July 15, 2025 • 23 mins
Sleep isn't just a luxury—it's fundamental to our wellbeing yet remains one of the most overlooked aspects of health in our busy modern lives. Functional Wellness Coach Rebecca from Nefesh Living joins us to for Part 3 of her mini-series with us to reveal why quality sleep serves as the cornerstone for cellular regeneration, immune function, weight management, energy regulation, and cognitive performance.
Discover the surprising truth that your sleep quality actually begins the moment you wake up. Morning sunlight exposure within those first crucial 15-30 minutes helps regulate cortisol levels and establishes healthy circadian rhythms that prepare your body for restful sleep later. We explore how meal timing, movement patterns, and evening routines collectively create the conditions for deep, restorative rest.
Blue light exposure emerges as a significant disruptor in our discussion. Those screens we're all attached to are literally signaling to our brains that it's still daytime, making it harder to wind down naturally. Rebecca shares practical strategies for creating personalized bedtime rituals that help transition your body into sleep mode, while acknowledging that individual factors like caffeine sensitivity vary widely from person to person.
While most adults need 7-9 hours of sleep nightly, we discuss how to determine your personal sleep requirements by tracking patterns and energy levels. Beyond just feeling rested, quality sleep provides profound benefits for cellular turnover, toxin release, brain health, and overall longevity—making it one of the most powerful anti-aging practices available to us.
The conversation closes with a compassionate reminder that consistency matters more than perfection. Life happens, schedules get disrupted, but returning to healthy patterns is what ultimately creates the foundation for vibrant health and wellbeing. Ready to transform your relationship with sleep? Listen now, and discover how small adjustments to your daily rhythm can dramatically improve your quality of life.
Find out more about Rebecca & her offerings in the MZC Practitioner Collective & connect with Rebecca on Instagram @nefeshliving
Check out the other episodes in the Miniseries -
EP. 58: The Hidden Toxins Impacting Our Energy + Health: A Conversation with Rebecca Glick
EP. 63: Reclaim Your Health: The Power of Elimination Diets with Rebecca Glick
Thanks for listening to The ModernZen Collective Podcast.
✨ Want more support between episodes? Download the ModernZen Co App for guided meditations, energy updates, and soulful tools—available on iOS and Android for just $3.99/month. Click the link above or search “ModernZen Collective” in your app store.
💫 Looking for deeper guidance on your path? Explore our vetted, curated Collective of holistic practitioners—perfect if you're ready to deepen your practice or fast-track your transformation with expert support.
🌿 Follow us on Instagram @modernzenco & personally at @lizzysutton.co & @nikki.sucevic
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hi, I'm Lizzie and I'm Nikki.
Have you ever felt that yourlife was missing purpose, joy or
deep connection?
Welcome to the Modern ZenCollective podcast, where we
embrace holistic living for ajoyful, purpose-driven life.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
In this podcast, we'll explore holistic practices
, consciousness expansion andspiritual alignment.
We will dive into personaldevelopment practices that
connect mind, body, spirit andshare secrets that ancient
cultures have known forcenturies.
Together, we aim to guide,educate and connect individuals
eager to transform their lives.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Join us weekly on the Modern Zen Collective podcast
and elevate your mind, body andspirit.
And now on to today's episode.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Welcome back everyone to another episode of the
Modern Zen Collective podcast.
I'm Nikki and we have anamazing guest back again.
Thanks, Rebecca, for being hereagain.
Rebecca had an amazing episodewith us where we spoke about
toxins and talked about how tolook for them in your home,
release them, and it was awonderful episode.
We will link it below in ourshow notes.
Today we're going to talk aboutsleep, the importance of sleep,
(01:36):
why it's important, how we canget better sleep, etc.
And Rebecca, who has her ownfunctional wellness coaching
business here in Chicago NorthShore, where I am as well, is
helping women, midwomen in theirmidlife with their children,
and things like that that arehelping them to feel more alive,
(01:58):
more energized, et cetera.
And that really comes down toso many factors from a
functional standpoint, and todaywe're going to talk about the
sleep factor.
So, Rebecca, I'm so excited tohave you here again talking
about sleep because it is afactor.
It is something I hear a lot ofpeople talk about where they
either suffer from insomniawhich those words go together a
(02:20):
lot I suffer from insomnia, thathappens a lot or they get
disruptive sleep they can't fallasleep, what is it?
Et cetera.
So I'm really excited today totalk a little bit about what
that means and how we can lookat it.
But welcome back, Thank you.
Happy to be here again.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
So I think we all know we need sleep.
Obviously it's something thatwe need, like, obviously it's
something that we need.
And what are the importantbenefits of getting a good
night's sleep?
Why is it an important part ofour process for us to, you know,
fully function as a human hereon planet Earth?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Sure, yeah, yeah, it definitely is.
And I think sleep is often avery well, as you said, such an
important underpinning, oftenvery overlooked aspect of our
health.
You know it's easy for peopleto think, oh, if I'm not eating
right, if I'm not exercising, Ithink those are kind of like the
go-tos, and sleep is sort ofsometimes like not even on the
(03:18):
list, like, oh, what do you mean?
Why are you asking me about mysleep?
Yeah, are you asking me aboutmy sleep?
Yeah, yeah, and so, but sleepdoes so much for us that I don't
think we often realize in termsof cell regeneration and repair
.
So you know things that maybeare a little off in our body,
that getting into that restfulsort of zone, refresh, is so key
(03:42):
for that.
It is connected to our immunity, it's connected to weight
management.
So if we're not getting enoughsleep and our blood sugar is not
regulated in the right ways,that can impact just if we're
trying to lose weight, if that'sour goal, and then you know,
maybe more obviously, it'saffecting our energy levels, our
(04:06):
ability to focus, our mood.
You know just everything thatwe kind of need to function in
our daily life.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, for sure, and it's something that I've noticed
can really go on the backburner.
And I know you work with moms.
You know women that might havebeen in corporate, in corporate
or full-time mom, etc.
Sleep might be on the backburner, you know like and it's
something that I hear often thatyou know not getting enough
(04:42):
sleep and it's not really thepriority.
You know like it might besomeone working out, and working
out is a priority and eatinghealthy, et cetera, but the
sleep part not, not so much.
And so I the the importance ofit with what you're saying, with
you know the cell regeneration,so much that happens for
detoxifying your body, gettingthat restful time to reset your
nervous system too, becausethere's so much that goes along
(05:05):
with it.
And I guess my question is whenyou work with a woman who you
know busy, either in her careeror full-time mom or juggling you
know multiple things and youbring up sleep, how do you help
to start introduce theimportance of it or start to
have your clients carve in sometime for that sleep, because it
(05:28):
could feel like there might notbe time?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
when you look at the green scheme, yeah, yeah, I mean
sleep, I think is one of thosethings where it's easy to get a
lot of, a lot of pushback orjust like I just can't do it, or
a lot of you know shoulds,can'ts, whatever it might be,
because I think our societyreally rewards and emphasizes
this.
Go go, go kind of always on,always available, responding to
(05:51):
emails and even as parents andmoms it's you know there's no
time to, you know, sometimes getother stuff done, but in the
evening and that trickles in andso I get it.
It's a really challenging, youknow conundrum when someone says
like well, why aren't yougetting enough sleep or how can
we get more sleep in.
(06:11):
But I think it's really helpingpeople recognize like that,
even if we're, you know A maybepeople are feeling tired and
they don't have energy to getthrough this stuff, and so
there's that mentality of sortof slow down to speed up, right.
So if you actually were gettinglike the proper restful time at
(06:33):
night, how much more focused,productive, energized you would
feel throughout the day, thatyou might actually create that
space and that time to get tobed earlier.
Because you know it's kind oflike the chicken and the egg, so
when you're getting bettersleep then you're able to maybe
use your time and your daybetter, that you can get to bed
(06:54):
at a reasonable time and youwere able to kind of accomplish
whatever you were trying toaccomplish that day.
And you know and sometimespeople aren't feeling tired and
that that's not an issue butrecognizing that over time sleep
deprivation is just you knowit's, it's one of those maybe
you gotta, you know you can'tsee it to believe it, but that
(07:16):
it is doing more harm nervoussystem and giving your body that
time to regenerate Dysenteryissues, blood sugar
(08:07):
dysregulation, things that youknow I think in current sleep
habits and hygiene when it comesto sleep and you know where
might be there some room formaybe some small tweaks to
experiment with and kind of takenote.
And I, you know, sometimes havepeople keep a sleep log or a
sleep journal and just sort ofnote like when they're going to
sleep and when they're waking upand maybe what kind of led into
the going to bed and how theyfelt when they waked up.
(08:29):
And just starting with justlike gaining a little bit of
awareness about what's going onin that pattern can be really
eye opening in terms of you knowwhere we might want to continue
to experiment and make somechanges.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
For sure, and what would you say?
I ask you this question a lot,but what are the major things
that can contribute to, you know, sleep deprivation or sleep
insomnia or not getting enoughsleep, etc.
I know we just touched on youknow someone who might be busy
and just can't find the time tocarve out.
(09:07):
There's too much going on.
What are some things you knowfrom your body standpoint that
we might be doing?
Yeah, that could create this.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yeah, I mean I would say that a good night's sleep
usually starts from the momentyou wake up, right, so your body
is preparing for how you'regoing to sleep that night from
the very beginning of the day,and it's a great point, wow, you
know, and you, you know, and,and yes, it's, it's also
important what you're doingliterally right before bed, and
(09:36):
I can talk about that, but itreally does hurt on on in the
morning.
Are you, um, getting outside asbest you can in those first,
you know, maybe 15, 30minutes-ish.
You know I'm not like a definedsleep expert, but this is just
what I have learned and workedon with my clients of getting
(09:58):
natural sunlight in the morning,because that helps to regulate
your cortisol and helps to startbring it up, which is what you
want.
You want it to be starting tokind of go up in the morning
because it's signaling to yourbody that it's time to get up,
it's awake, it's daylight.
So, getting you know earlysunlight in the morning and even
throughout the day when thereis sunlight.
(10:19):
You know climate, where maybethat might be more challenging
sometimes it helps regulate.
You know just how your cortisoland your hormones are going to.
No-transcript, standardAmerican diet Sometimes it's
(10:59):
like something very quick forbreakfast, lunch and then a huge
dinner which isn't really alsogoing to set your body up for
success to get into that restand digest mode and get a good
night's sleep.
So it's thinking about that andkind of.
So you know movement throughoutthe day, all these different
factors that are going to playinto getting a good night's
sleep and, as I mentionedearlier, as you're kind of
(11:22):
leading into sleep, reallyfocusing on bringing down that
cortisol and kind of catchingthat wave and creating some type
of kind of again like signal toyour body that it's winding
down, that it's time to kind ofget into that rest mode.
And what I see people strugglewith the most and I'm guilty of
(11:44):
this too is the screens and theblue light on the screens and
there's tremendous data thatshows that it is literally
signaling into your eyeballsthat it's waking time, it's not
time to go to bed, it's, youknow, during the day, and even
if you're like you still feeltired, there's something you
(12:05):
know internally that it's notgetting those right cues, and so
I really try to work withpeople on creating whatever wind
down ritual works for them.
There's not one size fits all,you know, whether it's
journaling or reading orlistening to music, you know
(12:26):
something that is not looking ata screen and really just kind
of having this moment that yourbody is saying, okay, it's time
for bed, dimming the lights,doing something that is a little
more restful, not, you know,sitting in your room like trying
to pay your taxes or somethinglike that you know should not be
done in the bedroom.
(12:47):
I would say so, and it makes it.
It makes a big differencebecause sleep is not just about
from what we know, just aboutthe quantity, which I can get to
too, in terms of you knowwhat's the maybe right amount or
approximate amount for people,but it's really the quality in
what you're doing, as I saidfrom the start of the day
leading into it is going toimpact then the quality of sleep
(13:11):
that you get.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
What you said about the walk in the morning.
That's something that has truly, truly helped with my sleep and
doing the walk withoutsunglasses so that my eyes my
actual, Because if you havesunglasses on, you're triggering
the idea that it's nighttime,You're kind of tricking it.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
You want the light to come in you want the light to
come into your eyes.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Don't look at the sun , but you want the light to come
into your eyes.
That's a whole other thing sungazing.
I need to go down that road atsome point and learn about it,
but protect your eyes.
But that really helped me, youknow, within those first 10 to
15 minutes of waking up, takinga walk when it's sunny, and
feeling that and it just gettingin with nature, and I believe
(13:59):
that really helps us so muchwith our nervous system and with
our regular each been, you know, and that was something that
really really helped me.
And then I also I do lovecaffeine.
It's one of my things, my vices,and I realized that when I have
caffeine after a certain time,I get more restless sleep.
It's just, it's so black andwhite to me that I can tell if I
(14:21):
have caffeine after.
You know, like 1 pm or 2 pmaround that time that when I try
to fall asleep, there's no wayI could have taught three yoga
classes that day.
I could have walked three miles, anything.
I'm still up and wired becausemy body is pumping.
So in terms of caffeine, a lotof us love our matcha, our
coffee, our tea, and functionalwellness, holistic wellness.
(14:46):
What does that look like interms of your sleep and what
that does?
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Yeah, it's a great question.
I mean, I would say again, it'ssort of like individualized,
right.
So whatever works for eachindividual.
I think there is data out therethat you know sort of, as you
said, after a certain time ofday that caffeine is going to
keep you up and for some peopleit doesn't impact them at all.
So I think that's a morepersonal sort of like looking at
(15:13):
what you did, that awareness oflike okay, if I have this
coffee or this caffeine afterthis time of day, I'm going to
not get a great night's sleep.
And so that's also whysomething like keeping just a
really, you know, whetherjotting things on your phone or
a notebook, like a sleep blog orsleep diary when you're working
on your sleep, just to sort ofsee some patterns and that might
(15:34):
be a pattern for someone, andyou know just not to say that
they can't have it, but maybeit's just having it a little bit
earlier, right, you knowalcohol can have a big effect on
your sleep too, for some people, for some people, you know,
maybe it doesn't.
So it is sort of it is, like youknow, listening to your body
and that intuition right ofwhat's sort of working, yeah,
(15:57):
and I think, people noticingthose patterns and you know, the
other thing with sleep isconsistency is really key, right
.
So, again, to kind of set yourcircadian rhythm, and it's about
giving your body as much kindof cues and signals as you can
of wake up, go to sleep andhelping that along, and sort of
(16:21):
holding up the poster board andsaying it's time for bed.
And these are some of the waysthat we can do that and the
consistency is a big part ofthat too, of as much as feasible
.
Right, we all have things goingon and things in the evening
and our schedules are not alwaysidentical.
But trying to keep a somewhatconsistent schedule where you go
(16:42):
to bed roughly within the samewindow each night and wake up
within the same, you know,window each day, um, just keeps
your, your rhythm and your sleepmore regulated, Um you know
that's what.
that's what a lot of the datashows, yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
And your body is.
So.
That's that routine.
Your body naturally starts towind down because that's the
time window when you you know,which is great because you know
at home every time, whateveryou're asleep.
By then you realize how yourbody is showing you your sleep
(17:25):
patterns and how you've createdthat within you, just that
intuitive connection with yourbody, exactly With the blocks of
time or us setting aside timeor having at least our closest
routine.
You touched on a little bit thetiming six hours, eight hours
routine.
You touched on a little bit thetiming six hours, eight hours,
10 hours.
What does that look like?
(17:45):
What does it mean?
I'm assuming that's alsorelative per who the person is.
You mean how much?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
sleep someone should ideally be getting.
Yeah, so the guidelines say, Imean, for most adults, you know,
roughly seven to nine hours isthe recommended guidelines.
But you're right, it definitelycan vary from person to person.
You know, and I do have peopleor I've heard oh, I'm fine with
(18:10):
like five hours and like maybeyou are, but like I would bet
that your body could reallybenefit from a bit more.
So that's like that's the rough, you know, kind of estimation.
I personally know that likeseven hours is not really enough
for me.
Sometimes.
Is that what I get?
Yes, but like I try to aim foreight to nine hours to feel
(18:31):
truly rested.
Some people might need more,and so that's again where it
comes back to just that.
You know, as we've talked aboutthat awareness and kind of
tracking, like well, how did Ifeel when I got X hours versus
you know, nine hours or 10 hours?
And there is, you know, there'sI've heard sleep experts talk
too that there, you know, thereis that sort of finding that
(18:53):
happy, that balance right of somuch sleep that your body is
like well, kind of gettingconfused and wait a minute.
So you know, like 12 hours isprobably not going to do you
good or do any better so it'sabout learning and listening to
your body and seeing what works,but roughly staying in that
seven to nine range from aquantity perspective is what's
(19:17):
typically recommended.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Yeah, that makes sense Because, yeah, that's
about what I get when I can getit, when I'm able to get that
seven to nine.
I also feel it's anti-aging.
I feel like, with that cellularturnover and that time that we
get when we're sleeping, thatwe're giving our body time to
(19:41):
reset, rehydrate, everything.
While we're sleeping we're, youknow, we're releasing toxins.
But I also feel I feel like Ihave more longevity and I feel
more, you know, energetic and Ifeel that those anti-aging
properties happen when I getmore sleep, a hundred percent At
that higher threshold and yourbrain health right, I mean cell
(20:10):
regeneration not just in yourbody but in your brain, at that
higher threshold.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Having a really solid foundation of sleep is not the
only factor, but certainly afactor in potentially supporting
people's brain health andwellness.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
For sure Great.
Well, anything else about sleepthat you think our listeners
would love to know that wehaven't touched on?
Speaker 3 (20:45):
touched on.
You know, I think it's thatself-awareness of sort of
knowing how you feel and beingaware of patterns, and also
recognizing that, as you said,you know you have a night out
that's later with friends or outto dinner late, and so you may
feel, you know, not your bestthat day, but you can get back
on the saddle right.
So don't you know, kind of letone bad day say, okay, forget it
, I'm giving up on my sleepbecause, again, it's cumulative,
(21:07):
it's something that you canbuild over time and, in general,
if you can kind of stick tosome consistency, stick to sort
of a bedtime routine that youknow lets you wind down,
minimize the screens which istough right, and I'm not perfect
at that, like there'sdefinitely days where it's just
not feasible or just you know,but you know, kind of give
(21:28):
yourself a break and then getback into your routine hopefully
, I guess is what I would sayand that can go a really long
way in improving your sleep.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Giving yourself grace .
We are human for when things goup and down, for sure, yeah
well, thank you, rebecca.
This has been wonderful.
Learning about sleep, thebenefits we know that they're
there, but talking a little bitmore about them was wonderful.
I appreciate, as always, yourwisdom and knowledge and sharing
it with everyone that'slistening.
You can find rebecca throughour practitioner.
(22:02):
Collective links to her websiteare on there.
And then Rebecca also.
How can anyone access you andget a hold of you to work with
you or learn more about you?
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Sure, yeah, you can reach out.
I'm at Nefesh, living onInstagram, or Rebecca at Nefesh.
It's N-E-F-E-S-H livingcom.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Wonderful.
Well, thank you, Rebecca, forbeing here and thank you
everyone for listening.
We hope you get a peacefulsleep tonight and we'll see you
soon.
Thanks for that, Thank you,Thanks.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Thank you so much for joining us today on the Modern
Zen Collective podcast.
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(23:06):
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Until next time, keep trustingyour path and honoring your
unfolding.
Hi, I'm Lizzie and I'm Nikki.
Have you ever felt that yourlife was missing purpose, joy or
deep connection?
Welcome to the Modern ZenCollective podcast, where we
embrace holistic living for ajoyful, purpose-driven life.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
In this podcast, we'll explore holistic practices
, consciousness expansion andspiritual alignment.
We will dive into personaldevelopment practices that
connect mind, body, spirit andshare secrets that ancient
cultures have known forcenturies.
Together, we aim to guide,educate and connect individuals
eager to transform their lives.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
Join us weekly on the Modern Zen Collective podcast
and elevate your mind, body andspirit.
And now on to today's episode.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Welcome back everyone to another episode of the
Modern Zen Collective podcast.
I'm Nikki and we have anamazing guest back again.
Thanks, Rebecca, for being hereagain.
Rebecca had an amazing episodewith us where we spoke about
toxins and talked about how tolook for them in your home,
release them, and it was awonderful episode.
We will link it below in ourshow notes.
Today we're going to talk aboutsleep, the importance of sleep,
(01:36):
why it's important, how we canget better sleep, etc.
And Rebecca, who has her ownfunctional wellness coaching
business here in Chicago NorthShore, where I am as well, is
helping women, midwomen in theirmidlife with their children,
and things like that that arehelping them to feel more alive,
(01:58):
more energized, et cetera.
And that really comes down toso many factors from a
functional standpoint, and todaywe're going to talk about the
sleep factor.
So, Rebecca, I'm so excited tohave you here again talking
about sleep because it is afactor.
It is something I hear a lot ofpeople talk about where they
either suffer from insomniawhich those words go together a
(02:20):
lot I suffer from insomnia, thathappens a lot or they get
disruptive sleep they can't fallasleep, what is it?
Et cetera.
So I'm really excited today totalk a little bit about what
that means and how we can lookat it.
But welcome back, Thank you.
Happy to be here again.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (02:37):
So I think we all know we need sleep.
Obviously it's something thatwe need, like, obviously it's
something that we need.
And what are the importantbenefits of getting a good
night's sleep?
Why is it an important part ofour process for us to, you know,
fully function as a human hereon planet Earth?
Speaker 3 (02:57):
Sure, yeah, yeah, it definitely is.
And I think sleep is often avery well, as you said, such an
important underpinning, oftenvery overlooked aspect of our
health.
You know it's easy for peopleto think, oh, if I'm not eating
right, if I'm not exercising, Ithink those are kind of like the
go-tos, and sleep is sort ofsometimes like not even on the
(03:18):
list, like, oh, what do you mean?
Why are you asking me about mysleep?
Yeah, are you asking me aboutmy sleep?
Yeah, yeah, and so, but sleepdoes so much for us that I don't
think we often realize in termsof cell regeneration and repair
.
So you know things that maybeare a little off in our body,
that getting into that restfulsort of zone, refresh, is so key
(03:42):
for that.
It is connected to our immunity, it's connected to weight
management.
So if we're not getting enoughsleep and our blood sugar is not
regulated in the right ways,that can impact just if we're
trying to lose weight, if that'sour goal, and then you know,
maybe more obviously, it'saffecting our energy levels, our
(04:06):
ability to focus, our mood.
You know just everything thatwe kind of need to function in
our daily life.
Speaker 1 (04:19):
Yeah, for sure, and it's something that I've noticed
can really go on the backburner.
And I know you work with moms.
You know women that might havebeen in corporate, in corporate
or full-time mom, etc.
Sleep might be on the backburner, you know like and it's
something that I hear often thatyou know not getting enough
(04:42):
sleep and it's not really thepriority.
You know like it might besomeone working out, and working
out is a priority and eatinghealthy, et cetera, but the
sleep part not, not so much.
And so I the the importance ofit with what you're saying, with
you know the cell regeneration,so much that happens for
detoxifying your body, gettingthat restful time to reset your
nervous system too, becausethere's so much that goes along
(05:05):
with it.
And I guess my question is whenyou work with a woman who you
know busy, either in her careeror full-time mom or juggling you
know multiple things and youbring up sleep, how do you help
to start introduce theimportance of it or start to
have your clients carve in sometime for that sleep, because it
(05:28):
could feel like there might notbe time?
Speaker 3 (05:30):
when you look at the green scheme, yeah, yeah, I mean
sleep, I think is one of thosethings where it's easy to get a
lot of, a lot of pushback orjust like I just can't do it, or
a lot of you know shoulds,can'ts, whatever it might be,
because I think our societyreally rewards and emphasizes
this.
Go go, go kind of always on,always available, responding to
(05:51):
emails and even as parents andmoms it's you know there's no
time to, you know, sometimes getother stuff done, but in the
evening and that trickles in andso I get it.
It's a really challenging, youknow conundrum when someone says
like well, why aren't yougetting enough sleep or how can
we get more sleep in.
(06:11):
But I think it's really helpingpeople recognize like that,
even if we're, you know A maybepeople are feeling tired and
they don't have energy to getthrough this stuff, and so
there's that mentality of sortof slow down to speed up, right.
So if you actually were gettinglike the proper restful time at
(06:33):
night, how much more focused,productive, energized you would
feel throughout the day, thatyou might actually create that
space and that time to get tobed earlier.
Because you know it's kind oflike the chicken and the egg, so
when you're getting bettersleep then you're able to maybe
use your time and your daybetter, that you can get to bed
(06:54):
at a reasonable time and youwere able to kind of accomplish
whatever you were trying toaccomplish that day.
And you know and sometimespeople aren't feeling tired and
that that's not an issue butrecognizing that over time sleep
deprivation is just you knowit's, it's one of those maybe
you gotta, you know you can'tsee it to believe it, but that
(07:16):
it is doing more harm nervoussystem and giving your body that
time to regenerate Dysenteryissues, blood sugar
(08:07):
dysregulation, things that youknow I think in current sleep
habits and hygiene when it comesto sleep and you know where
might be there some room formaybe some small tweaks to
experiment with and kind of takenote.
And I, you know, sometimes havepeople keep a sleep log or a
sleep journal and just sort ofnote like when they're going to
sleep and when they're waking upand maybe what kind of led into
the going to bed and how theyfelt when they waked up.
(08:29):
And just starting with justlike gaining a little bit of
awareness about what's going onin that pattern can be really
eye opening in terms of you knowwhere we might want to continue
to experiment and make somechanges.
Speaker 1 (08:46):
For sure, and what would you say?
I ask you this question a lot,but what are the major things
that can contribute to, you know, sleep deprivation or sleep
insomnia or not getting enoughsleep, etc.
I know we just touched on youknow someone who might be busy
and just can't find the time tocarve out.
(09:07):
There's too much going on.
What are some things you knowfrom your body standpoint that
we might be doing?
Yeah, that could create this.
Speaker 3 (09:15):
Yeah, I mean I would say that a good night's sleep
usually starts from the momentyou wake up, right, so your body
is preparing for how you'regoing to sleep that night from
the very beginning of the day,and it's a great point, wow, you
know, and you, you know, and,and yes, it's, it's also
important what you're doingliterally right before bed, and
(09:36):
I can talk about that, but itreally does hurt on on in the
morning.
Are you, um, getting outside asbest you can in those first,
you know, maybe 15, 30minutes-ish.
You know I'm not like a definedsleep expert, but this is just
what I have learned and workedon with my clients of getting
(09:58):
natural sunlight in the morning,because that helps to regulate
your cortisol and helps to startbring it up, which is what you
want.
You want it to be starting tokind of go up in the morning
because it's signaling to yourbody that it's time to get up,
it's awake, it's daylight.
So, getting you know earlysunlight in the morning and even
throughout the day when thereis sunlight.
(10:19):
You know climate, where maybethat might be more challenging
sometimes it helps regulate.
You know just how your cortisoland your hormones are going to.
No-transcript, standardAmerican diet Sometimes it's
(10:59):
like something very quick forbreakfast, lunch and then a huge
dinner which isn't really alsogoing to set your body up for
success to get into that restand digest mode and get a good
night's sleep.
So it's thinking about that andkind of.
So you know movement throughoutthe day, all these different
factors that are going to playinto getting a good night's
sleep and, as I mentionedearlier, as you're kind of
(11:22):
leading into sleep, reallyfocusing on bringing down that
cortisol and kind of catchingthat wave and creating some type
of kind of again like signal toyour body that it's winding
down, that it's time to kind ofget into that rest mode.
And what I see people strugglewith the most and I'm guilty of
(11:44):
this too is the screens and theblue light on the screens and
there's tremendous data thatshows that it is literally
signaling into your eyeballsthat it's waking time, it's not
time to go to bed, it's, youknow, during the day, and even
if you're like you still feeltired, there's something you
(12:05):
know internally that it's notgetting those right cues, and so
I really try to work withpeople on creating whatever wind
down ritual works for them.
There's not one size fits all,you know, whether it's
journaling or reading orlistening to music, you know
(12:26):
something that is not looking ata screen and really just kind
of having this moment that yourbody is saying, okay, it's time
for bed, dimming the lights,doing something that is a little
more restful, not, you know,sitting in your room like trying
to pay your taxes or somethinglike that you know should not be
done in the bedroom.
(12:47):
I would say so, and it makes it.
It makes a big differencebecause sleep is not just about
from what we know, just aboutthe quantity, which I can get to
too, in terms of you knowwhat's the maybe right amount or
approximate amount for people,but it's really the quality in
what you're doing, as I saidfrom the start of the day
leading into it is going toimpact then the quality of sleep
(13:11):
that you get.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
What you said about the walk in the morning.
That's something that has truly, truly helped with my sleep and
doing the walk withoutsunglasses so that my eyes my
actual, Because if you havesunglasses on, you're triggering
the idea that it's nighttime,You're kind of tricking it.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
You want the light to come in you want the light to
come into your eyes.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Don't look at the sun , but you want the light to come
into your eyes.
That's a whole other thing sungazing.
I need to go down that road atsome point and learn about it,
but protect your eyes.
But that really helped me, youknow, within those first 10 to
15 minutes of waking up, takinga walk when it's sunny, and
feeling that and it just gettingin with nature, and I believe
(13:59):
that really helps us so muchwith our nervous system and with
our regular each been, you know, and that was something that
really really helped me.
And then I also I do lovecaffeine.
It's one of my things, my vices,and I realized that when I have
caffeine after a certain time,I get more restless sleep.
It's just, it's so black andwhite to me that I can tell if I
(14:21):
have caffeine after.
You know, like 1 pm or 2 pmaround that time that when I try
to fall asleep, there's no wayI could have taught three yoga
classes that day.
I could have walked three miles, anything.
I'm still up and wired becausemy body is pumping.
So in terms of caffeine, a lotof us love our matcha, our
coffee, our tea, and functionalwellness, holistic wellness.
(14:46):
What does that look like interms of your sleep and what
that does?
Speaker 3 (14:50):
Yeah, it's a great question.
I mean, I would say again, it'ssort of like individualized,
right.
So whatever works for eachindividual.
I think there is data out therethat you know sort of, as you
said, after a certain time ofday that caffeine is going to
keep you up and for some peopleit doesn't impact them at all.
So I think that's a morepersonal sort of like looking at
(15:13):
what you did, that awareness oflike okay, if I have this
coffee or this caffeine afterthis time of day, I'm going to
not get a great night's sleep.
And so that's also whysomething like keeping just a
really, you know, whetherjotting things on your phone or
a notebook, like a sleep blog orsleep diary when you're working
on your sleep, just to sort ofsee some patterns and that might
(15:34):
be a pattern for someone, andyou know just not to say that
they can't have it, but maybeit's just having it a little bit
earlier, right, you knowalcohol can have a big effect on
your sleep too, for some people, for some people, you know,
maybe it doesn't.
So it is sort of it is, like youknow, listening to your body
and that intuition right ofwhat's sort of working, yeah,
(15:57):
and I think, people noticingthose patterns and you know, the
other thing with sleep isconsistency is really key, right
.
So, again, to kind of set yourcircadian rhythm, and it's about
giving your body as much kindof cues and signals as you can
of wake up, go to sleep andhelping that along, and sort of
(16:21):
holding up the poster board andsaying it's time for bed.
And these are some of the waysthat we can do that and the
consistency is a big part ofthat too, of as much as feasible
.
Right, we all have things goingon and things in the evening
and our schedules are not alwaysidentical.
But trying to keep a somewhatconsistent schedule where you go
(16:42):
to bed roughly within the samewindow each night and wake up
within the same, you know,window each day, um, just keeps
your, your rhythm and your sleepmore regulated, Um you know
that's what.
that's what a lot of the datashows, yeah.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
And your body is.
So.
That's that routine.
Your body naturally starts towind down because that's the
time window when you you know,which is great because you know
at home every time, whateveryou're asleep.
By then you realize how yourbody is showing you your sleep
(17:25):
patterns and how you've createdthat within you, just that
intuitive connection with yourbody, exactly With the blocks of
time or us setting aside timeor having at least our closest
routine.
You touched on a little bit thetiming six hours, eight hours
routine.
You touched on a little bit thetiming six hours, eight hours,
10 hours.
What does that look like?
(17:45):
What does it mean?
I'm assuming that's alsorelative per who the person is.
You mean how much?
Speaker 3 (17:49):
sleep someone should ideally be getting.
Yeah, so the guidelines say, Imean, for most adults, you know,
roughly seven to nine hours isthe recommended guidelines.
But you're right, it definitelycan vary from person to person.
You know, and I do have peopleor I've heard oh, I'm fine with
(18:10):
like five hours and like maybeyou are, but like I would bet
that your body could reallybenefit from a bit more.
So that's like that's the rough, you know, kind of estimation.
I personally know that likeseven hours is not really enough
for me.
Sometimes.
Is that what I get?
Yes, but like I try to aim foreight to nine hours to feel
(18:31):
truly rested.
Some people might need more,and so that's again where it
comes back to just that.
You know, as we've talked aboutthat awareness and kind of
tracking, like well, how did Ifeel when I got X hours versus
you know, nine hours or 10 hours?
And there is, you know, there'sI've heard sleep experts talk
too that there, you know, thereis that sort of finding that
(18:53):
happy, that balance right of somuch sleep that your body is
like well, kind of gettingconfused and wait a minute.
So you know, like 12 hours isprobably not going to do you
good or do any better so it'sabout learning and listening to
your body and seeing what works,but roughly staying in that
seven to nine range from aquantity perspective is what's
(19:17):
typically recommended.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Yeah, that makes sense Because, yeah, that's
about what I get when I can getit, when I'm able to get that
seven to nine.
I also feel it's anti-aging.
I feel like, with that cellularturnover and that time that we
get when we're sleeping, thatwe're giving our body time to
(19:41):
reset, rehydrate, everything.
While we're sleeping we're, youknow, we're releasing toxins.
But I also feel I feel like Ihave more longevity and I feel
more, you know, energetic and Ifeel that those anti-aging
properties happen when I getmore sleep, a hundred percent At
that higher threshold and yourbrain health right, I mean cell
(20:10):
regeneration not just in yourbody but in your brain, at that
higher threshold.
Speaker 3 (20:18):
Having a really solid foundation of sleep is not the
only factor, but certainly afactor in potentially supporting
people's brain health andwellness.
Speaker 1 (20:31):
For sure Great.
Well, anything else about sleepthat you think our listeners
would love to know that wehaven't touched on?
Speaker 3 (20:45):
touched on.
You know, I think it's thatself-awareness of sort of
knowing how you feel and beingaware of patterns, and also
recognizing that, as you said,you know you have a night out
that's later with friends or outto dinner late, and so you may
feel, you know, not your bestthat day, but you can get back
on the saddle right.
So don't you know, kind of letone bad day say, okay, forget it
, I'm giving up on my sleepbecause, again, it's cumulative,
(21:07):
it's something that you canbuild over time and, in general,
if you can kind of stick tosome consistency, stick to sort
of a bedtime routine that youknow lets you wind down,
minimize the screens which istough right, and I'm not perfect
at that, like there'sdefinitely days where it's just
not feasible or just you know,but you know, kind of give
(21:28):
yourself a break and then getback into your routine hopefully
, I guess is what I would sayand that can go a really long
way in improving your sleep.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Giving yourself grace .
We are human for when things goup and down, for sure, yeah
well, thank you, rebecca.
This has been wonderful.
Learning about sleep, thebenefits we know that they're
there, but talking a little bitmore about them was wonderful.
I appreciate, as always, yourwisdom and knowledge and sharing
it with everyone that'slistening.
You can find rebecca throughour practitioner.
(22:02):
Collective links to her websiteare on there.
And then Rebecca also.
How can anyone access you andget a hold of you to work with
you or learn more about you?
Speaker 3 (22:10):
Sure, yeah, you can reach out.
I'm at Nefesh, living onInstagram, or Rebecca at Nefesh.
It's N-E-F-E-S-H livingcom.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
Wonderful.
Well, thank you, Rebecca, forbeing here and thank you
everyone for listening.
We hope you get a peacefulsleep tonight and we'll see you
soon.
Thanks for that, Thank you,Thanks.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
Thank you so much for joining us today on the Modern
Zen Collective podcast.
If this episode resonated withyou, we'd love for you to share
it with a friend and leave areview.
It helps more conscious womenlike you find our community, and
if you're craving a deeperconnection to your practice,
we've created something just foryou the Modern Zen Collective
app a sanctuary in your pocket.
(23:06):
Inside, you'll find guidedmeditations, soulful workshops,
energy updates and intuitivechanneling, all curated to
support your spiritual andholistic wellness.
Plus, for just $3.99 a month,you'll receive timely push
notifications with astrologicalinsights and gentle reminders to
realign with your highest self.
It's rooted in ritual, made formodern life and always within
(23:31):
reach.
Just head to the App Store orGoogle Play and search Modern
Zen Collective to download theapp and begin your journey with
us today.
And, as always, any links orresources we mentioned in this
episode can be found in the shownotes.
Until next time, keep trustingyour path and honoring your
unfolding.
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