July 16, 2025 • 11 mins
Struggling to sleep? Mental fitness coach Liezel van der Westhuizen explains how the trending ‘Puppy Paws’ method can calm your mind and help you rest fast.
Early Breakfast with Africa Melane is 702’s and CapeTalk’s early morning talk show. Experienced broadcaster Africa Melane brings you the early morning news, sports, business, and interviews politicians and analysts to help make sense of the world. He also enjoys chatting to guests in the lifestyle sphere and the Arts. All the interviews are podcasted for you to catch-up and listen.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to your new day.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is early breakfast with Africa.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Malamists in talking to us about you know, sleeping better.
If you have a problem with this sleep.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
This is a question I get all the time Africa.
People mail me all the time, and don't get me wrong,
I appreciate your mails, so please keep sending them. Sleep
is a big thing. And if you look at what's
the most ask thing on chat, GPT and the most
asking on Google, it's all about sleep when it comes
to health and wellness. And today we learning the puppy
pause sleep trick.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
That's been doing it socials, so it's tested out Thursday
at least.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I didn't send this homework to you to try, but
if anyone's heard of the puppy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Pause sleep trick, let me know if you've tried it.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
May you ever noticed how puppy falls asleep anywhere, anytime,
and they're literally just sleeping on their paws. So it's
it's lying on your stomach, tucking your hands under your heads,
relaxing your body, breathing deeply to calm the nervous system,
and it helps you fall asleep faster. It's doing its
rounds on social media and I had people sleep the
(01:05):
puppy pause sleep. You can either lie on your stomach
or your side, tucking your wrists and hands gently under
your chest, palms facing downwards. Just think of how puppy
sleeps at its front, paws under its body, snug and secure.
Some people use sin or folded blankets under their arms
to avoid wrist or next strain, and hands remain relaxed,
not clench. You don't clench them up, almost like a
(01:27):
puppy in deep sleep. It's simple to try, no easy,
no gadgets needed, just your body, your head and a
bed and a warm blanket, especially in winter.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Why do you think it works for the people?
Speaker 3 (01:39):
When I saw it, I laughed, and you know I
had to go and try it. And it makes sense
from a mental fitness point of view. It resets your
nervous system. That deep breathing. We all know that deep breathing.
The minute you do some deep breathing, it's automatically going
to reset that nervous system. So changing possessions disrupts anxious thoughts.
So if you sli lying on your side or lying
(02:01):
on your back, and you're getting annoyed and irritated, now
you're trying something new, so it automatically switches you out
of that that fight and flight and anxious mode and
going Okay, my body's trying something.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
New, let me move into that new position.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Then you're also combining it with the breathing as well,
and the light compression of yourself onto your hands mimics
a weighted blanket that activates your parasympathetic rest and digest response.
And then the tuck and hold posture gives that cocooning
sense of safety, just like swaddling when we were babies
and we were wrapped in a blanket, and it can
(02:34):
help shift off those racing thoughts and anchor you into
that physical presence because now you're going into a different pose.
You're going into being more focused on trying to get
into this possession and sleep. Experts like doctor Leah Kayla
says changing this position can help you fall asleep with
in ten to thirteen minutes. So I did try it.
It did help with intent to probably about forty five minutes.
(02:57):
But also it's not you're not going to stay in
that the whole night because it's not a comfortable position
to get in. So I can see where it makes
sense from a breath point of view, from a changing
your body's position point of view. And then I also
think the humor comes in because you're lying like a puppy,
you have to smile. So the minit you start to
smile or relax a little bit more, those anxious thoughts
(03:18):
seem to just go away. So I saw the where
that came in because I thought that was the hilarious
part when I moved in, and then I noticed that
it just did calm my mind by my thinking of
something else. You think of a puppy, You're going into
that puppy position. You're feeling really good and feel good thoughts.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Speaking of position, by the way, swaddling is literally wrapping
a baby up in class or blanket or I feel
layers can't move the reating. Basically, why does this work?
I suppose over and above, I don't know yoga nidra
for example, or the military method.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
So yoga, nidras, sleep, yoga and the military method we
had spoken about it. I will share that on socials.
It's anecdotal, so remember this is not clinical proven. I'm
not talking about all the stats and facts. I'm just
testing out something on that we saw on the socials
where yoga needra is guided emagery and military method has
researched backing into it.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's fine to try its low risk, low tech.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
If you're insomnia is chronic, clinically proven methods may be
more reliable. So this is maybe you're lying at wake
at night and it's not a regular routine where you
just lay awake and worry then go into this position.
But for people who are struggling from chronic insomnia, there
might be better methods to try. And when you're already in
(04:38):
bed and struggling to sleep, it already works well. Because
you're in bed, you can move quickly into that position.
And the big thing is it's complementary, so it's not
a full replacement. You combine position hacks with breathing and
relaxation exercises, so you're moving into that puppy pause position,
and then you're breathing and bringing in that breathing that
breath work which is already calming you down, and relaxation
(05:00):
the sizes, so it's a combination of things.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Can I say to why.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
It wouldn't work for me? I mean, other than my height,
I was just.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Gonna say, don't use your height as an excuse I
did it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I don't. I don't, but I.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Don't have winter sheets, right, It's just something I've never
obtained because and maybe I've just bought poor quality of
winter sheets. But you alders got the exactly what the
English word for it, by the way, but they'll help
us there. All is, you know, and then you have
to when you've got hair like I do. Like there's
a lot of unpicking of that, right, So I use
(05:35):
the same sheeting. Well, obviously I changed it every week,
but I save sheeting for the for the year and
in winter it you know, it takes a while to
to heat up because I don't. I also don't have
an electric blanket by choice. I'm going I will warm
myself up enough so if I get into the puppy
poor position, and then after a certain amount of time,
(05:57):
I now need to stretch because now my body has
had it. Now then the rest of the sheet is closed,
it's cold, and then that will wake me up. So
the benefits of the sleeve will be immediately undata.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Maybe in summer, maybe we'll drive it in summer, but
some sleepers do find it more natural and effective. And
if you're dealing with anxiety or overthinking at bedtime. People
will find that breath work and that change of possession helpful.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
But I'm with you on the I.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Had to warm the bed up before I went in,
So it's more even the middle of the night. If
you wake up and you've got those racing thoughts and
you want to try something or a method quickly, this
is a nice one to take you out of lying
on your back, wondering, staring at the ceiling. Now you've
got to get it into this position. So it changes
those positions and it's a great reset when you're lying awake.
So no screens, no meditation needed. Sleeping face down could
(06:44):
hamper breathing or diaphragm movements, so please do be careful.
Many sleep experts don't recommend sleeping on your stomach and
tucking your wrists may cause a numbness or strain and
possibly even carpal tunnel, so be careful of that. And
if you wake up Crampton saw, please just stop. So
I noticed, I went into the position, started to fall asleep,
and then I moved myself into a comfortable lying position.
(07:08):
And I'm not going to mention what lying position, because
every time I open social media or open any fitness
or wellness blog says, don't line your back, don't line
your side, don't line your stomach.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Doesn't work, so just don't line. Just don't sleep.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
So I can't even tell you what's the best sleeping position,
but whatever works for you. So do you note how
you feel when you have tried this.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I suppose it's important to highlight the fact that you
said this is to complement other things, right, because making
sure that you are shut down your computer and your
cell phone timelessly, if you have curtains that have a
heavy lining, Because for me, it's that practice and that routine.
I'm going into my bedroom and this bedroom is where
(07:50):
I sleep. It's not where I scroll through my phone.
It's not where I watch streaming, it's not where I
you know, and we forget and often underestimate the the
incredible powering that.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
That's the most important. If you can get your sleep
hygiene rights. And I think it's two hours or an
hour before bed that you've already got to put the
screens away, So that's the big one. Dimming your lights
and plugging your devices at least thirty minutes before bed.
Research has said even an hour, then getting into the bed,
lying onto your stomach or closing your curtains or if
(08:22):
you've got a scent that you do, or perhaps you
bath before you go into bed.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
It's all that.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Whole routine of slowing your mind down, getting into your
rest and digest parasympathetic mode. So's that's important as well.
So this is just an add on to that. I
think it works better in the middle of the night
when you've woken up maybe and you've got thoughts racing.
It's a great one just to get you back into
routine you don't have that. And then it's also about
(08:48):
that deep calming breath. You forget how important those deep
calming breaths are. That is what also helps you to
just get into that relaxing sleep mode all.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Right, little before you go, and need you to think
to song, okay, to think of your wake up song,
because we started the show playing each team members wake
up songs and purely for the benefit of you being
in captown. You get to today to choose as well. Sadly,
I can't ask Fisos for one because while he's reading news.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And it needs to be throughout.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Anyway the news. And then if I ask the rest
of the team members in joe Burg. Literally, we will
not do anything except play music for the next hour,
and I think my bosses are going to get us
into a lot of trouble otherwise. But do you think
of your wake up song? While I tell people that
tomorrow is a Friday, which means LISO is going to
come with an incredible, credible choice of option as far
(09:42):
as fitness is concerned. Remember, we just ten days away
from Walk the Talk, and we hope fewer days away
from the closing of the entries, and I can tell
you we literally get into that twenty thousand mark. So
do go to Primaria plus dot com to make sure
that you are registered. And more importantly, there's an event
(10:04):
that you know of that you're organizing that you think
cap Talk and set us need to know about, particularly
in winter. Do email Diesel little V at cap Talk
Little V at seven O two dot co dot z.
Of course you would choose this song as your whole
wake up So why this song?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
It's just such a powerful it's it's one of those
songs and ladies, I'm sure you're gonna agree with me
when you get to jump out of bed and you
hear the song. It's just your your motivation for the day,
just to get you up and going and going.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You know what, I am on fire.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I'm leading the way, I am strong enough, and I'm
passionate enough. And it talks about that enthusiasm, that excitement
and that passion about something.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Alicia Keys Girl on.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Fire The Girls of Fire.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Girl on Fire Alicia Keys is a song that liesel
Fnavestas and wakes up to if every morning well not quiet,
but she wakes up to anyway, she'll be back with us,
of course tomorrow morning.
Welcome to your new day.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is early breakfast with Africa.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Malamists in talking to us about you know, sleeping better.
If you have a problem with this sleep.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
This is a question I get all the time Africa.
People mail me all the time, and don't get me wrong,
I appreciate your mails, so please keep sending them. Sleep
is a big thing. And if you look at what's
the most ask thing on chat, GPT and the most
asking on Google, it's all about sleep when it comes
to health and wellness. And today we learning the puppy
pause sleep trick.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
That's been doing it socials, so it's tested out Thursday
at least.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
I didn't send this homework to you to try, but
if anyone's heard of the puppy.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Pause sleep trick, let me know if you've tried it.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
May you ever noticed how puppy falls asleep anywhere, anytime,
and they're literally just sleeping on their paws. So it's
it's lying on your stomach, tucking your hands under your heads,
relaxing your body, breathing deeply to calm the nervous system,
and it helps you fall asleep faster. It's doing its
rounds on social media and I had people sleep the
(01:05):
puppy pause sleep. You can either lie on your stomach
or your side, tucking your wrists and hands gently under
your chest, palms facing downwards. Just think of how puppy
sleeps at its front, paws under its body, snug and secure.
Some people use sin or folded blankets under their arms
to avoid wrist or next strain, and hands remain relaxed,
not clench. You don't clench them up, almost like a
(01:27):
puppy in deep sleep. It's simple to try, no easy,
no gadgets needed, just your body, your head and a
bed and a warm blanket, especially in winter.
Speaker 1 (01:37):
Why do you think it works for the people?
Speaker 3 (01:39):
When I saw it, I laughed, and you know I
had to go and try it. And it makes sense
from a mental fitness point of view. It resets your
nervous system. That deep breathing. We all know that deep breathing.
The minute you do some deep breathing, it's automatically going
to reset that nervous system. So changing possessions disrupts anxious thoughts.
So if you sli lying on your side or lying
(02:01):
on your back, and you're getting annoyed and irritated, now
you're trying something new, so it automatically switches you out
of that that fight and flight and anxious mode and
going Okay, my body's trying something.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
New, let me move into that new position.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Then you're also combining it with the breathing as well,
and the light compression of yourself onto your hands mimics
a weighted blanket that activates your parasympathetic rest and digest response.
And then the tuck and hold posture gives that cocooning
sense of safety, just like swaddling when we were babies
and we were wrapped in a blanket, and it can
(02:34):
help shift off those racing thoughts and anchor you into
that physical presence because now you're going into a different pose.
You're going into being more focused on trying to get
into this possession and sleep. Experts like doctor Leah Kayla
says changing this position can help you fall asleep with
in ten to thirteen minutes. So I did try it.
It did help with intent to probably about forty five minutes.
(02:57):
But also it's not you're not going to stay in
that the whole night because it's not a comfortable position
to get in. So I can see where it makes
sense from a breath point of view, from a changing
your body's position point of view. And then I also
think the humor comes in because you're lying like a puppy,
you have to smile. So the minit you start to
smile or relax a little bit more, those anxious thoughts
(03:18):
seem to just go away. So I saw the where
that came in because I thought that was the hilarious
part when I moved in, and then I noticed that
it just did calm my mind by my thinking of
something else. You think of a puppy, You're going into
that puppy position. You're feeling really good and feel good thoughts.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Speaking of position, by the way, swaddling is literally wrapping
a baby up in class or blanket or I feel
layers can't move the reating. Basically, why does this work?
I suppose over and above, I don't know yoga nidra
for example, or the military method.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
So yoga, nidras, sleep, yoga and the military method we
had spoken about it. I will share that on socials.
It's anecdotal, so remember this is not clinical proven. I'm
not talking about all the stats and facts. I'm just
testing out something on that we saw on the socials
where yoga needra is guided emagery and military method has
researched backing into it.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
It's fine to try its low risk, low tech.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
If you're insomnia is chronic, clinically proven methods may be
more reliable. So this is maybe you're lying at wake
at night and it's not a regular routine where you
just lay awake and worry then go into this position.
But for people who are struggling from chronic insomnia, there
might be better methods to try. And when you're already in
(04:38):
bed and struggling to sleep, it already works well. Because
you're in bed, you can move quickly into that position.
And the big thing is it's complementary, so it's not
a full replacement. You combine position hacks with breathing and
relaxation exercises, so you're moving into that puppy pause position,
and then you're breathing and bringing in that breathing that
breath work which is already calming you down, and relaxation
(05:00):
the sizes, so it's a combination of things.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Can I say to why.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
It wouldn't work for me? I mean, other than my height,
I was just.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
Gonna say, don't use your height as an excuse I
did it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
I don't. I don't, but I.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Don't have winter sheets, right, It's just something I've never
obtained because and maybe I've just bought poor quality of
winter sheets. But you alders got the exactly what the
English word for it, by the way, but they'll help
us there. All is, you know, and then you have
to when you've got hair like I do. Like there's
a lot of unpicking of that, right, So I use
(05:35):
the same sheeting. Well, obviously I changed it every week,
but I save sheeting for the for the year and
in winter it you know, it takes a while to
to heat up because I don't. I also don't have
an electric blanket by choice. I'm going I will warm
myself up enough so if I get into the puppy
poor position, and then after a certain amount of time,
(05:57):
I now need to stretch because now my body has
had it. Now then the rest of the sheet is closed,
it's cold, and then that will wake me up. So
the benefits of the sleeve will be immediately undata.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
Maybe in summer, maybe we'll drive it in summer, but
some sleepers do find it more natural and effective. And
if you're dealing with anxiety or overthinking at bedtime. People
will find that breath work and that change of possession helpful.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
But I'm with you on the I.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Had to warm the bed up before I went in,
So it's more even the middle of the night. If
you wake up and you've got those racing thoughts and
you want to try something or a method quickly, this
is a nice one to take you out of lying
on your back, wondering, staring at the ceiling. Now you've
got to get it into this position. So it changes
those positions and it's a great reset when you're lying awake.
So no screens, no meditation needed. Sleeping face down could
(06:44):
hamper breathing or diaphragm movements, so please do be careful.
Many sleep experts don't recommend sleeping on your stomach and
tucking your wrists may cause a numbness or strain and
possibly even carpal tunnel, so be careful of that. And
if you wake up Crampton saw, please just stop. So
I noticed, I went into the position, started to fall asleep,
and then I moved myself into a comfortable lying position.
(07:08):
And I'm not going to mention what lying position, because
every time I open social media or open any fitness
or wellness blog says, don't line your back, don't line
your side, don't line your stomach.
Speaker 2 (07:16):
Doesn't work, so just don't line. Just don't sleep.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
So I can't even tell you what's the best sleeping position,
but whatever works for you. So do you note how
you feel when you have tried this.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
I suppose it's important to highlight the fact that you
said this is to complement other things, right, because making
sure that you are shut down your computer and your
cell phone timelessly, if you have curtains that have a
heavy lining, Because for me, it's that practice and that routine.
I'm going into my bedroom and this bedroom is where
(07:50):
I sleep. It's not where I scroll through my phone.
It's not where I watch streaming, it's not where I
you know, and we forget and often underestimate the the
incredible powering that.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
That's the most important. If you can get your sleep
hygiene rights. And I think it's two hours or an
hour before bed that you've already got to put the
screens away, So that's the big one. Dimming your lights
and plugging your devices at least thirty minutes before bed.
Research has said even an hour, then getting into the bed,
lying onto your stomach or closing your curtains or if
(08:22):
you've got a scent that you do, or perhaps you
bath before you go into bed.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
It's all that.
Speaker 3 (08:25):
Whole routine of slowing your mind down, getting into your
rest and digest parasympathetic mode. So's that's important as well.
So this is just an add on to that. I
think it works better in the middle of the night
when you've woken up maybe and you've got thoughts racing.
It's a great one just to get you back into
routine you don't have that. And then it's also about
(08:48):
that deep calming breath. You forget how important those deep
calming breaths are. That is what also helps you to
just get into that relaxing sleep mode all.
Speaker 1 (08:56):
Right, little before you go, and need you to think
to song, okay, to think of your wake up song,
because we started the show playing each team members wake
up songs and purely for the benefit of you being
in captown. You get to today to choose as well. Sadly,
I can't ask Fisos for one because while he's reading news.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
And it needs to be throughout.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
Anyway the news. And then if I ask the rest
of the team members in joe Burg. Literally, we will
not do anything except play music for the next hour,
and I think my bosses are going to get us
into a lot of trouble otherwise. But do you think
of your wake up song? While I tell people that
tomorrow is a Friday, which means LISO is going to
come with an incredible, credible choice of option as far
(09:42):
as fitness is concerned. Remember, we just ten days away
from Walk the Talk, and we hope fewer days away
from the closing of the entries, and I can tell
you we literally get into that twenty thousand mark. So
do go to Primaria plus dot com to make sure
that you are registered. And more importantly, there's an event
(10:04):
that you know of that you're organizing that you think
cap Talk and set us need to know about, particularly
in winter. Do email Diesel little V at cap Talk
Little V at seven O two dot co dot z.
Of course you would choose this song as your whole
wake up So why this song?
Speaker 3 (10:21):
It's just such a powerful it's it's one of those
songs and ladies, I'm sure you're gonna agree with me
when you get to jump out of bed and you
hear the song. It's just your your motivation for the day,
just to get you up and going and going.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
You know what, I am on fire.
Speaker 3 (10:35):
I'm leading the way, I am strong enough, and I'm
passionate enough. And it talks about that enthusiasm, that excitement
and that passion about something.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
Alicia Keys Girl on.
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Fire The Girls of Fire.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Girl on Fire Alicia Keys is a song that liesel
Fnavestas and wakes up to if every morning well not quiet,
but she wakes up to anyway, she'll be back with us,
of course tomorrow morning.
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