More Energy With Better Sleep

This week, I’ve got some very exciting homework for you- GET SOME SLEEP! As reported by the American Sleep Apnea Association “More than 50 million Americans already suffer from over 80 different sleep disorders and another 20 to 30 million suffer intermittent sleep problems each year.” They also state that “25% of U.S. adults reporting insufficient sleep or rest at least 15 out of every 30 days.”

            Dr. Tracy Marks, with Marks Psychiatry, defines chronic sleep loss as “having a loss of sleep, too much sleep or broken sleep for 4 or more nights per week for over one month’s period.” During sleep your brain not only gets to rest, but it gets to process all of your day’s events and heal and regenerate itself and the rest of your organs. Without sleep, however, not only can we become irritable and cranky, but it can also lead to immunity drop, weight gain, impaired memory, lowered sex drive, and lowered cognition abilities (think slower reflexes). When we aren’t getting enough sleep, it dramatically affects us past just being drowsy - our entire health is at risk of becoming compromised.

            How many nights a week do you find yourself on your phone, scrolling through emails and checking social media or binge watching another episode of your favorite show? Or come evening time we are sitting at dinner with loved ones, but or mind is off in a thousand places rehashing our day, making a mental list of what we have to accomplish tomorrow and all the places the kids need to be and in turn. Very few of us really allow our brains downtime to just sit and relax throughout the night before drifting off to sleep. The constant activity mixed with the blue lights from our screens effectively knocks our circadian rhythm completely out of whack.

Before we continue, let’s define a couple of terms we hear often, but without explanation, to pin-point their correlation to sleep and their importance.

Melatonin- This is the hormone correlated with the circadian rhythm, when it gets dark, your body should naturally start releasing melatonin to help us wind down then go to sleep.

What is our circadian rhythm? Basically, it’s the internal clock we all have that wakes us up in the mornings and lets us drift off to sleep at night. When this gets messed up, our ability to go to sleep then stay away during the day is thrown off-kilter.

How does blue light (specifically from screens) affect our sleep? The blue light that we absorb tricks our body into believing that it is daylight and to stay awake. In turn, this alters our bodies melatonin response.

Dr. Andrew Huberman, neuroscientist at Stanford, released The Other Pandemic (and a Real Solution): Light, Optic Flow & Health (a video on Instagram) going into detail describing our internal mechanisms and why we need to be conscientious about what times of day we are getting light. 

Huberman says that how we interact with light both in the morning and evening are vital to pay attention to. We need to be getting lots of light in the day and none at night, as we are NOT nocturnal beings. He articulates further that viewing natural light early in the morning around sunrise sends a trigger to the melanopsin cells in the brain, these detect visible light then send a message to the body clock (aka suprachiasmatic nucleus) that it’s time to get going. Huberman suggests we get 2-10 minutes of light directly from the sun in the mornings. (Please note, this is not saying to look directly at the sun, just get its light.)  

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A lot of research has shown that not sleeping at night can lead to weight gain, but why is that? Huberman says it equally as important however, is to NOT GET BRIGHT LIGHT at night from screens, especially from 10 or 11pm-4am, as this triggers a prodepressive circuit which in turn throws off blood sugar regulation. To answer the earlier question: seeing light increases our cortisol levels, which is our body’s stress hormone, which is a good thing in the morning. But, when our cortisol levels spike, our blood sugar levels also rise. If we are looking at these blue lights throughout the night, we are triggering that cortisol response excessively it can lead to Cushing syndrome. This can in turn leads to weight gain and diabetes since we have so much extra and unnecessary glucose running through our blood.  

Some natural ways to help sleep maybe come a little easier, would be to try Ashwagandha, Hops, Chamomile, or Valerian. (Which can be taken as supplements or drank in tea.) Another way to help aid sleep is to take Calcium and Magnesium as calcium works with tryptophan to create melatonin and magnesium helps lowers cortisol levels!

Sleepless nights are no fun, and if you’re anything like me, can lead to you being an awfully cranky individual the next day. But even further than just being ill tempered, a lack of sleep can spur many other long-term health effects. So if you are having sleeping troubles, it would behoove you to seek further sleep aid, and please reach out to a specialist!

 

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Heart Health - What You Need To Know

            As we have all been warned, if you google practically any medical symptoms, you will probably end up completely convinced that you are a walking corpse that died in 1984. If you’re having chest pain- it’s a heart attack. If your stomach aches - your appendix is moments from rupturing. The internet is terrible for the psyche and is rarely any good for helping you maintain calm, but sometimes we need a good scare to jump into action.

1 in every 3 deaths in the US is due to cardiovascular problems and 1.5 million people will have either a heart attack or a stroke this year. Scare tactics, I feel, are never the best way to get people to change their health- but when it comes to our hearts, there needs to be a major shift in this country. Immediately. Between our diets and lack of exercise, as Americans, we are facing a serious health crisis and things have to change.

             According to Healthline, an unhealthy lifestyle caused by: living a sedentary lifestyle and not getting enough physical exercise, eating an unhealthy diet that’s high in fat proteins, trans fats, sugary foods, and sodium, smoking, excessive drinking, or staying in a high-stress environment without proper stress management techniques are all risk factors for heart disease.

            Let’s break this down a little further so this is more of a manageable list and not an overwhelming “change everything in your life now or death is imminent” sort of situation. Before we proceed, keep in mind that 800,000 people will die every year from Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) so this not a low risk disease and therefor it is crucial to your long-term well-being and quality of life to maintain your heart!

            Physical Exercise: As we discussed recently, exercise has a plethora of benefits for your whole body, and hopefully you’ve either discovered something you like at this point or are still getting out there and exploring! But why is it so important for your heart that you stay active? Your heart, just like your quadriceps or triceps, is a muscle, so the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Your heart will beat until the moment you die, so make sure you’re giving yourself the best chance to ward off heart attacks or strokes. To do this, keep your heart in good working order by getting it to really work hard with cardio every single week.  

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Healthy Diet: Weight gain for one, is very hard on the cardiovascular system. Poor circulation, cholesterol leading to blockages or hardened arteries can all be side-effects of an unhealthy diet and cause your heart unnecessary work.

Smoking: Although smoking is literally terribly for every single system in your body, with the exception of your lungs, it is the hardest on your cardiovascular system. There are thousands of chemicals introduced into your body with every single cigarette. Cigarettes speed up your heart rate, clog and harden your arteries, and reduce your body’s ability to absorb oxygen. According to the FDA, of the 800,000 people that die of cardiovascular disease each year, 20% of those are caused by smoking! That’s 160,000 people that die every year just from smoking related heart problems - that doesn’t even include all of the cancer deaths linked to smoking either.

Excessive Drinking: Let’s take just a moment and look past the benefits of drinking (which we all like to use as a validation for why it’s okay to have just one drink every night) and look at what it is doing to our hearts. When we consume too much alcohol, the effects on the cardiovascular system can be fatal. Mariann R. Piano, Ph.D has done research concluding that “mitochondrial dysfunction and changes in circulation, inflammatory response, oxidative stress, and programmed cell death, as well as anatomical damage to the CV system, especially the heart itself” are all side effects of drinking. Alcohol consumption can also lead to cardiomyopathy, weakening your heart’s ability to pump and circulate blood through your body and can lead to heart failure, as well as high blood pressure.

Stress: For the sake of your dear heart, a major problem many of us need to pay better attention too is our stress levels. Although short term stress can be great for kicking us into gear and making changes, long-term stress does have damaging health effects on everything! Keeping chronic stress levels down will have an overall positive effect to allow all of your organs to work better and keeping your cortisol levels down. Constant stress can make us age faster, sleep less, eat more, or even change things for us on a cellular level! Look at the telomeres (found at termini of chromosomes) which are responsible for cell rejuvenation. In a study done by The Lancet, they found that “Those with shorter telomeres in blood DNA had poorer survival, attributable in part to a 3·18 fold higher mortality rate from heart disease” When your stress levels get too high for too long it will affect the ability for your heart to function properly. 

Now the brilliant news is, at this point in time, you are 11 weeks deep into increasing your health and all of these concepts have been introduced at this point! Starting an exercise regime and eating right from today on could significantly lower your chances of a heart attack 10, 20 years down the future. Although that may seem too far away to be relevant, remember back to week 1 when we discussed that your health is not a “one pill cure-all” miracle. And when if all this new information starts to feel frustrating and overwhelming, remember that with the exception of smoking, everything in moderation is fine. A glass of wine with a thick juicy steak today will not lead to a heart attack tomorrow. Forgoing a run tonight will not lead to a weakened heart. However, bypassing all of these for a long amount of time could potentially lead to a bypass. (Pun intended). 

 

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The Trick To Loving Exercise

           This week we are going to talk about movement! The best part about this week is it means all you have to do is move your body, to which there are literally hundreds of ways to do that. Kickboxing, Jui Jitsu, Yoga, Weightlifting, Running, Pilates, Zumba, Tia Chi… the list goes on and on for all the different ways that you can bring movement to your body. 

This week’s homework assignment is to do 30 minutes of exercise for three of the next seven days. If there is something you already enjoy doing, make a diligent effort do that at least every other day. Or if there has been a class you have wanted to join but never quite found the gumption to do so, now’s the time to go for it! It can be something new every time. 

            Working out has a plethora of physical benefits past just looking good! Exercising drops cortisol (which is the adrenals fear and stress response) levels, which if left unregulated can lead to excess weight gain in the stomach. I have personally found that when I am stressed, exercise is not only a good mental reprieve, but it actually makes me feel better- and that is in part due to this cortisol release, allowing you to feel less anxious and stressed.

Exercising will also release endorphins from the pituitary gland, such as serotonin, that make you feel great! Think of the last time you did a real physical work out. Maybe you went for a hike or for a long run with a friend, maybe even helped a neighbor move- at the beginning, it may have been hard to get moving but as soon as you got done you probably felt great, and accomplished!

Now, let’s not overlook the physical benefits either. When you work out and start to notice a change in your physical shape, it’s an amazing feeling. Your clothes fit better, you have more energy, you feel more confident. When we have replenished ourselves and taken the time each day to take care of our bodies, we actually have more to give to those around us. Making time each day to take care of you and your body will give you more confidence and assurance within yourself to do better. Choose a time each day that works for your schedule (even if you have to move other things around to make this work, as it is important) and dedicate that time to yourself to do whatever activity is calling your name that day!

In Limitless by Jim Kwik, he references a study done by the University of British Columbia that found that regular aerobic exercise actually boosts the size of your hippocampus as well, which is the area of the brain used for verbal memory and learning. Kwik goes on to say “But the simple fact is that exercising is enormously valuable if you want to unshackle your brain.” Exercise goes beyond just your physical health; it opens your mind up to so many more possibilities! Take yoga for example, we practice the different postures and flows so we can get our bodies moving and the energy flowing so that when times comes for meditation our brains are ready to engage and focus better. The more you move, the more you allow yourself to learn and grow! 

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For those of you who don’t want to get a gym membership, or by accosted by “gym culture”, remember: there is more to exercising than just lifting weights. If you want to go to the gym, but not sure where to start, to see what classes they have available or any studios in your area that offer yoga or Jiu Jitsu. Swimming is another great full body exercise that comes without ever touching a barbell. Even join your local sports teams like softball or a basketball league. There are so many options, so try out something new until you find what you like! I promise, once you start working out and getting exercise, you will notice a difference in your body, your mood and even your sleep!  

I have personally found variety makes my body the happiest. Each morning I take my puppy for a walk, go to the gym and lift weights 4-5 times a week, teach a yoga class twice a week and on the weekends I go hiking in the mountains or paddle boarding on our local reservoir. So, go out and explore new ways to move!

An important remainder, exercise is not just for losing weight. A few weeks ago, we discussed the lymphatic system and that it has no pump of its own and needs physical movement from us to be able to work properly. Or another key aspect of working out is for better cardiovascular health. According to Millionhearts, over 800,000 people die from cardiovascular disease each year, and that is just in the US! With the exception of a healthy diet, the best way to keep your heart in optimum health is through exercise! Not only will it help to lower you blood pressure, but the heart is a muscle, so the more you work it, the stronger you get.  

So, do yourself a favor and GO GET MOVING!! 

 

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