The most powerful passive metabolic activator is proper rest. Without it, your metabolism slows to a crawl because stress hormones run rampant. Sleep is critical to successful toning and shaping. It is during sleep that cortisol levels balance and surges of lean mass producing growth hormone occur. Sleep is the time our bodies focus on healing the internal environment, rejuvenating us, and making us whole again. Lousy sleep patterns not only leave you a physical, mental, and emotional wreck, but they undermine and corrupt your ability to foster a healthy metabolism that supports the retention of lean tissue. If you don’t get enough sleep, catabolic processes take over. Muscle tone and shape is lost. The body softens and atrophies. Of great importance to the male, testosterone levels drop from repeated bouts of insufficient sleep.

Of course sleep requirements differ from person to person. But it suffice to say that anyone on my program looking to activate their metabolism by fostering a strong environment needs to first satisfy their minimal need for adequate sleep. In addition, this fifth finger not only functions as a metabolic activator independently, but in conjunction with the other fingers, sleep is especially critical. In particular, the rigors of exercising for tone and shape requires deep healing and rebuilding sleep to produce muscle tone and shape.

Make time to get proper rest for strengthening your body, mind, and soul.