My top 10 sleep better sleep hacks for more energy in the afternoon!

This is a common complaint coming from my new clients. This is why they think they are tired all the time. They can't fall asleep very easily. But there is more to this sleep picture than they realize.

The next sleep complaint is the fact that they wake up several times during the night. Maybe to go potty, or maybe just to lie there and struggle to find sleep again. They are unfortunately led to believe that this is a normal part of aging. Especially if they are going through The Change! Hormones ARE involved...just not the way you think they are!

So often my clients turn to hormone replacement therapy, melatonin, wine drinking in the evening or good old fashion sleep medications.

Unfortunately, these are all temporary and often ineffective. Did you know that sleep meds are designed to help you FALL asleep but not STAY asleep?

Weird, I know. They should be called, Fall Asleep Meds.

“LACK OF SLEEP HAS BECOME AN EPIDEMIC (DECLARED BY WHO, World Health Organization) IN DEVELOPED NATIONS WITH

AROUND TWO-THIRDS OF ADULTS FAILING TO GET THE RECOMMENDED 8 HOURS OF SLEEP” (WALKER,

2017).

Most people are sleep deficient. It's not just the lack of time either! Science shows us that there is no perfect recipe for sleep. The best that we can come up with is 6-8 hours. Time spent sleeping does matter, but what matters the most is quality.

I won't get into all the various details of sleep cycles. If you want some deep sleep education check out Dr. Mark Hyman's Master Class on Sleep.

Sleep is an important part of my Restore® program for my clients. I have many tools and strategies for helping them FINALLY get a good night's sleep.

My life is NOT good when I don't get good sleep!

To be honest, I fall asleep in about 1 min in my husband's arms every night and I don't wake until morning, not once! It's like I am in a coma! I wake up refreshed every day!

My blogging goal is to always provide education and tools that you can learn and implement without taking up too much of your valuable time. I call it my "Take it and GO!"

So Take this and GO!

So, why is sleep so important anyway?

Since December is Stress Month, yeah, we all feel the pressures of the end of the year and all the things we haven't done or won't do and of course let's not forget about getting ready for next year... I am talking about sleep.

Did your accountant send you that horrible TAX packet yet? I just got mine yesterday! Just the thought of filling it out and going over all the details of 2019 makes me feel anxious and want to put it off til.... NEVER!

But I digress, sleep, could we get better sleep and if we did, would it improve our health?

Yes and yes my friend!

What is affected by sleep? Let's assume that you are getting 6-8 hours of deep, quality sleep each and every night.

Science defines sleep as:

Sleep is a daily period of physiological changes in both the mind and body,

which prepares the body for its next period of wakefulness.

Yes! Your mind! This is where we carry some of our stress that keeps us awake, it's the old Racing Thought issue. More on this in an upcoming mindfulness blog. Be sure you are subscribed so you won't miss it.

"Sleep prepares us for the next period of wakefulness"! Without proper sleep, we will not be prepared for the next day.

NTA says it best: The amount of sleep a body needs is known as its

sleep debt, and unfortunately, just like financial

debt, sleep debt doesn’t go away on its own. Humans are meant to spend about one-third of our lives sleeping, and even short periods of deprivation or disturbance can snowball into long-term health issues.

Furthermore, the idea of “catching up” on sleep is only minimally helpful, if at all. Damage from sleep missed “in the moment” is cumulative and can take years to repair (Walker, 2017, p. 183).

Simply put, we sleep to satisfy our sleep debt and regain homeostasis. During

sleep, our body performs essential “clean-up” processes– restoring and repairing

the brain– which ultimately facilitates the recalibration and healthy functioning of

our biological systems.

Did you know that your brain detoxes to the point that it shrinks a little bit so that it can take on new nutrients? I call it Brain Rinse.

(Benington & Heller, 1995).

Waste that is left in our brain cells is toxic to the body, it's inflammatory. If avoiding degenerative brain diseases is on your radar whether it is dementia, Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, improving your sleep is worth taking time to fix. Especially if you are already at high risk with Pre or full-on Diabetes.

Without sleep, concentration and response times slow (Williamson & Feyer, 2000).

Impulse control suffers, leading us to make choices that aren’t necessarily best for our bodies in the long term (Pilcher, Morris, Donnelly, & Feigl, 2015).

As we look deeper and deeper into sleep it's apparent to see that it is a valuable component of good health today and longevity for tomorrow.

Digestion Repair in the form of Microbiome management. Sleep has a hand in the maintenance of our gut flora and through adequate sleep will promote a thriving microbiome (Walker,

2017. p.7).

Tissue growth and repair (Caicedo & Devesa,

2018).

Boosts immune cell function (Committee on Military Nutrition Research, 1999).

Neuroplasticity: Brain cell regeneration (Tononi & Cirelli, 2014).

What about your blood sugar? What about hormones?

Cortisol, a stress hormone is designed to wake us up about 6 am or so and peaks around 9 am and slowly tapers down throughout the day and should be at very low levels by 6 pm.

Melatonin is just the opposite. Low in the day, rises and then peaks around 12 pm and lowers again as cortisol begins to slowly wake us up. Cortisol levels slowly begin to rise and gently wake us up around 6 am. This is a delicate dance.

This cycle follows a natural rhythm, a Circadian Rhythm, our natural body clock.

The trouble is, many people are walking around with blood sugar spikes and dips throughout the day. Cortisol has to come to our rescue every time our blood sugar dips. Think about that 3 pm crash that makes you grab coffee or carbs.

This is one of the first hurdles we tackle in my Restart® course! A good night's sleep is one of the first changes that my students experience.

Having our sleep/wake hormone cycle off like this is a recipe for not only poor sleep, but also gut dysfunction, increased stress, poor detoxification, increased body pain, headaches, cravings, weight gain and more!

10 Sleep Hacks you can start tonight!

Make the last 1-2 hours before bed quiet...

Pro tip: Consider wearing Blue Blocker glasses while you are watching TV or using a device. The Blue light tells our brains it is daytime and messes with our circadian rhythm. There are all kinds of different brands out now. My doctor included blue blockers in my prescription!

1. Make a bed and wake time every day and stick to it. Train your body and your mind.

2. Start a sleep routine. Take a bath, unplug from devices, have a cup of herbal decaf tea, read a book. Dim the lights in the house or use lamps as we do in our home.

3. Consume less caffeine after 12 pm.

4. Consume less sugar (carbs) throughout the day. Instead, grab fats and proteins for energy dips.

5. Take Hot then super cold shower before bed! Cold therapy is wonderful for the nervous system!

6. End the day with quiet meditation and reflection. Even if done so in bed. Something like a mental Body Scan or breathing exercises. Before getting in bed write in your gratitude journal. Go to bed feeling blessed.

7. Let tomorrow take care of tomorrow. Keep a piece of paper next to your bed to write down things you need to think about or do LATER.

8. Make sure your room is cool.

9. Make sure your room is dark and device free. Your room is for sleep and sex only. Remove all the clutter if you need to. Get rid of that TV, treadmill, and pile of crap.

10. Try a spoonful of raw honey about 2 min before bed if you are one of those that wake up about 3 hours after hitting the hay. This will keep your blood sugar from crashing and waking you up.

Sweet Dreams!

Let me know how you do and if this helps!

I also like to hear other little things you have discovered on your own.

~Brandi