynchronisation spares muscle by improving recovery of cortisol-governing brain cells in the hypothalamus, preventing too much cortisol from being released at the wrong time of day. In general, synchronising internal rhythms leads to the deep refreshing sleep essential for optimal size and strength gains. Getting back in sync could be what you need to put the punch back in your bench press.
Those with slow biological clocks are called "night owls." They suffer from delayed rhythm syndrome, which means they are stuck with a 25-hour biological clock in a 24-hour world. Night owls are often younger adults or the kind of people who regularly take stimulants in the morning and sedatives at night - often with poor long-term success. Unfortunately, bodybuilders who are night owls might not be getting the quality of rest they need for complete nervous system recovery, as their deep-sleep cycles are prematurely cut off by their real alarm clocks every morning. Those with fast biological clocks are "morning larks," who feel tired at night, but their bedtimes also need to be consistent to be synchronised. One way to help your body with this is through light therapy.
Serious sleep disorders require a doctor's attention, but mild rhythm disorders often can be self-treated. In order to adjust circadian rhythms, the key is to deliver strong cues to your body every 24 hours on a regular schedule using the following four strategies.
Adjust sleep and rise time For many people, this isn't practical, but if you can adjust your sleep schedule, we suggest you follow these guidelines. Wake up at the same time every morning. This is difficult for night owls, since consistent wake-up times tend to be earlier than they would prefer. Nonetheless, a consistent rise time without daytime naps effectively stabilises circadian rhythms. For morning larks with fast clocks, regular bedtimes will help maintain a 24-hour rhythm, although tiredness in the evening often results.
Shift exercise time Research indicates that exercise can be used to shift circadian rhythms. Night owls who want earlier rhythms should exercise in the morning, and morning larks who want later rhythms should exercise in the evening.
Stay hydrated Dehydration is a significant physiological stress, and stress can disrupt circadian rhythms. We can't emphasise enough the importance of remaining well hydrated at all times. It's the single most important thing you can do to maintain health and promote muscle growth and fat loss.
Stay clean in the evening drinking caffeine or consuming ephedrine-containing supplements after 3 pm or regularly using alcohol can reduce your sleep quality and/or quantity, so be careful when you decide to indulge in these.
DON'T DO SOMETHING, JUST SIT THERE! In general, "eat, drink and be merry" is a good threesome where recovery is concerned, but don't forget rest, healthy biological rhythms and supplementation, especially when it comes to the recovery of your nervous system. Periodising your workouts, massage, stretching, hot tubs and water sports may also aid in "active recovery," but these activities are beyond the scope of this article.
Let's face it, overtraining is inevitable at some point. That isn't disastrous, when you think about it, because it's a sure-fire way to test your limits. But failure to take corrective action when these psychological signs appear can result in more serious problems, including contracting colds or other minor illnesses, being injured and/or suffering a mysterious drop-off in mental and physical performance. Train smart and rest smart, and you'll grow.
This article is for information purposes only. Weider Publishing Ltd does not accept liability for the effect of reported supplements or products, legal or illegal. It is the responsibility of the individual to abide by the dosage allowances specific to their country of residence. Always consult a doctor before commencing supplementation or changing dosage.
Let There Be Light!
Here's a bright idea: If you're determined to get your circadian rhythms in sync - and you should be - you can help the process along by buying a light box.
The importance of light, even artificial light, in strengthening rhythms and elevating mood are well known to healthcare practitioners who recommend light therapy for the winter blues. In fact, a single light treatment can shift circadian rhythms one to two hours. Light boxes are clinically proven to strengthen rhythms and treat winter depression.
Shifting circadian rhythms demands more light than a desk lamp emits. Room lighting is 150-1,500 lux (the International System unit of illumination), whereas bright summer sunshine is about 100,000 lux. To shift circadian rhythms, light needs to be of an intensity of at least 2,500 lux, but preferably 10,000 lux. Commercially available light boxes deliver approximately 10,000 lux.
For earlier rhythms, expose yourself to bright light in the morning. For later rhythms, expose yourself to bright light in the evening. A good strategy to shift yourself to earlier and more consistent rhythms is to jog, climb stairs or walk in the open sunshine every morning. Finally, note that the effect is mediated through the eyes, so sunglasses are not permitted, and the treatments must be continued if the rhythm disturbance persists.
Source: UK FLEX January 2002
