Dr. Robert Whitfield explains how sleep quality affects surgical recovery, identifying alcohol and late-night eating as disruptors that lower heart-rate variability. His SHARP method includes a morning routine: electrolytes after fasting, coffee delayed 90 minutes, sunlight exposure, and 100-150g daily protein to optimize recovery.
say you sleep really well and you come in, you have a lot of problems with chronic inflammation. I'm going to ask you, how do you know you sleep really well? So one of the things that affects you when you sleep is drinking alcohol before you go to sleep or eating late. Both those things affect your HRV, which is your basic heart rate variability, helps with measuring your recovery. The you know, morning routine, you've already fasted. You know, I agree with, uh, many that you get up, you have fluids, uh, that's fine to take electrolytes at that time. And then give yourself maybe 90 minutes before you do any of the coffee, get your circadian rhythm, uh, reset, go outside, ground, get light exposure. That helps you. And then it's about, for my patients, Leveling up with protein. I'm not going to be sticky about what type of protein. I just need a good quality source of protein, whether it be animal, plant, whatever your source is fine with me. Ours is a vegan-based pea protein so that everybody's, you know, happy for the most part if they don't have an allergy or sensitivity to that. And you're trying to get 100-150 grams a day, certainly as we prepare for and go through the process of recovery.
