EP5: Let's Talk about Sleep!!

[00:00:00] Foreign. [00:00:09] Welcome. You're listening to a recording from inside the members hub of the Whole Health Revolution. These episodes are taken from my live weekly coaching calls where members can join me in real time for honest conversations around health, nutrition, weight loss and sustainable lifestyle change. [00:00:26] So inside the program members get access to live coaching calls, a growing library of whole food recipes, workouts for every level, a supportive community, meal plans and personalised coaching from me. The whole health revolution is not about restriction, extremes or quick fixes. There's no fad diets here. It's about building long lasting healthy habits that support your body. Whether your goal is weight loss, managing chronic health condition, improving your nutrition, maybe you want to balance your hormones or simply start feeling better in yourself. [00:01:00] So if you love this episode and would like to join these calls live, have your questions answered and be supported along the way, you can find out more at www.naturalhealthproject.co.nz. [00:01:15] weight loss program and program is spelled P R O G R A M. [00:01:21] You can also use the code Free Week to try the program for one week free and that is F R E E W E E K. [00:01:29] You'll also find these details in the show notes. Now let's get stuck into today's episode. [00:01:35] Hello everyone and welcome back to this week's episode of the Whole Health Revolution. Now today we're going to be diving into a topic that affects every single area of your health and that is sleep. [00:01:48] It's one of the most underrated tools for better energy, better mood hormone balance, metabolism and longevity. Sleep is as essential as food, as water that we're drinking and as oxygen. It's not simply about resting at night. It's when our body performs vital functions. It's doing its housework overnight and we're looking at things like cellular repair and detoxification. It helps in immune regulation, so if you're sleep deprived, you might start getting sick a lot more. [00:02:16] It helps in our hormone balance, our brain deals with waste clearance via the glymphatic system overnight. So without sleep, these systems just simply break down one by one. And if we stay awake too long, every system starts to unravel, from our metabolism to our immune system, to our mood. And here's a fun fact. The longest recorded period of sleep deprivation was from an experiment done back in 1964. I don't think they've done one since. [00:02:45] A 17 year old student lasted about 11 days without sleep. He didn't die, but what he did experience were some pretty severe symptoms such as mood swings, memory lapses, Paranoia and hallucinations. Yeah, it's pretty severe trouble speaking. And I get this. If I'm sleep deprived, I might be talking to a client or what have you, and I might start stuttering. I stutter when I'm sleep deprived. And I know that when that starts happening, I need to get more sleep. [00:03:12] And he had trouble focusing as well. So afterwards he did recover, but only after extended sleep. And these kind of experiments are now considered unethical because of the potential permanent damage that it could cause. So you won't find the longest sleep deprivation in the world, Guinness World Book of Records, because it's just simply not allowed to be done. So if you're listening to this episode, maybe you have a problem with sleep, Maybe you know somebody that does and you want to get some tips and tricks on how to improve it. So let's talk about first, what happens when sleep becomes a problem? [00:03:46] So have you ever been stressed and suddenly sleep becomes harder? How about hormonal changes? If you've just gone through perimenopause or you're in the midst of it right now, possibly your daily routines, shifting these sorts of things can all impact our sleep quality. [00:04:02] And shift workers. Shift workers have a really tough time of sleep because when you're a shift worker, if you're doing different shifts all the time, your body clock never really adjusts. So you might notice trouble falling asleep. Or maybe you're waking at funny hours in the morning that typ 3:00am or maybe you're just feeling unrefreshed. No matter how many hours you get, you just don't wake up feeling refreshed and energized. And this is because our stress hormones, cortisol and adrenaline, can delay the release of melatonin. And melatonin is our sleep hormone. And interestingly, even one night of poor sleep can make you temporarily insulin resistant. So this is like a type 2 diabetic. Temporarily. That's where you're sitting. This means your blood sugar rises more easily the next next day. And what happens when we're tired is typical of us to start craving more foods that we wouldn't usually eat, such as sugary foods or pies or something that's calorie dense that we just want for energy. Maybe you crave more coffee because you're looking for the energy from the caffeine. I've had clients in the past that they can't lose weight and it's really down to the stress hormones that is holding onto that weight for them. So we need to address the Stress, address the sleep. And then things start to fall into place, particularly if they're already following a really healthy diet and they're doing all the things. [00:05:24] If this is the one pillar that we're not really addressing, it's going to impact their weight. [00:05:32] So some of you might, well, some of you women might be going through perimenopause. So let's talk about that a bit more because obviously I've coached women in menopause for the past eight plus years. [00:05:43] So for many women in perimenopause, sleep can become one of the biggest, biggest challenges. Even when you've tried everything to try and improve things. And I won't lie, when I was, when I'm coaching these women and I'm still doing it on a small scale, it can be one of the harder things to overcome. There's lots we can try, but it is one of the harder symptoms of perimenopause. [00:06:08] Hormones are very complicated, and when these start to be a bit more erratic, we start to see sleep disturbances. With some women, progesterone in particular has a calming effect on us and so it promotes sleep. And when this begins to decline, coupled with estrogen dips, this can cause things like night sweats and temperature changes and restless sleep. And if you've ever had night sweats, they are awful and they will just wake you up all the time. [00:06:38] So these shifts, also what they do is they affect our cortisol. This then affects our blood sugar and our neurotransmitters. And this leaves many women feeling tired but wired. And so when this happens, the key is to really layer that support rather than looking for that one thing to fix it. Because that's very allopathic thinking. We need to try and get to the root causes and let's attack it on all different angles. So here's a few things that you can try. [00:07:05] One is a small protein snack. Protein and fat actually is really good coupled together before bed. And this can help stabilize your blood sugar. So if you're finding that your blood sugars are increasing at night, this is going to increase cortisol. It's going to wake you up. So we want to keep your blood sugars stable. Really important. [00:07:23] So if you're, if you're used to eating things like carbohydrates, maybe a biki with your cup of tea or a heavy carbohydrate meal before bed, it might just be keeping you awake. So let's keep those, those blood sugars stable. And then we look at things like nutrients, such as magnesium, vitamin B6 and herbal support such as ashwagandha, which is also called Withania Sage is wonderful for night sweats. Chase tree berry, really good for hormone balance. And all of these can start to calm the nervous system as well. So the goal here is really to support that hormone balance, manage that stress with supplements, but also with lifestyle factors as well, such as, you know, meditation and mindfulness, et cetera. We want to create the right conditions for the body to feel safe enough so that you can rest. [00:08:15] Also alcohol. How many of us have alcohol in the evenings with our dinner? Maybe we use it as a coping mechanism. Maybe we just enjoy every night. But alcohol can really keep us awake at night. [00:08:28] So what it does is it prevents us from having that deep sleep. Also, heavy meals, if you're making your evening meal the biggest meal of the day, that can also have a negative impact. You might find snoring or restless legs is present. Restless legs is a very common one. [00:08:46] And it's also worth ruling out sleep apnea, which is more common after menopause. Usually it's more common in men, but we are more susceptible to it as women after menopause. Let's talk a little bit more about sleep apnea. It really is the hidden sleep disruptor. It's something that I've come across quite a lot in clinic, and not everybody knows they've got it. It's usually the partner that reports that their spouse or partner has it because they're listening to it. And so sleep apnea is a condition where your breathing repeatedly stops and starts during the night. And the most common type is obstructive sleep apnea. And what happens here is when the soft tissues at the back of your throat collapse temporarily, it blocks the airways, and each pause in breathing can last anywhere from a few seconds to over a minute. I mean, can you imagine if I asked you to hold your breath for a minute when you're wide awake, you would struggle. But at nighttime, this can be very common. And this can have happen dozens or even hundreds of times per night. [00:09:50] And what this means is that even if someone thinks they've had eight hours of sleep, their body has actually been waking up repeatedly and pulling them out of that deep restorative sleep stages all night long. And it's keeping those stress hormones high as well. [00:10:05] Now, if you think that you or your partner might have this, what you're looking for is loud or chronic snoring. Snoring is a type of sleep apnea. Gasping or choking during sleep. [00:10:18] This is one that's usually noticed by the partner. My husband has it and he's got quite severe sleep apnea and I'm forever giving him a little nudge, saying turn over turnover. [00:10:28] And he's actually going for professional help for it at the moment because it is life threatening. [00:10:35] You might wake up. You probably will wake up, in fact, feeling unrefreshed even after a full night's sleep. And you find often these people that have severe sleep apnea will sit down on the couch to watch a movie and they'll be the first ones that are snoring or maybe they sit down at friend's house and they're snoring. You know, you can't sit down without falling asleep. It can also give you that dry mouth, a sore throat, morning headaches as well as that, daytime fatigue and low mood, brain fog. I mean, you know, if you've had a poor night's sleep. I know if I've had a bad night's sleep, I can get a bit irritable or a bit moody or I feel a little bit low in my mood. You know, it really does have a huge effect. [00:11:13] And as I say, especially common in men, but who carry extra weight or maybe they've got a deviated septum. [00:11:22] But it is also very common in postmenopausal women, likely because of the hormonal changes that affect the airway and the muscle tone. And there are related health risks with sleep apnea as well. High blood pressure has a very close link with sleep apnea, insulin resistance, because now we're raising cortisol when you're unslept, et cetera, mood changes, as I've said. And then you've also got a high risk of things like accidents from daytime fatigue. It is very real. [00:11:49] So essentially the body is experiencing that mini sort of stress response all night long. [00:11:56] So we really need to deal with that. [00:11:58] And the good news is you can actually get that assessed and you can deal with it easily. You need to get assessed by doing some sort of a sleep study. Your GP or health professional would be able to point you in the right direction for that. [00:12:13] Avoiding alcohol in the evening. Because what this does is it relaxes the airways and the muscles. So we want to try and avoid that and try sleep aid. Instead of lying on your back, lie on your side. [00:12:26] You can get nasal, the little strips that you put on your nose and they open up the air, the nasal passages and they can be very, very good. [00:12:36] CPAP machines. CPAP is a continuous positive airway pressure machine and it's A device that keeps the airways open and keeps oxygen flowing. And they can be absolutely amazing and really make a difference in people with sleep apnea. [00:12:51] My husband has an oral appliance where he is like a brace or a plate that he puts in his mouth. And what it does is it repositions the jaw slightly and this prevents the airway collapsing. And it has made a difference for him. [00:13:06] He's still snoring, but he doesn't stop breathing, which is really good for me because I then lay awake at night getting stressed about him not breathing. So he's still got a way to go. But even just that, oral appliance has been very, very good. And sleep apnoea, just to point out, it is one of the most under diagnosed causes of fatigue and weight gain and poor metabolic health. [00:13:28] So it really is something that needs to be addressed if you know you have it or you know somebody that does have it. But what about if it's not sleep apnoea? Not everybody has this, let's face it, I don't. But here are a few common habits that quietly can sabotage your sleep. One of them, no surprise, is caffeine. [00:13:47] Especially too much caffeine. If you're having your morning cup of coffee, you might be okay. It really depends on how fast you metabolize that coffee. I have had clients in the past that cannot touch it because even if they have it in the morning, it's still going to affect their sleep at night. But usually my advice is to stop drinking caffeine by midday. [00:14:09] And even if you feel sort of, even if you feel it's not affecting you, you can be wired and it can, the chemicals can build up and it still can prevent you from having a good night's sleep. So I do get clients that tell me, oh yeah, I have a coffee in evening before I go to bed and I'm fine. Well, caffeine is a stimulant. So I do sort of try and say, well, hey, let's change that last coffee. If you enjoy that coffee, let's at least change that to a decaffeinated option, an organic decaffeinated option, because it's not going to help and we don't want that stimulation when we're meant to be going to sleep. So another one is alcohol. Yes, it might help you fall asleep faster, but often it prevents you from reaching that deep sleep and that restorative sleep number three is high intensity exercise. Now, if the evening is your only time to exercise, it's worth taking caution on what type of exercise. You're doing high intensity exercise too close to bedtime can keep cortisol elevated. It keeps your heart rate higher, it keeps your temperature high. All these things can make it harder to fall asleep. Now, if the evening is the only time that you can exercise, then that's fine. You know, it's really about, okay, let's look at what type of exercise you're doing. So maybe strength training and maybe a walk on the treadmill instead of that high intensity type exercise in the evening, which might be actually sabotaging your sleep. Number four is eating large meals right before bed. Because what this does is it forces your body to focus on digesting the food instead of resting and repairing. We need to be in that fasted state. That's why it's called breakfast in the mornings that break fast. So what we want to be having really is our last meal two to three hours before bed. So that when you go to bed, your body can focus on its housework and it's cleaning, it's doing all of that, all of that regenerative stuff at nighttime when you're sleeping. And if you're digesting food, it cannot focus on that. [00:16:11] So small shifts like this, like having your last meal two to three hours before bed, maybe swapping that late coffee for a decaf option or herbal tea can make such a difference. [00:16:23] And how about foods that support sleep? So we've got certain foods that naturally support melatonin and serotonin. Now melatonin is a hormone that regulates the sleep wake cycle, Making it primarily, it's like a sleep aid. While serotonin is your neurotransmitter that can promote wakefulness, but it's also converted into melatonin, which is crucial for sleep. So we need both of those to be at the right levels and for us to have a good night. [00:16:50] And low levels of either of these are going to negatively impact sleep and your mood ultimately. [00:16:56] So how can we increase these? There are actually foods that we can eat that can increase these hormones. One of them is tryptophan rich food such as turkey, chicken, eggs, seeds and nuts, Especially pistachios, which also have high B6, which is linked to better sleep as well. [00:17:15] And I do remember reading a study, Lisa Moscone, she wrote a book called the XX brain, I think it's called, and it's about women and how our brain changes, et cetera, after our hormonals, after menopause. [00:17:31] And she said that I think it was like a handful of pistachios is as Good as a sleep aid, a sleeping pill for sleep. So, hey, if you can have pistachios versus a pharmaceutical drug, it's certainly worth a try, isn't it? [00:17:46] We've also got complex carbs. Now, if you're wanting to lose weight on the program, then complex carbs aren't actually in your evening meal, which is okay, you know, we want that because we don't need the energy that they provide at nighttime. But some people find that they actually do better with just a small serving of complex carbs in the evening. Some people find that they cannot sleep unless they have that. And that's because they can actually help tryptophan reach your brain. [00:18:16] So something like quinoa or oats or sweet potato, and it doesn't actually have to be much. I wouldn't say it's a full serving. [00:18:23] Even something like, I don't know, a quarter of a cup of some form of these complex carbs can actually make a difference. And I have seen that in clients in the past where we just add just a little bit in their evening meal and it makes a huge difference on their sleep quality. [00:18:39] And then we've got magnesium rich foods. So magnesium is your relaxation mineral. It makes everything relax. And so we've got foods such as your leafy greens, excellent sources of magnesium. Avocado, almonds, pumpkin seeds are very high in magnesium. So having something like that in your dinner can be very beneficial. Tart cherries or tart cherry juice, something I often prescribe for sleep, is one of the few natural sources of melatonin. Other sources are goji berries, kiwifruit, mushrooms, eggs, fatty fish and some nuts. So tart cherry juice, usually you don't need much of it and it's gotta be tart cherry, not just cherry juice. There's a difference. Cherry juice is also very high in sugar. [00:19:24] But tart cherry, you don't need too much of it before sleep. You usually buy it in quite concentrated form. And just having that sort of half an hour or so before bed can make a difference. So that's food. What about our evening routine? What are we doing before we go to bed? Are we scrolling on Instagram? Are we, you know, are we doing these things that are actually stimulating our brain or are we starting to wind down? When we're meant to wind down as the sun goes down, we're meant to wind down with it. But the trouble is, you know, we all lead busy lives and we're all up late and we've got that constant stimulation coming in from screens these days. [00:20:01] So a few things we can do. I mean, hey, if you work late, you can't help it, but there are things, a few things you can do to mitigate that. One is to dim the lights an hour or so before bed, because bright light actually suppresses your body's ability to make that melatonin. Also, sleeping in a dark room, even the teeniest bit of light can suppress melatonin secretion, which is our sleep hormone. Also, avoiding screens or using blue blocking glasses. If you need to use a device, switch on the night mode or protective lighting mode, whatever it's called. All computers and phones tend to have it these days. [00:20:39] Mine turns on. I've got it on a timer and it turns on automatically at night. And it does make a difference. It's not so glary and it's not so stimulating. [00:20:48] Also, you can do some form of gentle stretching, maybe a nighttime yoga routine, some reading, journaling or meditation. These will tell your nervous system that it's now safe, you're safe, and it's time to rest. If you're doing all these things but you're still struggling, what you're doing first thing in the morning is also very important. So getting sunlight on your eyes without sunglasses, getting it on the back of your retinas in the morning helps to actually regulate your circadian rhythm. And this helps to increase melatonin at nighttime. So what you do in the morning can really have a good impact on how you're sleeping at night. [00:21:25] But with any of these things, consistency really is key. So going to bed at the same time, waking at the same time, even on weekends, really helps to anchor your body clock more than anything else. Our bodies thrive on routine. Really important, some supplements that can help as well. We've already spoken about a few of them, but if you're not getting enough magnesium in your diet, maybe a magnesium supplement can be good, especially if you're not able to absorb the magnesium from the food you're getting. If you've got digestive issues, for example, magnesium glycinate or citrate, excellent for helping the muscles relax and it calms the nervous system. And you'd be aiming for about 3-400mg of magnesium. [00:22:07] L theanine is an amino acid from green tea that promotes relaxation without the drowsiness. And we're looking for between 1 and 300 milligrams, about half an hour or so before bed. I've used this myself and I've had great results with L theanine. I love it. [00:22:23] Another One is ashwagandha or withania. Same thing. This is an adaptogenic herb and this lowers cortisol soul and it supports deep sleep, particularly during stress or perimenopause. So Ashwagandha is an adaptogen and adaptogen is really helping our body to deal with the stress. It works on our stress responses. [00:22:47] So before obviously starting any of these, you should check with your practitioner or feel free to check in with me because we want to make sure that those are the right things for you. [00:22:58] So hopefully there's quite a lot there. If you are having problems with sleep, hopefully there's in there that you haven't done or you haven't tried or maybe you you want to try again. [00:23:08] Because hey, let's face it, good sleep is foundational to everything we talk about in the whole health revolution. Our metabolic health, hormone health, our energy, our emotional well being. How can you be on top of things and plan a good day of eating when you're absolutely exhausted? It can be so debilitating. [00:23:26] So it's not just about getting that eight hours at the end of the day. It's really about creating that right environment for your body to rest, repair and then reset. It's about the quality of that sleep that counts. [00:23:38] So this week I want you to choose just one thing from today's episode to work on. Maybe you want to swap the afternoon coffee for something else. You might want to try having a lighter, dimmer dinner. Or maybe you might want to keep the lights a bit dim at nighttime so when it starts getting late, dim the lights, turn it down and have some sort of a wind down routine at least half an hour before bed. It's all these little small steps that really make a big impact. [00:24:05] And of course, if you'd like more support, I'm here for you anytime. If you want some recipes that help with sleep, if you want practical tools like this, please do reach out to me via the members forum. I'm always there. I love getting your questions and of course I want to tailor the program for you so that you're getting the best results. [00:24:25] So thanks for listening. Here's to a week of better sleep. Maybe you're going to have a deeper sleep if you're finding that you're implementing all of these things and you feel you're doing everything perfectly and it's still not working. Please do reach out to me and we can have a bit more of a chat about it. Have a good week everybody, and I look forward to chatting again next week.