Beautifully Well Conversations with Nik
Curated conversations for women with National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach Nik Sweeney. Transparency meets community with engaging topics surrounding self-care for busy women.
Beautifully Well Conversations with Nik
Tired of Being Tired? How Lack of Sleep Affects Your Blood Sugar
Sleep quality directly impacts insulin effectiveness and is crucial for preventing type 2 diabetes, with seven hours of uninterrupted sleep recommended by experts for optimal health benefits.
• Poor sleep hygiene leads to insulin resistance, the precursor to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes
• Sleep deprivation confuses hunger signals, making the brain unable to tell if you've eaten enough
• Lack of sleep increases cravings for unhealthy carbs and sugars as the body seeks quick energy
• Consistent inadequate sleep raises risk for hypertension and weakens the immune system
• Creating a consistent sleep schedule helps train your body for better sleep patterns
• Simple solutions like limiting evening fluids, writing down tomorrow's tasks, and using white noise can improve sleep quality
• Physical comfort matters—consider mattress toppers, body pillows, or addressing pain that disrupts sleep
• Evaluate your caffeine intake and consider a cutoff time several hours before bed
• Electronic devices emit light that stimulates the brain, making it harder to fall asleep
• Nature sounds, deep breathing exercises, and gentle stretching can help the body prepare for rest
If you're struggling with persistent sleep issues, speak with your healthcare provider about potential solutions, including evaluating if current medications might be contributing to insomnia.
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Did you know? Stress, physical or mental illness, your living, sleeping arrangements, family history, if you have, if you are a shift worker, you know you're working those overnight hours, those off hours, and, of course, what we eat and how often we move can all contribute to insomnia. So sleep, how important is it? That's going to be our topic tonight and, of course, we're not just talking about how you can catch some Zs. The biggest part of this conversation is how does lack of sleep, or we could just call it poor sleep hygiene, how does it impact our overall health? And, of course, in our conversations, as we dive into, what's most important to all of us on this call is doing the best that we can to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes. What is the connection? So we're going to dive right in and in our conversation, I'll share the participant manual here. Do you get enough sleep? Why does it matter? What are some strategies to get more rest? And you know what I'll say? What if you have the best bedtime routine, you don't struggle with sleep. You rarely ever have times where you toss and turn, then, of course, that is awesome. So then, what's in it for you in this conversation? Well, of course, although it may appear that this might not apply because you have perfected sleep, think about how it can easily be applied when you reach that point in your sleep habits where things may not be going as planned. And then, secondly, isn't this something we could share with someone else? How often do we have conversations with those closest to us and the topic of sleep, or the lack thereof, comes up? So we'll talk about how we can get into a routine to help us get better sleep. But also real talk is what are some of the challenges that we deal with? Because not every situation or cause for insomnia we saw that in the post is something that we may be able to control right away. It really could be a work in progress.
Speaker 1:But let's make the connection first to diabetes and sleep. So studies show that when we don't get enough sleep, then our insulin doesn't work well, which means your body doesn't process fat as well. And then let's talk about the brain having trouble as well remembering things because you haven't had enough to eat. It doesn't know, it's not able to get those sensors right. The neurons aren't processing information properly. In other words, the system is just jacked up a bit. And where does it start, according to this conversation, what sleep can affect? So, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research, it recommends that we get at least seven hours of sleep per night. And when we say seven hours right, not seven hours on and off we're talking a straight seven hours of sleep and we want to dig into this.
Speaker 1:But when we look at what's so interesting, let's look at some of these complications what happens if I get less than seven hours of sleep? I mean, and can we not recall maybe earlier, earlier in life, where you could stay up all night, sleep for three or four hours, get up and go to work and function? Well, I know that all of us on this call definitely looks at sleep as a luxury and something that we want to definitely enjoy, that the idea of staying up most of the night and only getting a few hours of sleep does not make us feel great. And, as a matter of fact, what happens when we get less sleep? Feel free to chime in the chat as well. This is all found in your participant, uh, in your participant manual, but we want to go through these because you know how many of us, on a scale from one to ten and you can give me a reaction. You can put it in the chat how many of us are challenged some nights to get a straight seven hours of sleep. Now, if you're getting up at three, four o'clock in the morning, you know cause you got to go make a deposit and then go back to sleep. Fine, especially if you're getting up and you're going right back to sleep. But if you are challenged to get, yeah, these seven hours straight, I'm telling you, ladies, it will change your life.
Speaker 1:Yesterday I had one of those days that I must have needed. I'm not saying get 12 hours of sleep, but that's what I got. And it felt amazing. Every once in a while I'm able to get those 12 hours of sleep. So I took a nap that turned out to be one of those naps. What was it? Maybe 3.30, 4 o'clock in the afternoon. I didn't wake up till 10 pm Got up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I ate. I had a meal, went up to 10 o'clock and, guess what, I went right back to sleep. I was back to bed by 11 and slept until like 5.45. And I woke up refreshed. So I'm not talking about aim to get those 12 hours every opportunity you get. But you know what, when a body says rest and you position it to rest and that's what I did when I said, guess what, four o'clock, I'm taking me a nap, my body said guess what, you need more than a nap you really need. You need to lay down and let your allow your body to turn off and rest. And I tell you, monday felt magnificent waking up. But for those of you joining, you have not missed much at all.
Speaker 1:We are talking about why sleep matters and in the chat I asked the question have you faced or are you facing a challenge with sleep? So one of two things if you're not challenged, you're able to get those seven hours of sleep. Well, maybe you feel like you know what Five hours work for me. I get about five hours, I. Maybe you feel like you know what five hours work for me. I get about five hours, I'm good. Well, how could you step it up to seven, if you have perfected sleep and you're getting those seven hours of sleep.
Speaker 1:We want to hear a tip in the chat, but we talked about complications. What happens when we don't get enough sleep and how does it affect delaying type 2 diabetes or diabetes? Actually, if you don't get enough sleep, your insulin does not work. We know the phrase insulin resistance. Insulin resistance occurs before we even reach a pre-diabetes state. But then your body also does not process fat as well. And why is fat not processed well when we don't get enough sleep? Interestingly, that brain of ours has trouble transmitting that communication about where we are in terms of food, so it doesn't know if we've gotten enough to eat. So that system is all over the place. So let's talk about some of these complications. You can tell it's one of my favorite topics.
Speaker 1:If you don't get a regular seven hours of sleep each night, we talked about insulin resistance. Insulin resistance leads to prediabetes and ultimately type two diabetes. It can make you hungrier than you are and then begin to suppress that appetite. So notice this it will make you hungrier the next day, but reduce how you feel after you eat. Can we see that connection to suppression? Right, like I don't eat breakfast. I'm not saying I don't, I try, try to eat it, on a little something. But if you are that person, you don't eat breakfast, maybe you're just having a cup of coffee and you don't eat till maybe 12 o'clock, one o'clock.
Speaker 1:The question becomes are you getting really good sleep? It will make you more likely to eat these junk foods. And why? Again, the brain and how it is processing your new food regimen? These foods you will crave, because when we don't get sleep, which helps the body to rest and generate natural energy, now what are we looking to to boost our energy? We're having sugar without coffee. We are going ham on those less healthier carbs because we're trying to get some energy. It becomes harder to lose weight because the body system is not receptive to it. Right, remember we said, the brain isn't even picking up on those signals that we've eaten enough food. Check this one out Lack of sleep can put us at a high risk for hypertension, high blood pressure.
Speaker 1:It will raise it, and we know that heart disease is real. And when we're unable to manage our blood pressure successfully, there is no doubt that we incur more issues with our heart health. That we incur more issues with our heart health when we don't get enough sleep? Are we a fighter? Can we fight these illnesses, from COVID to the flu? Yeah, we're going to talk about why you don't have problems sleeping seven hours most nights. Ms Vann, you will get to share what you've been doing. So our immune system, we want to treat it right. I actually I'm going to call it to her. Everybody on this call is a woman. Our immune system relate to her. Comfort her, take care of her, because that immune system will help us to fight when we give it a chance to naturally rest.
Speaker 1:And ladies, let me tell you this point, I could talk on this all day, as you can tell, because we only on a second page of the participant manual. But how do you feel? We are in one of the seasons where seasonal affective disorder, that seasonal depression, is real. We are many of us living at a time where we're dealing with so many challenges they're like back to back, various challenges. But when we look at where we are from a mental health perspective, it's okay and I'm not asking anybody to tell their business, tell their story, you don't have to put this in a chat, but just something to think of If we are fully aware of our emotional health, our overall wellbeing.
Speaker 1:Can we make a connection to not feeling well mentally and emotionally and evaluate where we are with proper rest? I know I'm the type of person sometimes, if I'm not getting a decent sleep or I'm not feeling well, I could oversleep, not like the example of the 12 hours. I needed. That and that refreshes me. I'm in love with those opportunities. However, can you go back and assess where you are in terms of sleep? If we talked about how lack of sleep can cause the brain to miss signals in terms of food, then will the brain also miss other signals that relate to how we feel, that relate to how we feel, so that increased risk of depression and anxiety. I'm not saying sleep is a cure-all, but sleep is definitely a bestie. Sleep is a friend.
Speaker 1:Now we'll take a look at Jenny's story. She has part one and part two. Of course, always see if you can relate one and part two. Of course, always see if you can relate. Is there anyone who would like to share Jenny's story part one? We'll answer a few questions and then we'll dive into how we may be able to connect the dots for us, crystal, awesome, please feel free to chime in. It's so fast. So it says Jenny is at risk for type 2 diabetes. At her last checkup her doctor asked whether she gets at least seven hours of sleep. You might be on me, crystal, I'm seeing.
Speaker 2:Well, I can hear.
Speaker 1:Can you hear me? Uh-huh, can you hear me, nick? No, I can hear, okay, okay, we still can't hear me. Uh-huh, can you hear me? Uh, nick, no, I can hear. Okay, okay, we still can't hear you. It might be, oh, are you able to see the screen? Uh huh, I can see it, sometimes I'm not. Can you hear me now? Yeah, I'm still sharing the screen, but I think I see the screen.
Speaker 1:I'm using a lot of bandwidth here. Let me delete all of this. That's going on, okay. So here's what I'll do. Let me hop back into our story and I'll take a look at that. Sorry, ladies, hopefully you can still see I'm going through the motions with this computer here. But here we go.
Speaker 1:Jenny is at risk for type 2 diabetes. At her last checkup, her doctor asked whether she gets at least seven hours of sleep each night, and of course she laughed and said are you serious? If I'm lucky, I can get five hours. Jenny usually doesn't have much trouble falling asleep, but she often has to use the bathroom early in the morning. This gets her thinking about all the things she has to do for the day. Plus, her husband is breathing really loud. I call that snoring too, and both of those things make it hard for Jenny to fall back so often. She's right there just looking at that ceiling, staying awake for hours. How many of us can relate? And I asked this question already. Crystal, you have your hand up. Oh no, I was just answering your question. How many could be late? I'm just saying I can every time and for some reason. Oh okay, I hope I'm not controlling the the meeting okay, there you go, are you?
Speaker 1:yeah, can you hear me now and it could be your volume? Right, let me turn my volume up. You might want to turn your volume up.
Speaker 2:All right.
Speaker 1:And feel free to use the chat as well. Okay, but we talked a little bit about that first question, right? How do you feel when you don't get enough sleep? A little bit about that first question. How do you feel when you don't get enough sleep and not just physically groggy, but mentally? How do you feel?
Speaker 1:And now, interestingly, this question if you've ever been asked about a sleep habit at the doctors, that's great. Most will not ask that question, but jenny's doctor, um, asked, and based on jenny's response, based on that response, um, clearly there are reasons why she is unable to get the sleep that she wants. We just talked about that. I mean, you're getting up in the middle of the night, that's fine, you got to go make the deposit. But once you lay back down in that bed, does your body signal you to go back to sleep?
Speaker 1:Jenny has a lot going on, so much so it's hard to get those things back out of her mind. The moment she wakes up to go to the restroom, her mind triggers, right to the next few hours of the day, the start of that day and what it's going to look like. And it doesn't help that laying right next to her is the man who probably needs a CPAP, who is driving her crazy because the sound of his breathing, and probably his snoring as well, makes it difficult for her to tune him out. Now she's probably not having trouble falling asleep because she rushes to the bed to go to sleep before him sleep because she's rushed. She rushes to the bed to go to sleep before him. But if only she could avoid getting up in the middle of the night or finding another way to cope, at least until hubby gets a little help with his sleep hygiene right, because his breathing too loud is definitely an indication that there's something he may need to get checked out. But these are all normal things, so we're not bashing Jenny or the man. It's just a reality.
Speaker 1:So then, what will she do? Because the one option should not be to continue in this state because of her risk factors for type 2 diabetes and the fact that we know she wants to live her best life, her best healthy life. So Jenny gets several suggestions from the doctor that could help her get better sleep, and she explained that getting enough sleep could help her manage her weight. So what's happening next? Jenny drinks less water close to bedtime, she avoids caffeine. In the evening, she makes a list of things to do the next day, then she sets it aside. She rarely needs to get up to use the bathroom during the night anymore. If she does wake up, she breathes deeply to help her get back to sleep instead of thinking about that to-do list. She also runs a fan to cover up the sound of her husband's breathing. So what is happening? As a result of some of these small, zero-cost suggestions, she's starting to get closer to those seven hours a night. Simple steps let's run through them, and if you have any suggestions or a challenge you would like to overcome, right, there may be someone right on this call that may be dealing with the same concerns.
Speaker 1:How can we help address some of the things that we can control? And that's what I like about Jenny's part too. The focus here was what she could control within her environment. One thing she could do is look at drinking less water close to bedtime. Now, no doubt, whether you have pre-diabetes or type 2 diabetes, what is one of the symptoms? We drink, we drink, we drink, we drink. You feel so thirsty, you continue to drink. But if you drink enough water during the early part of the day and just sit a bit, but give yourself a cutoff time based on the time you go to sleep. That's what worked for Jenny. That her caffeine whether that be in a form of coffee or a soda, that she became more aware hey, am I taking in caffeine, maybe an hour or two hours before I go to bed? Could that also play a role?
Speaker 1:She did two physical things so far, but what did she do to help her mental? I know we caught that. She literally wrote down her list of things to do, then set it aside. That might sound too simple to work, but that physical thing, if you are like, if you think back to childhood or even now, how you, what type of learner are you? Are you a visual learner, right? Are you an audio learner? Are you someone who has to watch yourself write it down and see it, right? She took this list physically, wrote out everything she needed to do so she could see it, and that put her at ease, because now I don't have to just think about everything that I have to do, literally putting it down on paper and it is proven this could help.
Speaker 1:But then she physically took. Then she physically took that list and set it aside. It has its place and now it's no longer running up here because I planned out my day, so I don't have to worry about that. Could we do that? That's more of a mental and emotional tip. Let me get this out my mind on paper, run through it, read it out loud, whatever I have to do, but I'm going to put it aside. Psychologically it helped.
Speaker 1:Her husband is going to continue to breathe deeply until he get that CPAP machine or until he goes and finds out what is causing him to do that. Maybe even deciding to join her healthy mission and drop a few pounds too, could be helpful. But she can't stop that man from breathing heavy like what he's doing, so you can't beat him. Join him. She found a sound solution to drown him out. I probably would have found a music or white noise machine to help lull me to sleep, and we're going to talk about that because those tips that her suggestions, her doctor, gave helped for her. I would love to see if you have any.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, the dark, no TV, turning their cell phone off, right, could we be what? If we're waiting for somebody to call us to tell us something wrong, our mind could work that way, like we're just waiting, just in case somebody has to call us. We don't, we gotta work that way, like we're just waiting just in case somebody has to call us. We don't, we got to turn that off. We don't have to turn the phone physically off, but we can definitely turn it. Turn it to vibrate, turn it to do not disturb. This it can be a challenge. So here are a few suggestions um, and feel free in a chat if what jenny did, if any of that worked for you. So if there's too much noise, we just had that miss fan. Put that um in a chat. Um, you can.
Speaker 1:When I brought up the white noise machine, if you're not familiar with white noise, there's white noise, brown noise, pink noise, it's just sounds. There are sounds that stimulate the brain waves to actually do more of a relax and you can look up what noise works, might work best for you, but they're literally um, you can find white noise actually in YouTube videos as well. It's not something you always have to pay for. Nature sounds are absolutely amazing. I'm actually going to share some before the end of this call. They could relax you Last night.
Speaker 1:I mean not that I needed it because I was going to get my sleep any old way. But we had the rain with the thunderstorms last night and I'll tell you it was the ultimate relax. Um, shut the doors and the windows. Tell people around you if there are people affecting that noise. I mean we gotta have some boundaries, especially if you have to get up and go to work. But we see how vital sleep is. Tell them be quiet and you know, hopefully they listen. But this is really what Miss Van put in the chat.
Speaker 1:If it's too much light, now, if you're someone who can do the darkness that you don't need, like that little night light or something going on, definitely not the tv, right, the tv could be a big distraction for some people. Um, or what, if you're that person, maybe you need it on at first to go to sleep, but I hope it's on a timer or somebody's turning that thing off. Um, those room darkening blinds or shades they work. I love the idea of a sleep mask. They could definitely help as well.
Speaker 1:The bed could investing in a pillow top. Uh, if it doesn't have to be the whole pillow top mattress. Now they sell the pillow top. Uh, I'm gonna call it a sheet, but it's more like a fitted sheet. Um, if it's, is the bed not firm enough? Well then, now you can get another type of sheet to make the bed firm. We don't have to buy a whole new mattress. Trust me, they have things that you can temporarily change the function of the bed.
Speaker 1:Or do you need more of a pillow? I don't know about you, but sometimes I have to sleep in the craziest way. Yes, it's the mattress topper, and they have various mattress toppers based on your personal needs. Do you need it to be a firmer topper? Do you need it to have that cold technology? Do you need it to be a little more plush? Do you need a down-filled pillow topper? They have them. Do you need that whole body pillow because you have to lay a certain way, maybe your hip or your knee, maybe your back? The way that you lay is making you feel uncomfortable. Find those positions that will ease the challenges so that you can actually get a good night's rest. Challenges so that you can actually get a good night's rest.
Speaker 1:That thirst we talked about, set that timer. You know, for those of us with children, you think about when, especially during those potty training times, and then early on in pre-K, elementary school, maybe even up to first or second grade, like uh-uh, you're not drinking nothing up in here at 7 o'clock, I'm not changing no bed sheets, I'm not doing it. So guess what? We got to go back to that Because if getting up in the middle of the night is causing you to not be able to fall right back to sleep after no matter what that reason could be, then that means we may need a personal cutoff. We need to set a boundary on that, just like Jenny did and it helped. And like it says, if you're fighting thirst, that it can be one of the challenges A big spill of that.
Speaker 1:We know that with thirst, it could simply be that we need to have more water, a choice of some healthier liquids throughout the earlier part of the day, because it can be a sign of dehydration. But we can sip just a little bit, right? Remember, there are no hard fast rules. It's what works for you. You don't want to get up in the middle of the night. Same thing. We're going back to evaluating when that cutoff time is.
Speaker 1:And think about your alcohol content too. Right? You get that glass of wine every day. Right, one glass a day. You got to have a glass of Malone at the end of a workday. Well, how close is that last sip to your bedtime? Because alcohol could keep you up as well.
Speaker 1:But look at this, ladies we're going back to our emotional health, our emotional well-being. If we're feeling anxious or we're on high alert, right, either way it's too much. Our emotions are either taking us all the way down it is zapping us totally or they're taking us to the other extreme, right, we're just in this state of alertness. That's not cool either. But what are some things you can do?
Speaker 1:First, during the day, routine is queen, it's something about a routine, so the schedule can help us reduce anxiety. I get up at the same time each day. Hopefully it is that time that allows that seven hour sleep window. Right, so that your body can become acclimated to this schedule. Right, because we know, with the body, any changes it wants to fight naturally Like no, we've been doing this for 10 years, I'm not ready to change. Well, get that body on a schedule and aim to stay within those same time parameters so that the body can begin to ease. Remember it's fighting a norm. We did that. We've given it this routine and now we're changing it. So we got to gradually get it ready for the change and not give up.
Speaker 1:This even says you might want to avoid caffeine. Now, it's not often that we say don't do something right. Ultimately it's up to you. But depending on the degree of your anxiety, you may want to have a caffeine-free day. Try the decaf coffee or beverage with no caffeine. Try decaf tea. If you smoke quit, avoid the late-day naps like me and my four o'clock nap that lasted for 12 hours.
Speaker 1:Right, get some physical activity, move it along. We already know that movement will stimulate those endorphins so that we can get some of those happy hormones going. And physical activity doesn't have to be much Put in a chat. Give me some examples of some physical activity. Literally, go vacuum the rug, go sweep the floor, simple things. Take a walk in a house Carefully walk up and down your steps, or just walk up the last step twice like a step aerobics. Find a way to easily move that does not make you feel like you need to overexert yourself to reduce those feelings. But physical activity is one of those quick fixes. It can help Managing stress. No doubt that is really why I'm anxious.
Speaker 1:Okay, so tell me how to manage this stress. First, we have to identify what is causing the stress. And once I identified, is it something I can fix? Do I have control over it? Do I have control over it? Can I fix it right now, at this moment? Is it something I can ping pong off to somebody else? Is it something that I can put in my back pocket for the day, because there's nothing I can do about it? Today I can't call who I may need to call because the office is closed. I won't be able to fix it until payday on Friday and this Monday. Then why is it zapping all your energy? On Monday you figured out the solution, or at least to the best of your ability, what can happen and when. Do you have enough time to wait until Friday, and if you do, then you can back pocket it until Friday and, if not, find out who you can talk to to help you get it done before Friday, right?
Speaker 1:So when we manage stress yeah, those two words are so significant, but the reality is stress will never go away, only the degree and to what extent it can affect us. And if we are anxious and those anxious thoughts are caused by stress, then we just evaluate what those stresses are and again, how much of it can we reasonably control and how reasonable is it to be able to push that aside, like almost just like that list that Jenny did because that to-do list was stressing her out. But guess what? There had to be things on that list that she could not not do the next day, but she prioritized them, she wrote them down and then she put it aside because there's nothing on that list she could do at that time but focus on sleep. Now, even deeper than that, insomnia can be caused by other reasons and we talked about that in the beginning with our initial picture. That quote what can cause it.
Speaker 1:So we may need to get a healthcare provider involved, because we know the seriousness of what lack of sleep can do to our physical health and our mental health, because it puts us at higher risk for depression and anxiety. So talk to your healthcare provider and get their input and remember the research. So I got to throw that in there too. If your healthcare provider has deemed it necessary to support you with a sleep aid and you are all on board for it, just remember to ask questions, ask about the dosage, ask what the minimum dosage is and what they recommend for you, and if more than a minimum has been recommended for you. Ask them to explain why and how deep are the I'm saying consequences? That is not the word. I'm looking for the side effects that I should look out for as a result of this medication. Dig deep and find out about the medication and multiple medications, because maybe there are others, and in case that one sleep aid does not work for you, you should know what another option is, so that you can do as much research as you can If there's a need for the doctor to revisit the prescription he's giving you. Remember, you are your best advocate.
Speaker 1:This talks about medications. What if a medication you are on is actually contributing to your insomnia? Yeah, that's a conversation through self-awareness. Can you pinpoint a time where you didn't have a problem with sleep and now, for the past two, three years, I'm having a problem sleeping? What has changed? It could be your medication. It may not always be circumstances or added anxiety. So this is where we become our best advocate. So, again, we're going to continue this challenge. They break it down by times. Remember I said this is in your right inside the hub. It's in the digital workbook you could also consider.
Speaker 1:Just be for bed, try not to become stimulated with devices, and I'm gonna tell you this is something. Even though I don't have a problem falling asleep, I can get antsy from time to time, sometimes at night. But I will tell you these things are something else and they are a stimulant. Look mine, almost glowing. If you look at it, it almost looks like it's like a glow Because these things make the brain keep thinking even when you're not on it. It can truly be a distraction, and I'm preaching to the choir, so to speak. But just imagine if you're having trouble falling asleep or the overstimulation stimulation almost similar to Jenny's situation where she gets up and can't turn it off. Sometimes these devices or even the TV on too close to bedtime can easily have the brain going. Only you know, avoid working or being very active.
Speaker 1:What's your workout routine? Maybe for you personally, it may not be a good idea to do a workout past 7 pm if you're going to bed at 9. So you got to look at that. Right, we want to get our exercise in, but remember, exercise boosts energy as well for some. So we just look at that. Maybe I'm working out a little too late and it's making it tough for me to be able to wind down. What things could we do to wind down, I would love to see it in a chat. They're going to give us a few tips, but remember, I said I'm going to share one of those nature sounds to help us unwind a bit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I find that when I wake up in the middle of the night, I need to check the time on my phone. In the middle of the night, going on Instagram, I just might check Facebook. I know I'm not going to lurk around indefinitely, but oh my goodness, and I guarantee you, I'm probably going to check one of my work emails. I'm probably going to see if, just maybe five hours later, I got an email that can't wait till 9am. How crazy is that. It's all psychological, but that's what happens the moment I pick this up. Good point, look at this y'all Don't pressure yourself to fall asleep.
Speaker 1:Keep the clocks and watches out of sight so you don't think about time passing. So maybe this tip applies to you. Maybe you are so conscious about time that it actually causes anxiety and a pressure. Um, I really like to know why my thumb is going up. Okay, let me put it down. So, and if you don't think, you'll fall asleep right away, it's saying get out the bed and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Only you know what that is. Um, I don't know if I'll say that cup of tea, because I feel like if I had a cup of hot tea we'll run you to bed.
Speaker 1:I'm positioning myself to get up at two or three o'clock to make a deposit. But what could you do? Relax, and could it be a stretch. Could it be turning down almost all the lights, maybe keeping on a very low light, and put on some of that nature music, or maybe even that white noise, so that you're able to bring it down? Could it be breathe work? I'm a fan of five deep, intentional breaths. Oh my goodness. They not only clear my mind, but it puts me. It literally will put me in a state of rest. It gives my body that downtime that it needs. So let's take a look at this before we hop into some music. There it is Now. This says breathe deeply for five minutes. That's a nice long time.
Speaker 1:But what if you had remember what is your sleep regimen? What does it look like? Sleep is more than a hot shower, pjs and covers and a blanket. What happens before that determines the quality of your sleep, and I know we'll all agree, right? I mean, if I, if I had a rough day and I'm an exhausted day, for me that really could mean that I could lay down in a bed and get a good seven or eight hours of sleep because I am that exhausted. But for someone else, that exhaustion could be so overwhelming and overstimulating that it makes it really difficult for another person to fall asleep because their mind is still in a wind up space.
Speaker 1:Yes, we are going to listen to this music because I'm telling you it is truly a calm, and you know, if you've been to the spa, you know that's a practice for us. The music is there for a reason. It serves a purpose. This talks about drinking that warm milk or herbal tea. Again, just know if you're struggling in the middle of the night, but think about it, it could help.
Speaker 1:Here we go again with this part. Crystal Yep, avoid looking at the screens If we can, because of stimulation. Let's get that music going, get that list of things to do done and put aside whether it's in your planner. Now here's where we may have to go into the devices, because if you have to, I know sometimes I just like to look at my schedule. That's in here. But I need to figure out, okay, if I'm doing that, what's my time to look at that schedule and make sure everything is tight on that. I got an idea of what that next day looks like. Is tight on that. I got an idea of what that next day looks like. How can I do that and try not to make that time too close to the time for me to go to bed, so that one I don't get lost again with the device.
Speaker 1:Start reading a book. I know for me, the moment I start reading I don't care how enjoyable it is If I'm reading sitting up in the bed I'm not going to last long, no matter how interesting. So it definitely. It definitely is one of those techniques I know I can use if I'm unable to fall asleep right away the warm bath, warm shower and maybe begin to write. I will tell you same thing with reading and writing. Let me start writing something. I guarantee you. Three sentences later I'm done. Somebody have to take the pen out my hand.
Speaker 1:I don't know Reading and writing. I like them both, but at the end of the day, if it's at the end of the day, I'm not going to be able to get enough work done. But what works for you? And that is that question. You know, each week you have a focus, you have a focal point for the week. What will that focus be?
Speaker 1:If the focus for this week is going to be get better sleep, get more sleep, then here's the question what will help you unwind at the end of the day? Why? My screen almost looks like I decided to do blurry. Let me just make sure I don't have any. Almost looks like I decided to do blurry. Let me just make sure I don't have any, because all of a sudden I got really blurry and I don't know if you all can see that.
Speaker 1:Okay, okay, okay, maybe that is just the way it's going to. Okay, so let's hop into our as we get ready to wind down. But realistically, ladies, please, and feel free to share it in the chat if you'd like what are some routines? What can you add to your sleep routine so that you are able to get better sleep? And even if you don't have a problem sleeping right, even if it is not a problem, if you think about what is one thing you can do for you? You know, my one of my favorite phrases is self-care is not selfish and let's look at self-care as a as a 24 hour thing. We certainly can. There is I'm going to pull this up in just a moment, so I hope you all can hang out with me for a minute.
Speaker 1:This is one, and I hope it works. Let me see, and I hope it works.
Speaker 2:Let me see, oh no.
Speaker 1:All right, because this is going to give me a hard way to go. We're just going to share this here, so I hope you can hear it, that your sound is up. Pretty good, I'm going to get the sound right and play this so we can hear it.
Speaker 2:And that was my girl one.
Speaker 1:It's just going to listen to it through here, because for some reason, this is definitely. That's nice and this scene is so beautiful. It really is. Now Give me one second, ladies. The picture is what I was looking for, but the sound is not. You're able to hear the nature sounds and a waterfall. If I could just get a reaction, the. So there you go. I hope that worked, because I'm really half asleep right about now, but those nature sounds are absolutely amazing and on YouTube they are free. Right, the thunderstorms are among my favorites, but if you think about it tonight's lesson I hope there were quite a few takeaways for you.
Speaker 1:Just in a quick summary, one sleep is vital. Sleep is equally important to eating well and exercise. Sleep is how we take care of our overall health, and we've seen through studies and research that sleep affects insulin levels. Lack of sleep can result in insulin resistance right. So when we're not getting that sleep, we are putting ourselves at a greater risk for diabetes, and our heart health is affected as well. Sleep definitely affects the weight loss journey in so many ways. One that lack of sleep makes it difficult for our brain to understand and connect if we have eaten enough food, so we're not getting the hunger cues correctly, we're not getting those cues that we have eaten enough. That lack of sleep can also cause us to give in to cravings for food because we lack energy, cause us to give into cravings for food because we lack energy. So the body desires to crave this energy and we are more likely to crave those unhealthier carbs, right, and so there's so many benefits to finding the time to take the time to aim to get those seven hours.
Speaker 1:Remember they would say eight hours is amazing. This is saying you can just get seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. Now, did you know, if you have a Fitbit or an Apple Watch, that you can connect your Fitbit or Apple Watch to the Practice Better app and it will log your sleep? If you keep your watch on, you literally can see the sleep activity and that is absolutely amazing to see. You'll get to see the REM, which is that state of sleep that is so enjoyable.
Speaker 1:Wouldn't it be great to have seven hours of REM? Yeah, you'll also see the light sleep patterns and for some of you, if you have, depending on the type of phone or health app, it does the same thing, but the beauty of it within practice better is that it calculates it, it breaks it down and you literally can get a printout. You can actually download the printout. We've made it so you can pull all your analytics from the app. But let's make sleep happen. It was Ms Van. I wanted to pick on her for a second if you wanted to come off of me, to even chime in the chat, because she said I gets my sleep. Yeah, I get my.
Speaker 2:I make sure I get my sleep. And going to the spa, getting massages all of that helps because it helps get rid of that information in your body, and that's a lot of time because of that pain that you can't sleep. So when you do those things it helps. And now my problem is getting out of the bed. I sleep so good most nights and I don't want to get up, and so I just be sleeping, so, and that's what I've been doing.
Speaker 1:That is awesome and thank you for sharing. Yes, ms Van does not mind. Her part of her self-care regimen is coming into the spa and enjoying some of those spa services, especially the sauna therapy. It works. It helps, coupled with other things, as mentioned your massage. You mentioned something really important too.
Speaker 1:If we're dealing with aches and pains, it's hard to sleep, right, but the moment you begin to relax the body and reduce pain, now I can sleep, ladies. That is the big connection. The feel better, yep, the feel better. Do more. It's real right. The moment we are managing stress and when we talk about pain management, pain is stress to the body. So at the end of the day, it just all goes back to how are we managing stress the best way we can? When we do that, then naturally things like sleep will begin to happen. We will feel it. So it's been a great evening. You have to commend yourself. Give yourselves a round of applause for setting aside this Monday night. I know there's.
Speaker 1:I will throw this challenge out to everyone on the call. You too, erica. I know we were supposed to connect. We have to connect because the gear is winding down. We are literally getting down to the last couple of weeks of 2023. It's the beginning of the month. Every week we have goals, but I would love to be able to touch everyone virtually on this call individually, on a one-on-one, whether it be a five-minute phone call, whether we decide to do a few-minute Zoom and talk about what your goals are right. We don't want the festivities of what's coming up or this idea that January is a new month. It's a fresh start. All that stuff may be real, but at the end of the day, I always feel like anything I'm working towards. I don't have to wait for a date to work towards it. I can start making those small steps now.
Speaker 1:So what I challenge you all to do is think about as the year winds down. We have just a little over three weeks left, in my opinion, because today is the fourth Barely three and a half weeks left. What is your goal? How are you closing out 2023? What is your goal over the next few weeks? How realistic is that goal?
Speaker 1:But how great will it feel to do what you can in order to work towards it, accomplish it, so that at the start of 2024, all you are doing is continuing on that same journey and that mission to accomplish another goal with even more confidence. So let's aim to do that. It's only the fourth. Our physical office is closed tomorrow, but we have meetings planned and scheduled, which means we will answer the phone and we will respond to email as well and seeing what we can do collectively me as an advocate, nudging you along the way to help you reach this goal that you have set by the end of the year. So I thank you all for hopping in, unless you have any questions. Continue in this journey, find that focus and please let's not let the week go by without our connect. Take care and make the rest of your week a wonderful week.
Speaker 2:Thank you Good night, thank you.
Speaker 1:Good night, thank you.