Chelsie Ward- Importance of Sleep

I’ll never forget when I was about ten years old and my grandmother looked at me one day and said, “child, you get everything that comes down this family line.” 

What was she talking about?

Blood sugar issues, inability to pay attention, gas, bloating, constipation, and nausea after meals. My doctors labeled these symptoms as IBS, hypoglycemia, and ADD. 

The older I got, the more diagnoses I received. In college, it was anxiety, depression, hypothyroidism, and then came the dreaded perimenopause at age 27. 

My migraines would sometimes last a month with no relief. Chronic fatigue would land me on the couch daily for a nap. I suffered from sugar addiction, hair loss, stuttered speech, foggy thinking, poor memory and concentration, chronic pain, acne, and metabolism issues. 

This list kept growing year after year with no end in sight. My cry for help was LOUD! I tried everything I knew. I met with doctors and specialists and even hired functional medicine doctors to help. I filled my sack full of prescriptions each month, but I wasn’t getting well. 

As a nurse, I realized that I was just like my patients – being told that medication and surgery was the way out. I was told I would have to live with it. That’s not an answer I was willing to accept. 

One day it clicked. I thought, “what if there’s a better way?” 

I began to study how food is medicine and how our bodies were created to heal themselves. I realized that when we give the body what it needs, it will give us what we want in return. I needed a strategic plan to help me heal, using what God provided. 

We don’t heal many times, because we don’t address the root of our health issues. We look at a physical symptom as that – a symptom. We don’t take into account that the cause may be something mental, emotional, or even spiritual. There is such a disconnect. 

I tried to partner with others in the natural health space and learned quickly that I needed a different approach than what these doctors had to offer. 

It was challenging to find someone who would look at me as a whole person, from a mind-body-spirit approach. I don’t think I even realized that’s what I needed at the time. So I went on a mission to study everything I could to address these health challenges myself. 

I was already a nurse with a degree in psychology. So I went on to study health from a natural perspective and was certified in functional medicine and functional diagnostic nutrition. I also studied the spiritual and emotional components through energy medicine and was ordained as a healing minister, using the power of prayer. This all-encompassing approach was life-changing for me personally. 

I felt so much joy and energy some days that I could hardly contain myself. I had never had that in my 30 years prior.

I remember thinking, “this is how we all should feel all the time.” How could this simple approach to health be hiding from so many people? 

We are misinformed. We don’t have to expect illness as we age. It’s simply a choice when we know what to do. The problem is, how do we learn these techniques if they aren’t being taught?

I never intended to share this story. I did it because I saw so many others who desperately longed for the answers I had. As I looked around, I saw the energy depleted faces that I once knew so well. I knew I had to share this information with others. It was my gift back to a world of hurting people. It wasn’t fair to keep this knowledge to myself. 

I wrote my story in a book called Healed His Way and filled it with as many resources as possible. To my surprise, it hit the Amazon Bestseller List! My next steps became clear – I had to create a program to help others get their life back. 

Episode Transcript

Colton Cockerell (00:04):
Hello and welcome to a another exciting
episode of Bridge the Gap. WhereWe're balancing life through
health, wealth, business andrelationships.

Trisha Stetzel (00:17):
Hello and welcome to the show. My name is
Trisha Stetzel and you may seethat my counterpart Mr. Colton
Cockerell is not with us today.
But that is okay, because I havean amazing guest on with me
today and we don't need Colton.
Anyway. So welcome everyone tothe show. This month. On the
show, we're focused on health.
So today, we're going to betalking about the

(00:40):
misconceptions, and some tipsand tricks about sleep. And who
better to come on the show andtalk about the importance of
sleep. Then Chelsea Ward, ownerof Chelsea word wellness and
author of Healed His Way.
Welcome, Chelsea.

Chelsea Ward (00:58):
You so much, Trisha, it's an honor to be with
you today.

Trisha Stetzel (01:00):
I am super excited that you're on. And if
Colton were here, he wouldactually butt in and say, We
need to give our sponsors alittle credit here. So I'm going
to say the sponsor today isResults Xtreme Business
Solutions. So Chelsea, I want tostart here, a lot of
professionals, particularlythose that are very focused and

(01:21):
driven, and I used to say thisto will say sleeping is for dead
people. So what do you thinkabout that?

Chelsea Ward (01:29):
Trisha, I used to say that as well. And I had
another naturopathic doctor inmy life, she even said that. And
unfortunately, if we don'tprioritize sleep, then it can
lead to an early grave. And thereason is, is that we're
repairing our body during thattime, the first four hours of
sleep at night is typically for,you know, physical repair of the

(01:53):
body and our livers detoxing,all of our organs are cleansing
themselves. And it's kind oflike a just a rewash, and a
reset for our organs. And thenlater on in the night, the last
four hours is typically for kindof that mental reboot that
mental reset, and we get deepsleep during certain parts of
the night, we get that REMsleep, which is rapid eye

(02:15):
movement, where we have a lot ofthe dreaming, a lot of that
occurs later in the night.
Because we are getting a lot ofthat mental Refresh is taking
place where kind of solidifyingthose memories are where all the
creativity comes up comes in forour next day. So we need to
prioritize a lot of times, youknow, I like to just say between
10pm and 6am is a really greatsleep time, because that's how

(02:37):
our body is working around theSun around that circadian rhythm
so that we can really replenishand fuel our cell for the next
day.

Trisha Stetzel (02:48):
So I heard you say four hours and four hours.
So how many hours of sleep do wereally need?

Chelsea Ward (02:54):
I heard something just recently saying before the
light bulb, we used to get about11 hours of sleep per night. So
the studies are currently sayingthat if we get over nine hours
of sleep per night, then it isactually a little bit
detrimental to our health. Butif we get eight, around eight

(03:16):
hours, then that's really whereeight to nine hours. And I can
even probably stretch that fromseven to nine hours. Usually,
that's really a sweet spot formost people. And you're probably
gonna see that you might do alittle bit better on seven
hours. And I may do a little bitbetter on eight. But the key
really is is that consistentlytime stay in and within that one

(03:39):
hour period of time of going tobed is really helpful because
you get on that rhythm and youreally just kind of say your
body, it's kind of like yourbody already has like this wake
up alarm set for you. And it'slike, Okay, it's time to get up.
It's it's almost like a cycle.
And that's where we get into ourreally healthy sleep rhythm.

Trisha Stetzel (03:59):
And I find you know, I used to always say I
have to So I went from sleepingas for dead people to I must
have my eight hours asleep or Ican't get out of bed right so
from one end to the other. Andwhat I'm finding now is when I
am taking care of my body, andI'm taking care of my mind and I
get the rest that I don'tnecessarily have to have those

(04:22):
eight hours to feel refreshed inthe morning like my body knows
it's time to wake up right andstart moving around now I still
get I still get six or sevenhours of sleep like true sleep.
Thanks to thanks to the auraring, by the way, we're sharing
that with everybody in ourfamily. So if anybody listening
to the podcast is curious aboutthat just instant just message

(04:46):
us in the in the Facebook postand we'll get back to you on
that. So it is a really, reallycool tool for rest and recovery.
You know, to see those on theback end of the day. So what
what happened As you said, thatwe need this sleep to, for our
organs to recover and for ourcreativity to come back and
actually get there. So what ifwe don't get enough sleep? What

(05:08):
are the repercussions there,

Chelsea Ward (05:09):
a lot of times we'll see cravings. So people
that don't sleep at night, a lotlike how they should, and they,
they're not really getting therest, there is more cravings
during the next day, typically,for the not healthy foods,
right, we're not cravingbroccoli, or craving high carbs,
or craving sugar. And it'sreally because the body
searching for energy, because wegain energy through sleep. And

(05:33):
if we don't get the energy fromour sleep, or from our
restfulness, then the body'slike, wait a minute, I need
something to fuel myself to keepgoing. So we start craving these
higher sugar foods. And it'sreally sad that people consume
about four to 500 calories morewhen they're sleeping less than
those eight hours than if theywere to get a full night's worth

(05:54):
of rest. There's also studies oncancer, you know, melatonin is a
really good antioxidant. And ithelps us kind of detox and is
produced in the body. And ifwe're not really using it and
utilizing that whole sleepcycle, the way that we should,
then there are greater chancesof disease processes happening
in the body, and even thingslike cancer. So you really want

(06:17):
to prioritize sleep not only forjust so you feel like a decent
human and you're not havingbrain fog, and you know, lack of
creativity and all the thingsthat sleep really helps. But
daytime sleepiness is so chronictoday, because we're in such
this fast paced world, that wedon't prioritize it. And then we

(06:38):
think, Oh, I'm just so sleepy, Idon't understand why I'm so
sleepy all the time. When if wewould just get the rest and set
ourselves up for success. Truly,we're more productive during the
day, if we have that sharp mind,the sharp mental focus, and all
those things that come alongwith that rest, then if we skimp
on that, skimp on it, trying tosave ourselves time, you know,

(07:00):
we're going to be moreproductive, and get more done.
It's all about focus when wetalk about productivity, and we
can focus a lot better when wehave that rest.

Trisha Stetzel (07:09):
What. So this is a maybe an off the wall, but go
along with this conversation.
What if I wake up in the middleof the night, my brain is busy,
I can't fall back asleep, it's,you know, two or three o'clock
in the morning. Any suggestionsaround getting back to sleep? Or
what should I do,

Chelsea Ward (07:28):
you really want to slow your heart rate back down
and kind of rest and relax yourbody. Because when people are
waking up at that time of night,a lot of times this is stress
response. And what happens isyour mind gets busy and you
think, Oh no, I'm so I've gotall these things on my to do
list. I'm already awake. Nowyou're thinking about tomorrow,

(07:52):
the meetings that you have,there's a lot of anxiety, the
heart rate increases. And weenter we enter into this kind of
panic mode fight or flight rightwhere we're already feeling the
stress. And it may not even feelthat exhausting or taxing on the
body, you may just think oh myto do list, I have this and this
and this. And oh, I should bedoing this. And it may not even

(08:15):
feel that stressful, but it isstill a stressor on the body.
And when your heart rate startsto increase like that, in the
middle of the night, it's almostimpossible to get back to sleep.
So I love using things like slowbreathing techniques, and maybe
even just doing somethingphysical to slow the heart rate
back down. And it'll calm yournervous system so that you can

(08:36):
usually get back to sleep. Onething I do as I turn around and
flip my flip my feet toward thewall and I put my feet up the
wall so that it slows down theheart rate. Because it puts it
forces the blood toward theheart. So you're actually
slowing the heart rate downbecause it's harder for the
heart to pump. And then you cando some slow breathing

(08:59):
exercises. So you want to focuson longer exhales then you do
inhales so you may breathe infor a count of four. And then
breathe out for a count of six.
And when you have those longerexhales and the shorter inhales,
then it's going to slow yourheart rate down as well. So just
those things in combination, youcan usually do that for like one

(09:21):
to two minutes and you'll feel alittle bit more relaxed. I mean
there's also supplements you cantake there's over the counter
like melatonin drops or I loveusing an amino acid called L
theanine is drops you can use tokind of slow that down. And
they're great for just kind ofgiving you that little kick if
you need one to get back tosleep, but just it's really

(09:42):
about entering into that stateof rest.

Trisha Stetzel (09:46):
So let's talk about the darkness in your room.
I've heard about you know theblue light on your computer and
you shouldn't read on your iPadbefore you go to bed and you
shouldn't have night lights andall of these things. So let's
talk about that.

Chelsea Ward (10:00):
We talked a little bit about just getting on that
same sleep schedule. And I'llkind of give you some tips on
just creating a wind downroutine. And that's, you know,
just creating your bedroom kindof like a cave. If we think
about our ancestors, and they'resleeping under the stars, they
went to bed with the sun, theywoke up with the sun, everything
was around the sun. So we reallywant to mimic that in our life.

(10:24):
So if we're, if we think aboutthe overhead lighting, it's kind
of mimicking the sun. And it'svery confusing to our bodies,
you know, our circadian rhythm,as you know, working around the
sun. But as we develop thelighting, and we're staying up
late, we're working on ourcomputers, this really confuses
our own circadian rhythm. Sothere's a few things that you

(10:46):
can do. Number one is when wehave overhead lighting, just the
way that the light hits oureyes, it actually will slow down
melatonin production. So as thesun goes down, and maybe about
3pm ish, or whatever time thesun is really going down where
you are, you really want tofocus on using more lamps. So

(11:06):
you get that side light comingin instead of the overhead
lighting. And then you can damyour lights by using olive using
salt lamps. So something that'sa little more amber in color. So
you could even put amber bulbsin your table lamps, things like
that to use during the evening.
You can also use blue blockerglasses, you can get these super
simple for right off of Amazon.

(11:29):
And they have all differentkinds of stylish ones. Now you
can look up gamer glasses ifyou're going to be on your
computer late at night. Andagain, you want to make your
bedroom kind of like a cave. Soif your body comes into contact
with any lighting at night, thenyou can disrupt those circadian
rhythms. So that can be livefrom an alarm clock light from a

(11:52):
nightlight Light from Lightcoming under the door, I
remember being in a hotel roomand I would even close the
curtains and pin them togetherwith a closing your so the light
wouldn't come in. So you reallywant to dam all of that down.
Because what happens is our skinis an absorber of light. So even
if the lights just hitting ourskin, we're absorbing that. And

(12:14):
it's disrupting that circadianrhythm. So you should not be
able to see your hand in frontof your face whenever you're
sleeping. So if you lay down andyou open your eyes, and you can
see your hand your room is toobright. So you can use blackout
curtains, you can use an eyemask, if that's comfortable to
you. And really, again, like acave, you want to kind of det

(12:35):
turn down the temperature alittle bit, you want your room
to be really cool. That makessome of the cooling blankets,
cooling pillows, those types ofthings so that you just feel
like your body temperature is alittle cooler. And that has a
lot of that is really just tomimic what happens in the body.
So our body naturally lowers intemperature at night. So we're

(12:56):
just kind of mimicking the bodywhen we're lowering the
temperature. But with thelighting, you can I know a lot
of times you're working late atnight, and you're thinking,
well, I've got all this all thislight coming in, you know the
blue light, we just talked aboutthat how important it is to kind
of dim that as the day goes on.
And you can use your blueblocker glasses for your
computer, you can also go tojust get flux.com. And you can

(13:19):
download a program or it's alittle software on your
computer, it's absolutely free.
And that'll kind of dim yourscreen as the day goes on. So
you can use those things incombination, you really want to
limit your electronics a couplehours before bedtime, just to
kind of make sure that you'renot disrupting those sleep

(13:41):
patterns. But you can you know,if you have to, we don't live in
a perfect world, right? We are alot of that your listeners,
they're business owners, they'reentrepreneurs. And you know, we
have deadlines to meet. So somenights is going to be
impossible, and you're going tobe up really late. So you want
to make sure that you're gettingthose glasses on. Even you can

(14:01):
even get Amber glasses for laterin the day, the lamber amber
lenses, and you can use thosefor nighttime working.

Trisha Stetzel (14:10):
And by the way for those older people with not
so great eyes, they make bluelight blockers with readers. So
that you can see and read at thesame time, which is wonderful
for those of us who have oldeyeballs. Well, so there's two
things Chelsea that I that Ireally picked out of our

(14:31):
conversation today. Althoughpacked with excellent
information, two things that Iwant to point out to my business
listeners or my wellnesswarriors, as I like to call
them. Number one, you got to getyour sleep if you want to be
good in your business, right? Ididn't say those words, but I
took it right out of the contentthat you just gave us we've got

(14:54):
to sleep so that we can berefreshed and recovered and
ready to work the next dayparticularly Really, if we want
to be creative, right and putour game face on to come to
work, and to, I'm pretty sure Iheard you say that you could
lose weight if you're gettinggood sleep. Did you say that?

Chelsea Ward (15:13):
Absolutely. And don't we all want to do that
keep our at least keep ourweight maintained?

Trisha Stetzel (15:19):
Yeah, absolutely. Everybody wants a
nice physique, right? So go tobed early. It's important,
absolutely important. Thank youso much for coming on to talk
with me today. It's such animportant topic to both our, our
personal selves, right andtaking care of ourselves, but
also our businesses. And Iappreciate every thing that

(15:39):
you've done for me personally,and being in your coaching
program, as well as sharing somuch knowledge with the
community. Just as a reminder toour listeners, I'm going to put
all of Chelsea's contactinformation in the show notes.
So please go there. Reach out toChelsea, if you have any more
questions, and we look forwardChelsea to hopefully having you

(16:01):
back on again when we circleback around later in 2022 on
health topics, and I'm sure thatyou could bring something else
another topic to the show. I'mvery excited about that. So
thank you, Chelsea. Thank you somuch. Tune in next week for
another exciting episode ofBridge that Gap when we talk to
Dr. Bob Rakowski about COVID-19.

Colton Cockerell (16:22):
Thanks again for tuning into this week's
podcast. Don't forget tosubscribe and share this podcast
with the most important peoplein your life. Colton Cockerell
with Sharer McKinley Group, LLCis located at 820 South
Friendswood Drive Suite 207Friendswood, Texas 77546 phone
number to 281-992-5698.
Securities and investmentadvisory services offered
through NEXT Financial Group,Inc. member FINRA/SIPC Sharer
McKinley Group is not anaffiliate of NEXT Financial

(16:43):
Group, Inc.