May 30, 2025 • 41 mins
In this episode of MilesFromHerView, host Kat welcomes Keri Cooper, owner of Sleep Solutions by Keri, a virtual adult sleep coaching program. They discuss the pivotal role of sleep in mental health and overall well-being, especially for busy women and moms. Keri shares her expertise as a psychotherapist and certified sleep science coach, offering practical advice for improving sleep quality, establishing healthy routines, and prioritizing sleep. They also address common sleep disruptors, the effects of stress, and the significance of modeling good sleep habits for children.
Contact Keri:
https://sleepsolutionsbykeri.com/ https://www.instagram.com/sleepsolutionsbykeri/
00:00 Welcome to MilesFromHerView
00:48 Meet Keri Cooper: Sleep Solutions Expert
02:47 The Importance of Sleep for Mental Health
06:28 Common Sleep Struggles and Solutions
12:36 Creating Healthy Sleep Habits
20:23 The Impact of Sleep Deprivation
20:58 Relying on Sleep Aids
21:50 The Role of Hormones in Sleep
22:35 Benefits of Quality Sleep
23:25 Improving Sleep Habits
25:06 Addressing Sleep Issues
25:24 Sleep and Life Stages
26:28 The Importance of Consistent Sleep
30:15 Napping: Pros and Cons
32:55 Creating a Sleep-Friendly Environment
37:13 Final Thoughts on Sleep
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Kat (00:00):
Welcome to MilesFromHerView, the podcast
powered by KatFit Strength,where busy women like you find
practical solutions to fuel yourfitness journey with
authenticity and resilience.
I'm Kat, your host, a mom of twoactive boys, a business owner,
and an ultra marathon runner anda strength trainer in her
forties with nearly two decadesof experience.
(00:21):
I'm here to help you cut throughthe noise of fads, hacks, and
quick fixes.
This is a space where wecelebrate womanhood and
motherhood.
All while building strength andresilience and reconnecting with
you from a place ofself-compassion and worthiness.
Whether you're lacing up yourrunning shoes to go out for a
run, driving your kids topractice or squeezing in a
(00:42):
moment for yourself, I'm righthere in the trenches with you.
Let's dive in.
I am here with Keri Cooper, whois the owner of Sleep Solutions
by Keri, a virtual adult sleepcoaching program as a
psychotherapist for over 25years, she realized the
importance of sleep when it cameto mental health.
(01:02):
Keri then became a certifiedsleep science coach, and now
focuses on coaching adults toget the sleep they need for
overall health and WellbeingCare's approach integrates the.
Proven principles of sleep,science and insights gained
through decades of counseling.
Sleep Solutions by Keri offerssimple, practical solutions to
(01:23):
help people not only fallasleep, but enjoy restful
restorative sleep.
Keri also gives corporate talks.
In order to help improveemployee performance, along with
being a speaker, Keri is anauthor of two books, mental
Health Uncensored, 10Foundations Every Parent Needs
To Know and Mental HealthUncensored Teen Workbook.
(01:43):
10 Foundations.
Every Teen Needs to Know Anentire chapter in each book is
de dedicated to the importanceof sleep.
And practical ways to improveit.
Keri holds a master's degreefrom the University of
Pennsylvania as well as manycertifications in the field of
therapy.
Her background en enables her toidentify lifestyle factors
hindering sleep, and find thebest solutions to help her
(02:06):
clients.
Fall asleep faster and stayasleep longer.
Welcome, welcome.
I'm so excited to go over sleep.
And who doesn't love sleep?
Doesn't love sleep, right?
Unless you're fighting againstit every night.
Exactly.
Exciting to have you on becauseI know a lot of my clients
struggle with sleep, not only asa product of their young ones
not sleeping, or they have justnever had great sleep patterns
(02:31):
or sleep habits.
I'm sure those listening mayhave struggled at sleep at some
point or may be currentlystruggling.
So hopefully you can glean somegood information and.
As always, Keri's informationwill be in the show notes and
we'll mention it at the end aswell.
So you've been a psychotherapistfor over 25 years, can you talk
(02:51):
about how you first found outthe connection between mental
health and sleep and how thatreally, really influenced your
decision?
Keri Cooper (02:58):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
It so it sounds crazy every timesomeone's, like, it's been like
over 25 years that you've beenat the Yes, it's been over 25
years I've been a therapist.
Mm-hmm.
My population I always workedwith was really kids.
So with kids comes parents, so Ialways have, worked a lot with
the parents and.
Really throughout my travels,throughout my journey as being a
therapist, I really startedintegrating a more holistic
(03:21):
approach because it's more thanjust the symptoms of mental
health.
Mm-hmm.
I really always ask the kids andthe teens I work with, how are
you eating?
How are you sleeping?
And definitely something that Istarted noticing and really a
lot during COD.
Was that the worst?
They were sleeping.
I knew they were going downhillwith their mental health.
It was like the best predictor.
(03:41):
Whenever I, I said, you know,how are you sleeping?
The moment they started saying,I'm not falling asleep till two
or three in the morning, I went,Ugh, we're gonna go downhill.
And it was without fail.
That's what was happening.
Mental health wise.
Another thing happened, whichwas, you know, as I talked to
parents about how to work betterwith their teens, especially, a
lot of parents would come intomy office.
(04:02):
They were just so tired and theywere like, Keri I want to be the
parent that, you know, I know Ican be, and I want to implement
all of these skills and toolsand techniques.
I'm so tired.
I'm so tired, I don't havepatience.
And then we would get into aconversation, I'm like, well,
like how are you sleeping?
Right?
(04:22):
And I was amazed with how poorlythese people, especially moms
have been sleeping.
Yeah.
And then even in my personallife, you know, just talking to
friends who they're notsleeping, I'm like, this is a
huge problem.
Huge.
Yes.
So, you know, out of all thefoundations I talk about when it
comes to mental health, sleep isreally the number one key
(04:46):
because even when we talk aboutexercise or food, you're not
gonna.
Make healthy food choices and wecan go into all that later.
Mm-hmm.
If you're sleep deprived, you'renot gonna have the energy to
exercise if you're sleepdeprived.
So really sleep is the absolutenumber one thing that you need
to fix.
So I actually went back intoschool.
I got a sleep science coachingcertificate, and I opened up a
whole second business, which isjust sleep coaching for adults.
Kat (05:09):
I love what you said right there, and I fullheartedly
agree.
If you are not getting qualitysleep, you're not going to make
good food choices.
You know what to eat.
But what happens is, is whenyou're worn down and you don't
have that sleep backing, you're,there's no willpower or
motivation that's gonna changethat.
And then with working out, youcan be doing the best workout
program.
Ever.
(05:30):
But if you don't have sleepbacking it, you're not gonna get
the adaptations from thatworkout.
Because sleep is where werestore ourselves.
Sleep is
Keri Cooper (05:38):
where you repair.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sleep is also where, yourhormones are really made.
So when we're talking aboutthose, those hormones that tell
us, I'm hungry, I'm full.
All that stuff is happening
Kat (05:49):
when we're sleeping at night.
Exactly, exactly.
What I hear is, well, I'm acertain age, of course I'm not
supposed to sleep well.
I shouldn't be able to sleepwell.
And it's like, no, you should beable to sleep well.
And you, you need to sleep well
Keri Cooper (06:05):
it has become so socially acceptable.
Yes.
Well, you're correct.
And everyone, especially womenaround menopause are like,
that's why I don't sleep.
And it's like, no, no, no, no,no, no, no.
Yeah, no, no, no.
You can still be sleeping andyou should still be sleeping.
There may be additionalchallenges, but especially when
your hormones are making thesehuge changes, you need to be
sleeping.
Kat (06:25):
Mm-hmm.
Exactly.
Exactly.
What are.
Common patterns that may, behindering people's sleep,
Keri Cooper (06:34):
there's a few different ones.
'Cause everyone has a verydifferent reason kind of as to
why they're not sleeping or whytheir sleep isn't working for
'em.
And one of them, which I thinkis overlooked a lot when we talk
about sleep issues, is yourrelationship with sleep.
When you look at your bed, areyou anxious about, am I gonna
sleep tonight?
Mm-hmm.
Am I gonna have another badnight of sleep?
(06:55):
Is that what's happening in yourhead?
Because if it is, you're settingyourself up for failure,
essentially.
Yeah.
So that is actually a huge issuethat people aren't even
realizing is happening.
But if you're going into bedtimewith this anxiety of, I have to
sleep tonight, I ha, and it'slike this battling, you know,
right.
Idea of like, I have to battlemy sleep.
(07:16):
I have to win.
You are gonna have so muchanxiety about getting to sleep
that you are going to preventyourself from getting to sleep.
So actually one of the reasonswhy sleep coaching is so
effective is because it takes avery cognitive behavioral
therapy approach because youcan't go in with that type of
attitude.
And that's why side note, Ican't stand all of these apps
(07:38):
that track your sleep becauseit's like.
Oh yes, I did well last night.
Oh no, I didn't do well lastnight.
Like, stop.
It creates so much more anxietyand again, it creates this this
relationship with sleep thatit's something to battle and to
overcome.
So I think, and a lot of peopledon't even recognize that they
have this thought process, butthink about when you're about to
(08:01):
jump into bed.
Are you like, oh, now I have togo to sleep tonight.
I wonder if it's gonna work.
I wonder if it's if I'm gonnaget a good night's sleep, or are
you just like jumping into bedlike, you know, excited to go to
bed?
Yeah.
What's your relationship
Kat (08:15):
with sleep?
Yeah, that is what I would'venever thought about.
I knew for me, I'm like, I'mexcited to go to sleep.
But that makes perfect sensebecause you know, you're kind
of.
Putting that thought out thereand then your body reacts to it.
The brain is gonna react to thatand prevent you.
And I also agree with you on alot of the trackers out there, I
(08:35):
get a little annoyed with data.
Too much data is a bad thingand, and my watch tracks my
sleep and I love it.
But before I look at my watch,if I remember, it's not like a
habitual a thing every morning.
Focus on how I feel and knowingthat it does take me a little
bit to wake up and to get myselfgoing.
I, and definitely correct me ifI'm wrong, I always tell clients
(08:57):
the idea of just springing outof bed and feeling fully rested
is not really how it works.
Everyone comes out of a sleepstate a little bit differently.
But again, you're gonna come outof that sleep state better if
you're more rested.
So taking the fact that Alarmgoes off and magically be awake.
You're going to be a littlegroggy the first few steps to
(09:19):
the bathroom or whatever yourmorning routine is.
Let yourself fully wake up toreally see, did you sleep well
before looking at any data?
And it's the same thing I tell'em with workouts.
Data doesn't know.
And the more you're connected onhow you feel, the better it's
going to be.
Like data's great, but it's notthe end all be all.
(09:40):
Yeah.
Keri Cooper (09:40):
So a few different thoughts about just that, that
we covered.
Yeah.
Is, you know, yes.
One, the best predictor well,the best tracker of whether or
not you're sleeping well is howdo you feel?
Right.
Do you feel well rested when youwake up?
Do you feel like you cancomplete an entire day without
needing a nap or you know thatyou're dragging?
(10:00):
That's really the best way totell, regardless of the apps and
what they're telling you, right?
And yes, some people,absolutely, it takes'em a little
bit longer to come back out oftheir sleep.
100%.
Everyone is different andthat's, there's no problem with
that.
But also.
If you're in a really good sleepcycle and sleep routine and your
body really has its rhythmgoing, you shouldn't necessarily
(10:23):
need an alarm.
Yeah.
Your body just kind of knowslike, this is my time to fall
asleep.
This is my time to wake up.
Sometimes people will report,like I wake up right before my
alarm every day.
Yeah.
Because your body knows this istime to wake up.
And then people get annoyed.
They're like, oh, but onweekends I still wake up at that
time.
Right, because your body knowsthis is what time you should be
(10:44):
waking up.
And also just talk about weekendsleep.
You cannot make up for sleep.
You cannot be sleep deprived allweek long and then think you're
going to catch up on sleep overthe weekend.
It's not the way it works everynight.
Your body needs to detox.
It needs to, you know, doeverything with its hormones,
like it needs to reset, it needsto reprocess so you can't catch
(11:05):
up.
Now, I will say I do always letteenagers have a little bit more
wiggle room on the weekend,because as a society we make
them wake up way too early forschool.
Yeah.
It's not normal, it's notnatural.
They shouldn't be up that early.
So if they're sleeping in alittle bit on the weekends, I
always say like, don't wake up.
Your teenagers don't be like,no, you need to be up at like,
you know, seven o'clock still.
(11:25):
Again, they shouldn't besleeping until like one in the
afternoon.
There's, you know, that's anextreme, but I always give them
definitely a little bit morewiggle room.
Kat (11:33):
Yeah.
I'm glad you mentioned that.
I have a, I have a teenager andwe always allow him to sleep a
little bit later and we'vealways been you go to bed at the
same time within reason.
Yeah.
This year it's been a littletricky with some sports, but you
need sleep.
It's where you're gonna makeyour gains not only
academically, sport wise, healthwise, all of that.
And then on the weekends it'slike we're a little bit more
(11:53):
liberal.
But I'm like, you've gotta getup by 11, to get the day
started.
He always gets a little annoyedwhen he wakes up by nine.
He's like, oh, I didn't want, Ineed more sleep.
And I'm like, but your body saidit's time.
So if your body wakes you up andyou weren't waking up, then it's
fine.
Keri Cooper (12:10):
Big.
And that's also something toremember as well with your kids.
Like when they are growing, whenor when they're sick.
We know when they're sick,they're supposed to be like
napping and getting more sleep.
Mm-hmm.
But it's the same if they'relike going through like a big
growth period or something likethat's happening.
So don't be alarmed all of asudden if your kids are napping
and they're like.
Quote unquote out of the napstage.
Kat (12:30):
Yeah.
Keri Cooper (12:31):
Sometimes that's really necessary.
Yeah.
Kat (12:34):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
I'd love to kind of go into alittle bit more of how do you
break down kind of the importantsleep concepts for people?
'cause I feel like.
It probably could be someabstract barriers to kind of
overcome for people like, okay,I need to sleep.
How do I actually get the sleep?
(12:55):
And how, I don't wanna say howlong does it take to see the
sleep benefits, but you know,kind of getting that general
idea around it.
Yeah.
So
Keri Cooper (13:04):
that also kind of leads back into, I'm sorry, we
kind of like jumped off topic.
You said, like what are some ofthe typical things that block
people from, you know, sleeping?
And I said one was thementality, right?
But the other thing is justmaking it a priority.
Kat (13:16):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (13:17):
Some people unfortunately are doing, doing,
doing, doing, and they're notsetting like, okay, sleep is
actually important and I'm goingto make sure that I stop my day
and I go to bed.
That's another really big thing.
And once they get theinformation and the education
about really why sleep is soimportant and like.
(13:38):
I, I mean, I could list amillion reasons why sleep is so
important.
It truly does impact everysingle physical feature,
physical, issue in your body andmental health.
And your productivity and youknow, whether or not you're
gonna just show up happy in theworld, it all comes back to
sleep.
Mm-hmm.
So once I start getting theeducation, once I'm able to
start identifying the issue, isit that, they're battling their
(14:00):
sleep?
Is it that they're not making ita priority?
Is it that they're not doingenough during the day?
Kat (14:06):
Mm-hmm.
Make sure
Keri Cooper (14:07):
they're tired at night, like what is going on
with their daily habits?
And we could jump all into thattoo.
But those are really normallythe common.
Paths that we go down to figureout why is somebody not
sleeping, and when they workwith me, they have a very, very
long questionnaire before theyeven meet with me because I need
to know all this information.
That way we know where to startfrom.
Kat (14:29):
Yeah.
And I love how you said like ifyou're not using your energy
during the day, you're not goingto sleep at night.
Keri Cooper (14:34):
There's so many people that just sit in front of
a computer all day for work.
Mm-hmm.
They don't move, they're inartificial lights.
They then, you know, are ontheir phone at night relaxing
with all that blue light.
They're not getting fresh air.
All of this stuff really, reallyimpacts our sleep.
Yeah, your body does not know.
It's supposed to be tired atnight.
(14:55):
It's not tired like it's, andpeople are like, no, I'm so
tired.
Like, you're drained.
Your thought process is tired,but your physical body is not
tired.
You haven't used it enough.
Kat (15:06):
Exactly, exactly that.
I see a lot too, and I'm like,energy begets energy we have to
work both mental and physicalenergy.
There are two different typesand so I hear a lot from
clients, so I've worked all day.
I'm tired.
Well, yes, you could be mentallyfatigued and I will not even
say, oh no, you're not tired.
(15:28):
But that's where moving the bodyis gonna compliment that mental
fatigue and actually release andrelax that mind a bit so that
you're feeling refreshed and itsounds counterintuitive, but
they work together.
One of the things is.
Especially a lot of my clientshave computer ridden jobs or in
office spaces and if you have ahard conference call or a hard
(15:52):
meeting or a project you'reworking on, schedule 90 seconds
minimally.
If you can get outside, that'seven more brilliant If you have
an office window, especially onethat's getting that good daytime
sun.
Stand by it or walk or getoutside and feel that fresh air.
You know, I, ideally, I wouldlike them to take four minute
breaks, just get up, movearound, getting that movement
(16:14):
throughout.
But the one thing I find is oncethey start to do that, They're,
they get more energy, they arefeeling more vibrant, and they
sleep.
And they're more
Keri Cooper (16:24):
productive for the rest of their day at work.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
And that's what a lot of peopledon't realize is that they're
always like, I'm so busy.
I'm so busy, I can't sleep.
But it's like, if you slept.
You'd be able to get more donein less time.
And that's when I, especiallywhen I do corporate talks, talk
about so much you know, you getto be so much more productive.
So yes, going outside is soimportant.
(16:45):
Like you take a lunch break,take that time, walk outside and
you know, even people who aren'tnecessarily like in the
workforce but are home with kidsand everything, it is so
important to get outside andtake a walk and take your kids
with you.
Kat (17:01):
Yeah, I'm a big believer in that.
All movement is moving the body,if you're not in that stage to
be able to have a walk with thefamily and a walk by yourself
or,, whatever that extra likemovement is for yourself, that
becomes.
The movement there until thatseason is passed.
But don't discredit gettingoutside and getting that
movement in, because the otheraspect is you're setting up that
(17:24):
environment for your children togrow up with movement and
getting outside as a normalroutine.
Not saying it'll solely solvethe whole, you have to get
outside today.
I struggle with that even thoughmy kids are more apt to, it's
like.
It will help condition them thatthis is a normal way of life.
I need to be outside this, isn'ta punishment because mom or dad
(17:47):
won't let me on screens.
It's, this is part of life.
I'm so happy you
Keri Cooper (17:52):
mentioned that because that modeling of that
behavior, it goes for sleep too.
Kat (17:57):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (17:59):
Yeah.
Your kids know, like kids knowthey pick things up and
especially as they get older.
They will know if you're notsleeping.
They will know if you're notprioritizing your sleep.
Yes, it is so important to setup that good sleep habit.
Good sleep routine in yourhouse.
You know, my kids know like ourphones go in the hallway at
including mine.
(18:19):
They're gone.
Because my sleep is important tome.
And you know, it's funny whenpeople have, you know, parties
with families or whatever, we'realways, we're always the first
to leave.
And it's like the big joke,like, oh, Coopers are out again.
Yeah.
We're the first to leave becauseI wanna go home and go to sleep.
Yeah.
And my kids see that all thetime.
Kat (18:38):
Yeah.
I, I agree with you there.
My, my kids know, like, I wentthrough a whole.
I don't even remember when itwas.
It was probably shortly afterthe pandemic.
We'd always been pretty goodabout sleep, but it wasn't until
really, I mean, that upended alot of people.
You know, 2020.
It really just jarred a lot ofthings and so what I realized, I
(18:59):
wasn't getting quality sleep.
I needed to figure that out.
So I started stripping back, toyour point about that
discipline.
I was like, okay, I need cold,hard, cutoff times for certain
things.
It was, you know, no TV after acertain time, no phone after a
certain time.
Also, I will say I allowedmyself time to fail at this
(19:20):
because it wasn't, when I saycold hard cutoff, it wasn't, rip
the bandaid off quick and boom,it was healed.
And so now, I mean, they werelittle at that time, so they
didn't really see me goingthrough that.
Now they know like devices aredownstairs charging all devices
stay downstairs.
They don't come upstairs.
They know mom and dad have.
(19:41):
Go to bed at between nine 30 and10 and it's getting to the point
where they're, they're going tobed at nine.
It's like, Hey, you guys need toget through your bedtime routine
'cause mom and dad wanna go tosleep.
Like, so it's, they see that andit's like, this is normalized.
A bedtime and awake time is, hasbeen normalized for them.
(20:01):
And now my older son where.
He will go to friends' homes andyou know, he feels, he's like,
man, I should have gone to bedearlier.
This is really hard to functiontoday.
And I said, well, good.
You are articulating that foryourself.
This is why sleep is important.
And so he'll be like, I need togo to bed early tonight because
I really, I am feeling sleepdeprived.
(20:23):
You know?
And I think.
That's huge that he'sarticulating that for himself.
Keri Cooper (20:28):
It is because when we normally have good sleep and
we have one night where we don'tsleep well, we really feel it.
Mm-hmm.
Unfortunately, so many peopleare just so used to being sleep
deprived.
They actually don't even feel itanymore, and they're like, no,
I'm functioning fine.
I'm, I'm functioning fine.
I'm five hours of sleep.
You're not.
No, you are just not.
No.
You know it because you dunnowhat good sleep is like.
(20:49):
But they're in this now patternof just.
Not understanding how they'resupposed to function.
Yeah.
And that's actually very scary.
Or there's, you know, anothergroup of people where they don't
know how to really fall asleep.
So they're really relying on,you know, oftentimes some wine
before bed to try to get tosleep or other things.
(21:11):
And listen, sleep meds havetheir place when used properly
and when used when they need itto be.
But these are not long-termsolutions.
Right.
Especially the wine.
And you know, when people aredrinking wine a lot before
bedtime to go to sleep, what'shappening is that your body is
now trying to process out all ofthis sugar, all of this alcohol,
(21:33):
your, your body can't do what itneeds to do.
When it's supposed to besleeping because it's dealing
with processing all that out.
And that's the same with peoplewho eat really late at night.
Your body is now trying to dealwith digestion.
Your body shouldn't have to doany of that stuff.
It needs to actually do whatit's supposed to do
Kat (21:47):
when it's sleeping.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And that's, that's where it goesback to the hormones.
Hormones are not able to fullyrepair.
Cortisol is a big word in socialmedia as well as the
inflammation.
And during that time when you'resleeping, all of that.
Is worked out.
Your inflammation decreases.
Cortisol goes to its normalstate.
(22:10):
We need cortisol cortisol shouldnever be at a zero in anybody's
body.
It helps us function andarguably your cortisol is the
highest when you wake up andshould decrease as you get ready
for sleep.
It should not stay high andraised all day.
To your point, it makes perfectsense.
When you get to a certain point,your body adapts that this is my
(22:30):
sleep deprivation is my newnormal.
Which does not make it right.
And when you and I candefinitely speak to this, when I
started getting that quality ofsleep, honestly it was like an
amazing dopamine hit.
It was like, I want more ofthis.
This feels good.
I am able to do more, feelbetter.
(22:51):
And be more emotionallyregulated without, snapping at
my children and being like, whydid I do that?
Or having better workoutsenjoying so many more things.
And the, the whole point, and Iwanna be crystal clear, is not
to be able to do more.
It's if I get great sleep, I'mgoing to have better deep work
(23:12):
time.
I'm going to be more productivein the hours I want to be
productive so that I can have.
The time I want for myself, formy family, you know,
unencumbered.
So,
Keri Cooper (23:23):
absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's just people need totake a step back and say, wait a
second, what does my sleepreally look like?
And really get honest withthemselves and then decide that
they are worth it to really tryto improve it.
Kat (23:39):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (23:40):
Yeah, because it actually happens pretty quickly.
I know you asked that earliertoo, right?
Normally, on average, people whosee me, their sleep looks a lot
different within 30 days.
And it doesn't take all thatlong for all of a sudden for you
to feel more rested, to be moreproductive, to feel like, oh,
okay, now I'm, I'm living alittle bit better.
Kat (24:00):
Yes.
Yes.
And, and I think that's huge.
I think it's, in the beginning.
It's going to feel like a lot ofwork because it feels unnatural.
But this is where that mentalityof 21 days to make a habit stick
comes in does not mean it'sfully integrated.
Especially like having a coachfor sleep or having a coach for
(24:23):
for fitness training, it allowsfor you to have that sounding
board and a space to be curiousto help you get to the solution
you wanna see.
And it does not mean everysingle month that you're going
to have to be reinventing thewheel.
'cause that's not the point.
It's getting to the root cause,finding that solution specific
(24:45):
for you.
And then you're gonna feel thathealth benefit pretty quickly,
which is, which is huge.
I feel that's not talked a lotabout in the mainstream,
especially in social media whereit's, oh, this jump from program
to program jump from solution tosolution where it shouldn't be
that way.
Keri Cooper (25:06):
Right.
It, you really need to find outwhat is the root cause.
'cause again, everybody has adifferent root cause as to why
they're not sleeping at night.
Mm-hmm.
Once you identify what'shappening, then you're able to
really go after it and changeit.
Kat (25:22):
Yeah.
Hopefully eliminate it.
I talk with, with clients is wehave seasons in our life and
with parents who are in that,toddler, baby stage.
Yeah, there's gonna be moreunpredictable ness, but that's
where it's really making surethat.
You get those distractions outthat you find those pockets of
time to have that good sleephygiene.
(25:44):
And then as you know, especiallywith the perimenopause, yes
there are some mo so manyuncontrollables, but there's a
lot of things you can controlduring that time, so don't let.
What I
Keri Cooper (25:55):
see is that, especially during the menopause
time, is that once we reallystart working on the sleep, a
lot of the issues that they werehaving at night actually seem to
get better.
Yeah.
And it's like, you know, theyboth help each other.
Yes.
Once you start making onepositive change and you know,
that goes along with weight lossas well.
Every January I see everybody onsocial media posting like, I'm
(26:19):
gonna eat better and exercise.
And I'm always like, great, butyou're, you're forgetting
sleeping because neither one ofthose are gonna happen if you
are not
Kat (26:26):
sleeping.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And that's, I will say in myprograms with my clients, I'm
always asking about their sleep.
How much are you sleeping?
And then that's where for me, Ilook at, okay, well now's not
the time to do these intenseworkouts.
If you are coming up on a sleeppattern, maybe you're nervous
about work.
Maybe a, a child is sick andthat's causing interrupted sleep
(26:48):
patterns, well, we're gonnaadjust for our.
Our fitness, we're going to dialit back.
Does not mean you can't handleit.
It means your body right now isunder our.
More life stress.
And so we could keep all thisstress there, but it's not gonna
help your healing, your recoveryand the adaptations.
And therefore we're just doingwork for work and I'm not one to
(27:09):
be giving work for work.
So it's like we wanna beeffective with that.
And how does that overallimpact?
And when clients do that, theyfind that they stop the all or
nothing habits that they've hadbefore.
They feel better, they maintainand gain more fitness and
strength because they're workingwith their body, they're working
(27:32):
with their life, they're workingwith their energy, and it's
like, yes, that's what we wantto do.
Keri Cooper (27:39):
Yes, and I'm so happy you mentioned the all or
nothing thinking because youknow, sleep is the same way.
It's not all or nothing, andthere are gonna be those moments
where you are not gonna sleepgreat.
Kat (27:48):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (27:50):
And again, normally those are very short term and
that's how they should be.
But you know, if you havesomething really huge happening
in your life, I could understandgetting a bad night of sleep.
You know, that would be prettynormal.
And again, if it's just oneevery once in a while, knowing
that that's okay and not tofreak out about that, that
that's fine.
(28:11):
Right.
Kat (28:11):
That's just life.
Exactly.
Exactly.
It would be amazing if we couldjust say, oh, every night you're
gonna get a great day of sleep.
Right.
But that's, that's just not, andit's the same thing with like,
you're gonna miss workouts.
Yeah.
And as long as there's more,you're showing up more
consistently.
The few missed doesn't make adifference.
Kind of going to those points ofthose seasons where there is
(28:31):
interrupted sleep, maybe it's anew baby, maybe there is just a
lot of stress in your life.
How do you help them throughthat knowing that.
There is just that interruptedsleep out of their controls,
well
Keri Cooper (28:44):
stress in their life.
If it's something like, youknow, someone just died or
something that's different thanthem just saying they have
stress in their life, right?
If it's just stress in theirlife, we're actually gonna work
on containing that stressthrough a bunch of different
ways.
That way they can go to bedstill, because that can't be the
excuse of why someone's notsleeping.
There's always gonna be stressin your life.
Right?
You know, did something reallytragic just happen that's a
(29:06):
little bit different.
And you're probably gonna be offfor a few days.
Kat (29:09):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (29:10):
You know, but then we need to get you back.
Right.
The infant stage is challenging.
Yes.
You know, I have four children.
I remember it.
But again, working on makingsure that sleep is a priority is
what's really important duringthat time period, and making
sure we look at, you know, theirroutine and their resources for
(29:30):
help as well.
And how can we get you sleepingas much as humanly possible.
There will definitely be thosenights where that baby is just
going to cry and you're justgonna be up, but also to
remember and to really changethe mentality with sleep where.
If you have one bad night ofsleep, your life is not gonna
fall apart.
Right?
You could still function, youcould still do things.
(29:52):
It's okay.
Mm-hmm.
And that's what I find, youknow, really kind of messes up
people sometimes, is that theyget a bad night of sleep and
then the next morning they'relike, oh, my whole day is gonna
be shot.
And now they're napping numeroustimes and now they're gonna bed
super, super early and now it'sjust now you've messed up your
whole sleep cycle.
You can recover from a night ortwo about sleep.
(30:13):
You can.
It's okay.
Kat (30:15):
I'd love to hear your thoughts on napping.
'cause I hear a lot of peopleare like, oh, it's okay.
I was up late.
I'll just nap today.
And it becomes this chronic, I'mgonna say nap cycle.
I know for me, I, I kind ofstarted this thing where it's
not, it doesn't happen everySunday, but some Sundays I'll
just lay down for 20 minutes.
But I found with my own trainingand just life and we've had a
(30:37):
little bit slower on Sundays,and i'll just rest.
Mm-hmm.
For me, and this is how I'vealways been, if I nap in bed.
I'm just like done for the restof the day.
Yeah.
I cannot come out of this groggystate where it's better for me
to kind of be, if I'm sleepdeprived or feeling that
tiredness to just function withit and go to bed and wake up the
(30:57):
next morning refreshed.
But with napping, what is yourviewpoints on?
Keri Cooper (31:03):
I wanna know why are they napping?
'cause I do have some clientsthat have some sort of medical
conditions and I'm like, youneed to be napping.
And, and that's perfectly fine.
If they're napping because theydidn't sleep well the night
before.
I normally don't love that.
You're normally now settingyourself up to just a bad sleep
cycle.
But if you're napping becauseit's a Sunday and you're cozy
and you just wanna like, fine.
(31:24):
20 minutes is normally what Irecommend.
I don't like anything more thanthat because now you're really
getting into more of your sleepcycles and it's gonna throw you
off for the night.
Right.
So if you have to nap or if youwant to nap, I would say 20
minutes.
But again, there are certainpeople who should be napping.
A mom of an infant, you aregonna be napping.
Yeah.
Your body's also healing fromjust having a baby.
(31:45):
Like, please don't forget thatyou, you need sleep and you need
more than 20 minutes.
That's, you know, that rule doesnot apply then.
But for the people who are like,I'm napping because I'm not
sleeping well, you're justthrowing off the pattern even
more.
Kat (31:59):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love that.
And definitely, you know,parents in infant stage, sleep
and, and sleep.
Sleep, sleep, sleep as much as
Keri Cooper (32:07):
you possibly can.
Yes, yes.
And I love
Kat (32:10):
that you brought up that.
For women, your body's healingand it takes up to two years for
your body to fully heal.
I hear from clients like, oh,six months ago.
There's so, so much going on inyour body that it doesn't mean
that you can't, it means yourbody's still healing.
And it was such an undertakingto create the life, to build the
(32:30):
baby.
Like your body just doesn't snapback and it takes a while.
Keri Cooper (32:35):
Any injury you're dealing with, if you're dealing
with an injury, you have toremember that you should be,
definitely sleeping more andtaking care of your body.
If you're coming off being sick,or if you are sick, if you have
some type of chronic medicalcondition, that could be another
reason why you're napping.
I work with some people withLyme disease and it's like,
yeah, you need to be napping.
Yeah.
Kat (32:52):
Oh yeah.
You know?
Keri Cooper (32:53):
That's okay.
Yeah.
Kat (32:55):
What do you recommend to like, for parents to help create
that environment?
To promote better sleep habits?
Yeah.
Keri Cooper (33:02):
One of the big things is modeling it.
I think that's probably thebiggest issue is that you really
need to model for your kids goodsleep habits.
And when these kids are stayingup really late, it's not normal.
And for some reason we continueto normalize this.
And I tell, I have teenagers aswell, and I tell them all the
time especially as they'regrowing.
Your growth hormones happen whenyou sleep, and if you're going
(33:26):
to bed past midnight, it's notthe same type of sleep.
The sleep before midnightthrough all the research that we
see is really very differentthan the sleep after midnight.
You need both, but you, youreally need the sleep before
midnight.
And I also encourage parents to,you know, have that place to
charge all, all the electronics,don't have them in the bedroom.
There's numerous reasons whythey shouldn't be in the
(33:47):
bedroom.
Sleep is only one of them,right.
And also make sure that you'reeating dinner early when you're
eating dinner at like, you know,eight o'clock at night.
That's gonna be tough.
Right.
And just like I tell parents allthe time, make sure you're not
overscheduling yourselves.
Please don't over schedule yourchildren.
And I understand in the world ofsports and you know, dance and
(34:08):
theater and all that, sometimespractices are just late.
It is what it is.
And I get that.
But make sure you're notoverloading them at least.
Kat (34:19):
Oh, I fullheartedly agree and I will say the eating thing,
I, I hear that a lot fromclients of like, well, when do
we eat?
We can't eat until 8 39.
And I'm like, that is far toolate.
And I'm a big proponent of breakthe meal up into two, have
something.
Beforehand, or four o'clock istoo early, you're gonna be
hungry by eight.
(34:39):
But split the meal up into two.
If you're eating at eightbecause you are genuinely
hungry, make it small.
Don't have that full mealbecause to your point, the
body's going to be digestingthat and it's going to take away
from the sleep, even if you'regetting in bed at the same time.
And that.
I find, you know, with workingwith clients on the nutrition
(35:00):
aspect, it gets very, I'm gonnasay black and white.
Well, dinner has to be at thistime, all at once.
No, it's, we have to getcreative'cause we're in the
season of hopefully appropriatebusyness.
That we need to look at it alittle bit differently.
And if your child has been atschool all day and you're
picking them up from school andgoing to next activity to next
activity, chances are theyprobably ate lunch around 11.
(35:22):
So they need to eat again nowto.
Sustain that energy.
So break it up into differentareas so that that eating is a
little bit more normalized.
They're getting fuel for theirbodies for what they need, and
then when they're ready for, toyour point for sleep, they're
not sitting down to a big mealor overly tired and can't eat.
(35:43):
So, right.
And also remember that,
Keri Cooper (35:46):
you know, your kids are learning all day long.
Mm-hmm.
And then, you know, coming home,doing homework, studying and all
that.
But if they're not sleeping,they're not gonna retain that
information.
When we sleep is when we reallyprocess all of those memories
and we store information, andthat's what I work with college
kids a lot.
I tell'em all the time, you needto sleep, especially during
finals.
You cannot pull all nighters.
(36:06):
You won't remember what you'restudying all day.
It won't be effective.
Kat (36:09):
Yes.
Let's see here.
I know we have a little bit wecould talk about., I do feel,
especially in the adultcorporate world, culture, sleep
deprivation, being tired is wornas a badge of honor working late
into the night, and that's justnot where it's at.
It's
Keri Cooper (36:25):
so interesting because it is a badge of honor,
but if you're sleep deprived,you're not gonna be as
productive as you could be, andyou're gonna make mistakes.
Yeah.
So why would your company wantyou to be sleep deprived?
Kat (36:38):
Yeah, exactly.
It's gonna cost them money andyou're gonna be sick more.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And when clients were in thethick of some of'em in the thick
of it with illnesses, I'm like,don't work out.
But I'm afraid I'm going.
No.
If you may not be sick, butyou're up caring for your
children.
We don't wanna wear down yourimmune system even more because
you're already stressed andyou're missing days at work..
(36:58):
So if you're going to dosomething, either sit outside in
the sun, go for a very easywalk, or do mobility.
But we're not here to overlystress our body.
'cause the body only understandsstress.
It doesn't differentiate.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
What would you be?
So if someone's listening tothis and they're so sleep
deprived, I am feeling all thethings that they're mentioning,
(37:19):
I don't know where to begin.
What is one piece of advice?
Again, we're not here to treator diagnose, but something to
kind of help you.
To help them take action toimprove their sleep.
Keri Cooper (37:30):
My favorite piece of advice for somebody who's
looking to kind of take actionon their own is to make sure
you're getting up at the sametime every single day, including
weekends.
That's normally a really goodstep in resetting your sleep
cycle.
Kat (37:42):
I love that.
That's
Keri Cooper (37:43):
my favorite easy piece of advice.
Yeah.
Kat (37:46):
And then for someone who's like struggling with chronic
sleep problems, at what pointare you like, should they see
you or another professional tohelp them?
Keri Cooper (37:57):
Yeah.
The moment you feel like itdoesn't need to be chronic, the
moment you feel like you'restruggling with sleep.
Call a sleep coach, we are,we're here.
That's what we do.
Because tips and tricks forbetter sleep is never a bad
Kat (38:09):
thing, right?
I love that.
And where can people find you?
Keri Cooper (38:13):
Yeah.
Sleep Solutions by Keri is mywebsite and I'm on Instagram as
well at Sleep Solutions by Keri.
Kat (38:19):
Love it.
And that will be posted in theshow notes.
If you have any questions, reachout to Keri.
Hopefully you got someactionable tips and you get a
great night's sleep tonight.
Welcome to MilesFromHerView thepodcast powered by KatFit
Strength, where busy women likeyou find practical solutions to
fuel your fitness journey withauthenticity and resilience.
(38:42):
I'm Kat, your host, a mom of twoactive boys, a business owner,
and an ultra marathon runner anda strength trainer in her
forties with nearly two decadesof experience.
I'm here to help you cut throughthe noise of fads, hacks, and
quick fixes.
This is a space where wecelebrate womanhood and
motherhood.
All while building strength andresilience and reconnecting with
(39:05):
you from a place ofself-compassion and worthiness.
Whether you're lacing up yourrunning shoes to go out for a
run, driving your kids topractice or squeezing in a
moment for yourself, I'm righthere in the trenches with you.
Let's dive in.
Thank you so much for coming on.
Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you for tuning in toMilesFromHerView powered by
(39:28):
KatFit Strength.
If this podcast inspires you,don't keep it for yourself.
Hit follow or subscribe to stayupdated on the new episodes, and
leave us a review to help morewomen and moms discover this
space.
Your feedback fuels this podcastand I'd love to hear what's
working for you or what topicsyou want to dive into Next.
(39:50):
You can connect with me onInstagram at KatFit Strength, or
share this episode.
With a friend who is ready toembrace her strength.
Remember, fitness isn't aboutperfection.
It's about showing up foryourself and finding strength in
every step of your journey.
Until next time, keep movingforward one mile at a time.
Welcome to MilesFromHerView, the podcast
powered by KatFit Strength,where busy women like you find
practical solutions to fuel yourfitness journey with
authenticity and resilience.
I'm Kat, your host, a mom of twoactive boys, a business owner,
and an ultra marathon runner anda strength trainer in her
forties with nearly two decadesof experience.
(00:21):
I'm here to help you cut throughthe noise of fads, hacks, and
quick fixes.
This is a space where wecelebrate womanhood and
motherhood.
All while building strength andresilience and reconnecting with
you from a place ofself-compassion and worthiness.
Whether you're lacing up yourrunning shoes to go out for a
run, driving your kids topractice or squeezing in a
(00:42):
moment for yourself, I'm righthere in the trenches with you.
Let's dive in.
I am here with Keri Cooper, whois the owner of Sleep Solutions
by Keri, a virtual adult sleepcoaching program as a
psychotherapist for over 25years, she realized the
importance of sleep when it cameto mental health.
(01:02):
Keri then became a certifiedsleep science coach, and now
focuses on coaching adults toget the sleep they need for
overall health and WellbeingCare's approach integrates the.
Proven principles of sleep,science and insights gained
through decades of counseling.
Sleep Solutions by Keri offerssimple, practical solutions to
(01:23):
help people not only fallasleep, but enjoy restful
restorative sleep.
Keri also gives corporate talks.
In order to help improveemployee performance, along with
being a speaker, Keri is anauthor of two books, mental
Health Uncensored, 10Foundations Every Parent Needs
To Know and Mental HealthUncensored Teen Workbook.
(01:43):
10 Foundations.
Every Teen Needs to Know Anentire chapter in each book is
de dedicated to the importanceof sleep.
And practical ways to improveit.
Keri holds a master's degreefrom the University of
Pennsylvania as well as manycertifications in the field of
therapy.
Her background en enables her toidentify lifestyle factors
hindering sleep, and find thebest solutions to help her
(02:06):
clients.
Fall asleep faster and stayasleep longer.
Welcome, welcome.
I'm so excited to go over sleep.
And who doesn't love sleep?
Doesn't love sleep, right?
Unless you're fighting againstit every night.
Exactly.
Exciting to have you on becauseI know a lot of my clients
struggle with sleep, not only asa product of their young ones
not sleeping, or they have justnever had great sleep patterns
(02:31):
or sleep habits.
I'm sure those listening mayhave struggled at sleep at some
point or may be currentlystruggling.
So hopefully you can glean somegood information and.
As always, Keri's informationwill be in the show notes and
we'll mention it at the end aswell.
So you've been a psychotherapistfor over 25 years, can you talk
(02:51):
about how you first found outthe connection between mental
health and sleep and how thatreally, really influenced your
decision?
Keri Cooper (02:58):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
It so it sounds crazy every timesomeone's, like, it's been like
over 25 years that you've beenat the Yes, it's been over 25
years I've been a therapist.
Mm-hmm.
My population I always workedwith was really kids.
So with kids comes parents, so Ialways have, worked a lot with
the parents and.
Really throughout my travels,throughout my journey as being a
therapist, I really startedintegrating a more holistic
(03:21):
approach because it's more thanjust the symptoms of mental
health.
Mm-hmm.
I really always ask the kids andthe teens I work with, how are
you eating?
How are you sleeping?
And definitely something that Istarted noticing and really a
lot during COD.
Was that the worst?
They were sleeping.
I knew they were going downhillwith their mental health.
It was like the best predictor.
(03:41):
Whenever I, I said, you know,how are you sleeping?
The moment they started saying,I'm not falling asleep till two
or three in the morning, I went,Ugh, we're gonna go downhill.
And it was without fail.
That's what was happening.
Mental health wise.
Another thing happened, whichwas, you know, as I talked to
parents about how to work betterwith their teens, especially, a
lot of parents would come intomy office.
(04:02):
They were just so tired and theywere like, Keri I want to be the
parent that, you know, I know Ican be, and I want to implement
all of these skills and toolsand techniques.
I'm so tired.
I'm so tired, I don't havepatience.
And then we would get into aconversation, I'm like, well,
like how are you sleeping?
Right?
(04:22):
And I was amazed with how poorlythese people, especially moms
have been sleeping.
Yeah.
And then even in my personallife, you know, just talking to
friends who they're notsleeping, I'm like, this is a
huge problem.
Huge.
Yes.
So, you know, out of all thefoundations I talk about when it
comes to mental health, sleep isreally the number one key
(04:46):
because even when we talk aboutexercise or food, you're not
gonna.
Make healthy food choices and wecan go into all that later.
Mm-hmm.
If you're sleep deprived, you'renot gonna have the energy to
exercise if you're sleepdeprived.
So really sleep is the absolutenumber one thing that you need
to fix.
So I actually went back intoschool.
I got a sleep science coachingcertificate, and I opened up a
whole second business, which isjust sleep coaching for adults.
Kat (05:09):
I love what you said right there, and I fullheartedly
agree.
If you are not getting qualitysleep, you're not going to make
good food choices.
You know what to eat.
But what happens is, is whenyou're worn down and you don't
have that sleep backing, you're,there's no willpower or
motivation that's gonna changethat.
And then with working out, youcan be doing the best workout
program.
Ever.
(05:30):
But if you don't have sleepbacking it, you're not gonna get
the adaptations from thatworkout.
Because sleep is where werestore ourselves.
Sleep is
Keri Cooper (05:38):
where you repair.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Sleep is also where, yourhormones are really made.
So when we're talking aboutthose, those hormones that tell
us, I'm hungry, I'm full.
All that stuff is happening
Kat (05:49):
when we're sleeping at night.
Exactly, exactly.
What I hear is, well, I'm acertain age, of course I'm not
supposed to sleep well.
I shouldn't be able to sleepwell.
And it's like, no, you should beable to sleep well.
And you, you need to sleep well
Keri Cooper (06:05):
it has become so socially acceptable.
Yes.
Well, you're correct.
And everyone, especially womenaround menopause are like,
that's why I don't sleep.
And it's like, no, no, no, no,no, no, no.
Yeah, no, no, no.
You can still be sleeping andyou should still be sleeping.
There may be additionalchallenges, but especially when
your hormones are making thesehuge changes, you need to be
sleeping.
Kat (06:25):
Mm-hmm.
Exactly.
Exactly.
What are.
Common patterns that may, behindering people's sleep,
Keri Cooper (06:34):
there's a few different ones.
'Cause everyone has a verydifferent reason kind of as to
why they're not sleeping or whytheir sleep isn't working for
'em.
And one of them, which I thinkis overlooked a lot when we talk
about sleep issues, is yourrelationship with sleep.
When you look at your bed, areyou anxious about, am I gonna
sleep tonight?
Mm-hmm.
Am I gonna have another badnight of sleep?
(06:55):
Is that what's happening in yourhead?
Because if it is, you're settingyourself up for failure,
essentially.
Yeah.
So that is actually a huge issuethat people aren't even
realizing is happening.
But if you're going into bedtimewith this anxiety of, I have to
sleep tonight, I ha, and it'slike this battling, you know,
right.
Idea of like, I have to battlemy sleep.
(07:16):
I have to win.
You are gonna have so muchanxiety about getting to sleep
that you are going to preventyourself from getting to sleep.
So actually one of the reasonswhy sleep coaching is so
effective is because it takes avery cognitive behavioral
therapy approach because youcan't go in with that type of
attitude.
And that's why side note, Ican't stand all of these apps
(07:38):
that track your sleep becauseit's like.
Oh yes, I did well last night.
Oh no, I didn't do well lastnight.
Like, stop.
It creates so much more anxietyand again, it creates this this
relationship with sleep thatit's something to battle and to
overcome.
So I think, and a lot of peopledon't even recognize that they
have this thought process, butthink about when you're about to
(08:01):
jump into bed.
Are you like, oh, now I have togo to sleep tonight.
I wonder if it's gonna work.
I wonder if it's if I'm gonnaget a good night's sleep, or are
you just like jumping into bedlike, you know, excited to go to
bed?
Yeah.
What's your relationship
Kat (08:15):
with sleep?
Yeah, that is what I would'venever thought about.
I knew for me, I'm like, I'mexcited to go to sleep.
But that makes perfect sensebecause you know, you're kind
of.
Putting that thought out thereand then your body reacts to it.
The brain is gonna react to thatand prevent you.
And I also agree with you on alot of the trackers out there, I
(08:35):
get a little annoyed with data.
Too much data is a bad thingand, and my watch tracks my
sleep and I love it.
But before I look at my watch,if I remember, it's not like a
habitual a thing every morning.
Focus on how I feel and knowingthat it does take me a little
bit to wake up and to get myselfgoing.
I, and definitely correct me ifI'm wrong, I always tell clients
(08:57):
the idea of just springing outof bed and feeling fully rested
is not really how it works.
Everyone comes out of a sleepstate a little bit differently.
But again, you're gonna come outof that sleep state better if
you're more rested.
So taking the fact that Alarmgoes off and magically be awake.
You're going to be a littlegroggy the first few steps to
(09:19):
the bathroom or whatever yourmorning routine is.
Let yourself fully wake up toreally see, did you sleep well
before looking at any data?
And it's the same thing I tell'em with workouts.
Data doesn't know.
And the more you're connected onhow you feel, the better it's
going to be.
Like data's great, but it's notthe end all be all.
(09:40):
Yeah.
Keri Cooper (09:40):
So a few different thoughts about just that, that
we covered.
Yeah.
Is, you know, yes.
One, the best predictor well,the best tracker of whether or
not you're sleeping well is howdo you feel?
Right.
Do you feel well rested when youwake up?
Do you feel like you cancomplete an entire day without
needing a nap or you know thatyou're dragging?
(10:00):
That's really the best way totell, regardless of the apps and
what they're telling you, right?
And yes, some people,absolutely, it takes'em a little
bit longer to come back out oftheir sleep.
100%.
Everyone is different andthat's, there's no problem with
that.
But also.
If you're in a really good sleepcycle and sleep routine and your
body really has its rhythmgoing, you shouldn't necessarily
(10:23):
need an alarm.
Yeah.
Your body just kind of knowslike, this is my time to fall
asleep.
This is my time to wake up.
Sometimes people will report,like I wake up right before my
alarm every day.
Yeah.
Because your body knows this istime to wake up.
And then people get annoyed.
They're like, oh, but onweekends I still wake up at that
time.
Right, because your body knowsthis is what time you should be
(10:44):
waking up.
And also just talk about weekendsleep.
You cannot make up for sleep.
You cannot be sleep deprived allweek long and then think you're
going to catch up on sleep overthe weekend.
It's not the way it works everynight.
Your body needs to detox.
It needs to, you know, doeverything with its hormones,
like it needs to reset, it needsto reprocess so you can't catch
(11:05):
up.
Now, I will say I do always letteenagers have a little bit more
wiggle room on the weekend,because as a society we make
them wake up way too early forschool.
Yeah.
It's not normal, it's notnatural.
They shouldn't be up that early.
So if they're sleeping in alittle bit on the weekends, I
always say like, don't wake up.
Your teenagers don't be like,no, you need to be up at like,
you know, seven o'clock still.
(11:25):
Again, they shouldn't besleeping until like one in the
afternoon.
There's, you know, that's anextreme, but I always give them
definitely a little bit morewiggle room.
Kat (11:33):
Yeah.
I'm glad you mentioned that.
I have a, I have a teenager andwe always allow him to sleep a
little bit later and we'vealways been you go to bed at the
same time within reason.
Yeah.
This year it's been a littletricky with some sports, but you
need sleep.
It's where you're gonna makeyour gains not only
academically, sport wise, healthwise, all of that.
And then on the weekends it'slike we're a little bit more
(11:53):
liberal.
But I'm like, you've gotta getup by 11, to get the day
started.
He always gets a little annoyedwhen he wakes up by nine.
He's like, oh, I didn't want, Ineed more sleep.
And I'm like, but your body saidit's time.
So if your body wakes you up andyou weren't waking up, then it's
fine.
Keri Cooper (12:10):
Big.
And that's also something toremember as well with your kids.
Like when they are growing, whenor when they're sick.
We know when they're sick,they're supposed to be like
napping and getting more sleep.
Mm-hmm.
But it's the same if they'relike going through like a big
growth period or something likethat's happening.
So don't be alarmed all of asudden if your kids are napping
and they're like.
Quote unquote out of the napstage.
Kat (12:30):
Yeah.
Keri Cooper (12:31):
Sometimes that's really necessary.
Yeah.
Kat (12:34):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
I'd love to kind of go into alittle bit more of how do you
break down kind of the importantsleep concepts for people?
'cause I feel like.
It probably could be someabstract barriers to kind of
overcome for people like, okay,I need to sleep.
How do I actually get the sleep?
(12:55):
And how, I don't wanna say howlong does it take to see the
sleep benefits, but you know,kind of getting that general
idea around it.
Yeah.
So
Keri Cooper (13:04):
that also kind of leads back into, I'm sorry, we
kind of like jumped off topic.
You said, like what are some ofthe typical things that block
people from, you know, sleeping?
And I said one was thementality, right?
But the other thing is justmaking it a priority.
Kat (13:16):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (13:17):
Some people unfortunately are doing, doing,
doing, doing, and they're notsetting like, okay, sleep is
actually important and I'm goingto make sure that I stop my day
and I go to bed.
That's another really big thing.
And once they get theinformation and the education
about really why sleep is soimportant and like.
(13:38):
I, I mean, I could list amillion reasons why sleep is so
important.
It truly does impact everysingle physical feature,
physical, issue in your body andmental health.
And your productivity and youknow, whether or not you're
gonna just show up happy in theworld, it all comes back to
sleep.
Mm-hmm.
So once I start getting theeducation, once I'm able to
start identifying the issue, isit that, they're battling their
(14:00):
sleep?
Is it that they're not making ita priority?
Is it that they're not doingenough during the day?
Kat (14:06):
Mm-hmm.
Make sure
Keri Cooper (14:07):
they're tired at night, like what is going on
with their daily habits?
And we could jump all into thattoo.
But those are really normallythe common.
Paths that we go down to figureout why is somebody not
sleeping, and when they workwith me, they have a very, very
long questionnaire before theyeven meet with me because I need
to know all this information.
That way we know where to startfrom.
Kat (14:29):
Yeah.
And I love how you said like ifyou're not using your energy
during the day, you're not goingto sleep at night.
Keri Cooper (14:34):
There's so many people that just sit in front of
a computer all day for work.
Mm-hmm.
They don't move, they're inartificial lights.
They then, you know, are ontheir phone at night relaxing
with all that blue light.
They're not getting fresh air.
All of this stuff really, reallyimpacts our sleep.
Yeah, your body does not know.
It's supposed to be tired atnight.
(14:55):
It's not tired like it's, andpeople are like, no, I'm so
tired.
Like, you're drained.
Your thought process is tired,but your physical body is not
tired.
You haven't used it enough.
Kat (15:06):
Exactly, exactly that.
I see a lot too, and I'm like,energy begets energy we have to
work both mental and physicalenergy.
There are two different typesand so I hear a lot from
clients, so I've worked all day.
I'm tired.
Well, yes, you could be mentallyfatigued and I will not even
say, oh no, you're not tired.
(15:28):
But that's where moving the bodyis gonna compliment that mental
fatigue and actually release andrelax that mind a bit so that
you're feeling refreshed and itsounds counterintuitive, but
they work together.
One of the things is.
Especially a lot of my clientshave computer ridden jobs or in
office spaces and if you have ahard conference call or a hard
(15:52):
meeting or a project you'reworking on, schedule 90 seconds
minimally.
If you can get outside, that'seven more brilliant If you have
an office window, especially onethat's getting that good daytime
sun.
Stand by it or walk or getoutside and feel that fresh air.
You know, I, ideally, I wouldlike them to take four minute
breaks, just get up, movearound, getting that movement
(16:14):
throughout.
But the one thing I find is oncethey start to do that, They're,
they get more energy, they arefeeling more vibrant, and they
sleep.
And they're more
Keri Cooper (16:24):
productive for the rest of their day at work.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
And that's what a lot of peopledon't realize is that they're
always like, I'm so busy.
I'm so busy, I can't sleep.
But it's like, if you slept.
You'd be able to get more donein less time.
And that's when I, especiallywhen I do corporate talks, talk
about so much you know, you getto be so much more productive.
So yes, going outside is soimportant.
(16:45):
Like you take a lunch break,take that time, walk outside and
you know, even people who aren'tnecessarily like in the
workforce but are home with kidsand everything, it is so
important to get outside andtake a walk and take your kids
with you.
Kat (17:01):
Yeah, I'm a big believer in that.
All movement is moving the body,if you're not in that stage to
be able to have a walk with thefamily and a walk by yourself
or,, whatever that extra likemovement is for yourself, that
becomes.
The movement there until thatseason is passed.
But don't discredit gettingoutside and getting that
movement in, because the otheraspect is you're setting up that
(17:24):
environment for your children togrow up with movement and
getting outside as a normalroutine.
Not saying it'll solely solvethe whole, you have to get
outside today.
I struggle with that even thoughmy kids are more apt to, it's
like.
It will help condition them thatthis is a normal way of life.
I need to be outside this, isn'ta punishment because mom or dad
(17:47):
won't let me on screens.
It's, this is part of life.
I'm so happy you
Keri Cooper (17:52):
mentioned that because that modeling of that
behavior, it goes for sleep too.
Kat (17:57):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (17:59):
Yeah.
Your kids know, like kids knowthey pick things up and
especially as they get older.
They will know if you're notsleeping.
They will know if you're notprioritizing your sleep.
Yes, it is so important to setup that good sleep habit.
Good sleep routine in yourhouse.
You know, my kids know like ourphones go in the hallway at
including mine.
(18:19):
They're gone.
Because my sleep is important tome.
And you know, it's funny whenpeople have, you know, parties
with families or whatever, we'realways, we're always the first
to leave.
And it's like the big joke,like, oh, Coopers are out again.
Yeah.
We're the first to leave becauseI wanna go home and go to sleep.
Yeah.
And my kids see that all thetime.
Kat (18:38):
Yeah.
I, I agree with you there.
My, my kids know, like, I wentthrough a whole.
I don't even remember when itwas.
It was probably shortly afterthe pandemic.
We'd always been pretty goodabout sleep, but it wasn't until
really, I mean, that upended alot of people.
You know, 2020.
It really just jarred a lot ofthings and so what I realized, I
(18:59):
wasn't getting quality sleep.
I needed to figure that out.
So I started stripping back, toyour point about that
discipline.
I was like, okay, I need cold,hard, cutoff times for certain
things.
It was, you know, no TV after acertain time, no phone after a
certain time.
Also, I will say I allowedmyself time to fail at this
(19:20):
because it wasn't, when I saycold hard cutoff, it wasn't, rip
the bandaid off quick and boom,it was healed.
And so now, I mean, they werelittle at that time, so they
didn't really see me goingthrough that.
Now they know like devices aredownstairs charging all devices
stay downstairs.
They don't come upstairs.
They know mom and dad have.
(19:41):
Go to bed at between nine 30 and10 and it's getting to the point
where they're, they're going tobed at nine.
It's like, Hey, you guys need toget through your bedtime routine
'cause mom and dad wanna go tosleep.
Like, so it's, they see that andit's like, this is normalized.
A bedtime and awake time is, hasbeen normalized for them.
(20:01):
And now my older son where.
He will go to friends' homes andyou know, he feels, he's like,
man, I should have gone to bedearlier.
This is really hard to functiontoday.
And I said, well, good.
You are articulating that foryourself.
This is why sleep is important.
And so he'll be like, I need togo to bed early tonight because
I really, I am feeling sleepdeprived.
(20:23):
You know?
And I think.
That's huge that he'sarticulating that for himself.
Keri Cooper (20:28):
It is because when we normally have good sleep and
we have one night where we don'tsleep well, we really feel it.
Mm-hmm.
Unfortunately, so many peopleare just so used to being sleep
deprived.
They actually don't even feel itanymore, and they're like, no,
I'm functioning fine.
I'm, I'm functioning fine.
I'm five hours of sleep.
You're not.
No, you are just not.
No.
You know it because you dunnowhat good sleep is like.
(20:49):
But they're in this now patternof just.
Not understanding how they'resupposed to function.
Yeah.
And that's actually very scary.
Or there's, you know, anothergroup of people where they don't
know how to really fall asleep.
So they're really relying on,you know, oftentimes some wine
before bed to try to get tosleep or other things.
(21:11):
And listen, sleep meds havetheir place when used properly
and when used when they need itto be.
But these are not long-termsolutions.
Right.
Especially the wine.
And you know, when people aredrinking wine a lot before
bedtime to go to sleep, what'shappening is that your body is
now trying to process out all ofthis sugar, all of this alcohol,
(21:33):
your, your body can't do what itneeds to do.
When it's supposed to besleeping because it's dealing
with processing all that out.
And that's the same with peoplewho eat really late at night.
Your body is now trying to dealwith digestion.
Your body shouldn't have to doany of that stuff.
It needs to actually do whatit's supposed to do
Kat (21:47):
when it's sleeping.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And that's, that's where it goesback to the hormones.
Hormones are not able to fullyrepair.
Cortisol is a big word in socialmedia as well as the
inflammation.
And during that time when you'resleeping, all of that.
Is worked out.
Your inflammation decreases.
Cortisol goes to its normalstate.
(22:10):
We need cortisol cortisol shouldnever be at a zero in anybody's
body.
It helps us function andarguably your cortisol is the
highest when you wake up andshould decrease as you get ready
for sleep.
It should not stay high andraised all day.
To your point, it makes perfectsense.
When you get to a certain point,your body adapts that this is my
(22:30):
sleep deprivation is my newnormal.
Which does not make it right.
And when you and I candefinitely speak to this, when I
started getting that quality ofsleep, honestly it was like an
amazing dopamine hit.
It was like, I want more ofthis.
This feels good.
I am able to do more, feelbetter.
(22:51):
And be more emotionallyregulated without, snapping at
my children and being like, whydid I do that?
Or having better workoutsenjoying so many more things.
And the, the whole point, and Iwanna be crystal clear, is not
to be able to do more.
It's if I get great sleep, I'mgoing to have better deep work
(23:12):
time.
I'm going to be more productivein the hours I want to be
productive so that I can have.
The time I want for myself, formy family, you know,
unencumbered.
So,
Keri Cooper (23:23):
absolutely.
Absolutely.
Yeah, it's just people need totake a step back and say, wait a
second, what does my sleepreally look like?
And really get honest withthemselves and then decide that
they are worth it to really tryto improve it.
Kat (23:39):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (23:40):
Yeah, because it actually happens pretty quickly.
I know you asked that earliertoo, right?
Normally, on average, people whosee me, their sleep looks a lot
different within 30 days.
And it doesn't take all thatlong for all of a sudden for you
to feel more rested, to be moreproductive, to feel like, oh,
okay, now I'm, I'm living alittle bit better.
Kat (24:00):
Yes.
Yes.
And, and I think that's huge.
I think it's, in the beginning.
It's going to feel like a lot ofwork because it feels unnatural.
But this is where that mentalityof 21 days to make a habit stick
comes in does not mean it'sfully integrated.
Especially like having a coachfor sleep or having a coach for
(24:23):
for fitness training, it allowsfor you to have that sounding
board and a space to be curiousto help you get to the solution
you wanna see.
And it does not mean everysingle month that you're going
to have to be reinventing thewheel.
'cause that's not the point.
It's getting to the root cause,finding that solution specific
(24:45):
for you.
And then you're gonna feel thathealth benefit pretty quickly,
which is, which is huge.
I feel that's not talked a lotabout in the mainstream,
especially in social media whereit's, oh, this jump from program
to program jump from solution tosolution where it shouldn't be
that way.
Keri Cooper (25:06):
Right.
It, you really need to find outwhat is the root cause.
'cause again, everybody has adifferent root cause as to why
they're not sleeping at night.
Mm-hmm.
Once you identify what'shappening, then you're able to
really go after it and changeit.
Kat (25:22):
Yeah.
Hopefully eliminate it.
I talk with, with clients is wehave seasons in our life and
with parents who are in that,toddler, baby stage.
Yeah, there's gonna be moreunpredictable ness, but that's
where it's really making surethat.
You get those distractions outthat you find those pockets of
time to have that good sleephygiene.
(25:44):
And then as you know, especiallywith the perimenopause, yes
there are some mo so manyuncontrollables, but there's a
lot of things you can controlduring that time, so don't let.
What I
Keri Cooper (25:55):
see is that, especially during the menopause
time, is that once we reallystart working on the sleep, a
lot of the issues that they werehaving at night actually seem to
get better.
Yeah.
And it's like, you know, theyboth help each other.
Yes.
Once you start making onepositive change and you know,
that goes along with weight lossas well.
Every January I see everybody onsocial media posting like, I'm
(26:19):
gonna eat better and exercise.
And I'm always like, great, butyou're, you're forgetting
sleeping because neither one ofthose are gonna happen if you
are not
Kat (26:26):
sleeping.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And that's, I will say in myprograms with my clients, I'm
always asking about their sleep.
How much are you sleeping?
And then that's where for me, Ilook at, okay, well now's not
the time to do these intenseworkouts.
If you are coming up on a sleeppattern, maybe you're nervous
about work.
Maybe a, a child is sick andthat's causing interrupted sleep
(26:48):
patterns, well, we're gonnaadjust for our.
Our fitness, we're going to dialit back.
Does not mean you can't handleit.
It means your body right now isunder our.
More life stress.
And so we could keep all thisstress there, but it's not gonna
help your healing, your recoveryand the adaptations.
And therefore we're just doingwork for work and I'm not one to
(27:09):
be giving work for work.
So it's like we wanna beeffective with that.
And how does that overallimpact?
And when clients do that, theyfind that they stop the all or
nothing habits that they've hadbefore.
They feel better, they maintainand gain more fitness and
strength because they're workingwith their body, they're working
(27:32):
with their life, they're workingwith their energy, and it's
like, yes, that's what we wantto do.
Keri Cooper (27:39):
Yes, and I'm so happy you mentioned the all or
nothing thinking because youknow, sleep is the same way.
It's not all or nothing, andthere are gonna be those moments
where you are not gonna sleepgreat.
Kat (27:48):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (27:50):
And again, normally those are very short term and
that's how they should be.
But you know, if you havesomething really huge happening
in your life, I could understandgetting a bad night of sleep.
You know, that would be prettynormal.
And again, if it's just oneevery once in a while, knowing
that that's okay and not tofreak out about that, that
that's fine.
(28:11):
Right.
Kat (28:11):
That's just life.
Exactly.
Exactly.
It would be amazing if we couldjust say, oh, every night you're
gonna get a great day of sleep.
Right.
But that's, that's just not, andit's the same thing with like,
you're gonna miss workouts.
Yeah.
And as long as there's more,you're showing up more
consistently.
The few missed doesn't make adifference.
Kind of going to those points ofthose seasons where there is
(28:31):
interrupted sleep, maybe it's anew baby, maybe there is just a
lot of stress in your life.
How do you help them throughthat knowing that.
There is just that interruptedsleep out of their controls,
well
Keri Cooper (28:44):
stress in their life.
If it's something like, youknow, someone just died or
something that's different thanthem just saying they have
stress in their life, right?
If it's just stress in theirlife, we're actually gonna work
on containing that stressthrough a bunch of different
ways.
That way they can go to bedstill, because that can't be the
excuse of why someone's notsleeping.
There's always gonna be stressin your life.
Right?
You know, did something reallytragic just happen that's a
(29:06):
little bit different.
And you're probably gonna be offfor a few days.
Kat (29:09):
Mm-hmm.
Keri Cooper (29:10):
You know, but then we need to get you back.
Right.
The infant stage is challenging.
Yes.
You know, I have four children.
I remember it.
But again, working on makingsure that sleep is a priority is
what's really important duringthat time period, and making
sure we look at, you know, theirroutine and their resources for
(29:30):
help as well.
And how can we get you sleepingas much as humanly possible.
There will definitely be thosenights where that baby is just
going to cry and you're justgonna be up, but also to
remember and to really changethe mentality with sleep where.
If you have one bad night ofsleep, your life is not gonna
fall apart.
Right?
You could still function, youcould still do things.
(29:52):
It's okay.
Mm-hmm.
And that's what I find, youknow, really kind of messes up
people sometimes, is that theyget a bad night of sleep and
then the next morning they'relike, oh, my whole day is gonna
be shot.
And now they're napping numeroustimes and now they're gonna bed
super, super early and now it'sjust now you've messed up your
whole sleep cycle.
You can recover from a night ortwo about sleep.
(30:13):
You can.
It's okay.
Kat (30:15):
I'd love to hear your thoughts on napping.
'cause I hear a lot of peopleare like, oh, it's okay.
I was up late.
I'll just nap today.
And it becomes this chronic, I'mgonna say nap cycle.
I know for me, I, I kind ofstarted this thing where it's
not, it doesn't happen everySunday, but some Sundays I'll
just lay down for 20 minutes.
But I found with my own trainingand just life and we've had a
(30:37):
little bit slower on Sundays,and i'll just rest.
Mm-hmm.
For me, and this is how I'vealways been, if I nap in bed.
I'm just like done for the restof the day.
Yeah.
I cannot come out of this groggystate where it's better for me
to kind of be, if I'm sleepdeprived or feeling that
tiredness to just function withit and go to bed and wake up the
(30:57):
next morning refreshed.
But with napping, what is yourviewpoints on?
Keri Cooper (31:03):
I wanna know why are they napping?
'cause I do have some clientsthat have some sort of medical
conditions and I'm like, youneed to be napping.
And, and that's perfectly fine.
If they're napping because theydidn't sleep well the night
before.
I normally don't love that.
You're normally now settingyourself up to just a bad sleep
cycle.
But if you're napping becauseit's a Sunday and you're cozy
and you just wanna like, fine.
(31:24):
20 minutes is normally what Irecommend.
I don't like anything more thanthat because now you're really
getting into more of your sleepcycles and it's gonna throw you
off for the night.
Right.
So if you have to nap or if youwant to nap, I would say 20
minutes.
But again, there are certainpeople who should be napping.
A mom of an infant, you aregonna be napping.
Yeah.
Your body's also healing fromjust having a baby.
(31:45):
Like, please don't forget thatyou, you need sleep and you need
more than 20 minutes.
That's, you know, that rule doesnot apply then.
But for the people who are like,I'm napping because I'm not
sleeping well, you're justthrowing off the pattern even
more.
Kat (31:59):
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love that.
And definitely, you know,parents in infant stage, sleep
and, and sleep.
Sleep, sleep, sleep as much as
Keri Cooper (32:07):
you possibly can.
Yes, yes.
And I love
Kat (32:10):
that you brought up that.
For women, your body's healingand it takes up to two years for
your body to fully heal.
I hear from clients like, oh,six months ago.
There's so, so much going on inyour body that it doesn't mean
that you can't, it means yourbody's still healing.
And it was such an undertakingto create the life, to build the
(32:30):
baby.
Like your body just doesn't snapback and it takes a while.
Keri Cooper (32:35):
Any injury you're dealing with, if you're dealing
with an injury, you have toremember that you should be,
definitely sleeping more andtaking care of your body.
If you're coming off being sick,or if you are sick, if you have
some type of chronic medicalcondition, that could be another
reason why you're napping.
I work with some people withLyme disease and it's like,
yeah, you need to be napping.
Yeah.
Kat (32:52):
Oh yeah.
You know?
Keri Cooper (32:53):
That's okay.
Yeah.
Kat (32:55):
What do you recommend to like, for parents to help create
that environment?
To promote better sleep habits?
Yeah.
Keri Cooper (33:02):
One of the big things is modeling it.
I think that's probably thebiggest issue is that you really
need to model for your kids goodsleep habits.
And when these kids are stayingup really late, it's not normal.
And for some reason we continueto normalize this.
And I tell, I have teenagers aswell, and I tell them all the
time especially as they'regrowing.
Your growth hormones happen whenyou sleep, and if you're going
(33:26):
to bed past midnight, it's notthe same type of sleep.
The sleep before midnightthrough all the research that we
see is really very differentthan the sleep after midnight.
You need both, but you, youreally need the sleep before
midnight.
And I also encourage parents to,you know, have that place to
charge all, all the electronics,don't have them in the bedroom.
There's numerous reasons whythey shouldn't be in the
(33:47):
bedroom.
Sleep is only one of them,right.
And also make sure that you'reeating dinner early when you're
eating dinner at like, you know,eight o'clock at night.
That's gonna be tough.
Right.
And just like I tell parents allthe time, make sure you're not
overscheduling yourselves.
Please don't over schedule yourchildren.
And I understand in the world ofsports and you know, dance and
(34:08):
theater and all that, sometimespractices are just late.
It is what it is.
And I get that.
But make sure you're notoverloading them at least.
Kat (34:19):
Oh, I fullheartedly agree and I will say the eating thing,
I, I hear that a lot fromclients of like, well, when do
we eat?
We can't eat until 8 39.
And I'm like, that is far toolate.
And I'm a big proponent of breakthe meal up into two, have
something.
Beforehand, or four o'clock istoo early, you're gonna be
hungry by eight.
(34:39):
But split the meal up into two.
If you're eating at eightbecause you are genuinely
hungry, make it small.
Don't have that full mealbecause to your point, the
body's going to be digestingthat and it's going to take away
from the sleep, even if you'regetting in bed at the same time.
And that.
I find, you know, with workingwith clients on the nutrition
(35:00):
aspect, it gets very, I'm gonnasay black and white.
Well, dinner has to be at thistime, all at once.
No, it's, we have to getcreative'cause we're in the
season of hopefully appropriatebusyness.
That we need to look at it alittle bit differently.
And if your child has been atschool all day and you're
picking them up from school andgoing to next activity to next
activity, chances are theyprobably ate lunch around 11.
(35:22):
So they need to eat again nowto.
Sustain that energy.
So break it up into differentareas so that that eating is a
little bit more normalized.
They're getting fuel for theirbodies for what they need, and
then when they're ready for, toyour point for sleep, they're
not sitting down to a big mealor overly tired and can't eat.
(35:43):
So, right.
And also remember that,
Keri Cooper (35:46):
you know, your kids are learning all day long.
Mm-hmm.
And then, you know, coming home,doing homework, studying and all
that.
But if they're not sleeping,they're not gonna retain that
information.
When we sleep is when we reallyprocess all of those memories
and we store information, andthat's what I work with college
kids a lot.
I tell'em all the time, you needto sleep, especially during
finals.
You cannot pull all nighters.
(36:06):
You won't remember what you'restudying all day.
It won't be effective.
Kat (36:09):
Yes.
Let's see here.
I know we have a little bit wecould talk about., I do feel,
especially in the adultcorporate world, culture, sleep
deprivation, being tired is wornas a badge of honor working late
into the night, and that's justnot where it's at.
It's
Keri Cooper (36:25):
so interesting because it is a badge of honor,
but if you're sleep deprived,you're not gonna be as
productive as you could be, andyou're gonna make mistakes.
Yeah.
So why would your company wantyou to be sleep deprived?
Kat (36:38):
Yeah, exactly.
It's gonna cost them money andyou're gonna be sick more.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And when clients were in thethick of some of'em in the thick
of it with illnesses, I'm like,don't work out.
But I'm afraid I'm going.
No.
If you may not be sick, butyou're up caring for your
children.
We don't wanna wear down yourimmune system even more because
you're already stressed andyou're missing days at work..
(36:58):
So if you're going to dosomething, either sit outside in
the sun, go for a very easywalk, or do mobility.
But we're not here to overlystress our body.
'cause the body only understandsstress.
It doesn't differentiate.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
What would you be?
So if someone's listening tothis and they're so sleep
deprived, I am feeling all thethings that they're mentioning,
(37:19):
I don't know where to begin.
What is one piece of advice?
Again, we're not here to treator diagnose, but something to
kind of help you.
To help them take action toimprove their sleep.
Keri Cooper (37:30):
My favorite piece of advice for somebody who's
looking to kind of take actionon their own is to make sure
you're getting up at the sametime every single day, including
weekends.
That's normally a really goodstep in resetting your sleep
cycle.
Kat (37:42):
I love that.
That's
Keri Cooper (37:43):
my favorite easy piece of advice.
Yeah.
Kat (37:46):
And then for someone who's like struggling with chronic
sleep problems, at what pointare you like, should they see
you or another professional tohelp them?
Keri Cooper (37:57):
Yeah.
The moment you feel like itdoesn't need to be chronic, the
moment you feel like you'restruggling with sleep.
Call a sleep coach, we are,we're here.
That's what we do.
Because tips and tricks forbetter sleep is never a bad
Kat (38:09):
thing, right?
I love that.
And where can people find you?
Keri Cooper (38:13):
Yeah.
Sleep Solutions by Keri is mywebsite and I'm on Instagram as
well at Sleep Solutions by Keri.
Kat (38:19):
Love it.
And that will be posted in theshow notes.
If you have any questions, reachout to Keri.
Hopefully you got someactionable tips and you get a
great night's sleep tonight.
Welcome to MilesFromHerView thepodcast powered by KatFit
Strength, where busy women likeyou find practical solutions to
fuel your fitness journey withauthenticity and resilience.
(38:42):
I'm Kat, your host, a mom of twoactive boys, a business owner,
and an ultra marathon runner anda strength trainer in her
forties with nearly two decadesof experience.
I'm here to help you cut throughthe noise of fads, hacks, and
quick fixes.
This is a space where wecelebrate womanhood and
motherhood.
All while building strength andresilience and reconnecting with
(39:05):
you from a place ofself-compassion and worthiness.
Whether you're lacing up yourrunning shoes to go out for a
run, driving your kids topractice or squeezing in a
moment for yourself, I'm righthere in the trenches with you.
Let's dive in.
Thank you so much for coming on.
Thank you so much for having me.
Thank you for tuning in toMilesFromHerView powered by
(39:28):
KatFit Strength.
If this podcast inspires you,don't keep it for yourself.
Hit follow or subscribe to stayupdated on the new episodes, and
leave us a review to help morewomen and moms discover this
space.
Your feedback fuels this podcastand I'd love to hear what's
working for you or what topicsyou want to dive into Next.
(39:50):
You can connect with me onInstagram at KatFit Strength, or
share this episode.
With a friend who is ready toembrace her strength.
Remember, fitness isn't aboutperfection.
It's about showing up foryourself and finding strength in
every step of your journey.
Until next time, keep movingforward one mile at a time.
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