August 7, 2024 • 28 mins
Episode 8 Part 3 of our 3 Part Series on Sleep
Can aligning your daily routine with your body's natural rhythms truly boost your performance and well-being? This episode wraps up our fascinating three-part series on circadian rhythms, revealing how your biological clock orchestrates sleep, stress, and productivity. Explore the science behind how hormones, eating habits, and body temperature interact with your circadian rhythms, and understand the intricate roles of light and melatonin in regulating your sleep-wake cycles. We also provide valuable insights into the challenges posed by shift work and the importance of natural light exposure for maintaining a healthy rhythm.
Discover practical strategies to enhance your daily routine for peak cognitive function and energy levels. We'll share tips on scheduling your most important tasks for mid-morning when your brain is at its sharpest and how to manage the infamous post-lunch energy dip. Learn how a balanced lunch can keep you energized and why a relaxing evening routine is vital for prepping your body for restful sleep. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why prioritizing sleep is not just a luxury but a necessity for optimal performance and overall well-being. Plus, get a sneak peek into our next episode, where we explore the benefits and drawbacks of running after a certain age. Tune in and transform your daily habits to live in harmony with your body's natural rhythms!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Episode 8 of 24-7 Health News sponsored by
myself, health Coach Shea atSage Life Therapeutics.
These topics are from my blogat 247healthnewscom, so that's
the word 20, the number 4, 7,the words healthandnewscom.
(00:26):
So I pull all of these topicsfrom there, or topics I might
think are important to healthand fitness, because these
topics are important to yourhealth.
If they get too complicated,I'll try to break them down and
help you apply them to yourdaily life.
Again, I am your host, healthCoach Shea.
(00:50):
I'm a master trainer and aholistic health coach with Sage
Life Therapeutics.
So let's go over a few of mydisclaimers.
My information is not meant toprescribe or be taken in lieu of
a discussion with your doctoror health care professional.
You should always speak to yourhealth care professional before
(01:13):
you make any nutrition orfitness changes.
I'm a health coach and I'mmaking recommendations only in
that capacity in that capacityWith regard to the latest on
COVID.
I don't talk much about COVID,even though its cases are a
(01:37):
little bit on the rise.
Be careful out there.
But if something is relevant towhat we may be discussing, if
it crosses over, I may suggestthat you read it.
So let's get started for today.
Today we are going to concludeand complete our three-part
series on circadian rhythms.
We've been talking about howthey work, we've been sharing
(01:57):
practical tips, and today we'regoing to talk a little bit more
deeply about how to align yourdaily activities with your
natural body's rhythms foroptimal performance.
So let's do a quick recap.
Your rhythms, your circadianrhythms, are natural internal
(02:20):
processes that regulate sleepand wake cycle and repeat
roughly every 24 hours.
These rhythms are driven by abiological clock located in the
brain, the primary clock knownas the suprachiasmatic nucleus,
(02:56):
a pair of neuron clusters in thehypothalamus situated directly
above your chasmia, thatreceives photo input from the
retina via the optic nerve andthat regulates the body's
circadian rhythms.
So all of this stuff is locatedabove your hypothalamus and
this clock basically coordinatesall your body's rhythms.
So I want you to understand theimportance of that, because
this is the stuff that's makingyour body rhythm work.
(03:19):
So you really have to thinkabout this.
Your sleep is like the air youbreathe.
So I say all that to say whatare the influences?
Right?
Various body functions areinfluencing your circadian
rhythms hormones, eating habits,digestion and body temperature.
(03:45):
All of this is famously knownfor regulating sleep patterns.
Let's unpack that for a minute.
Hormones.
Well, we know, specifically inwomen, that hormones can
fluctuate at various times yourmenstrual cycle, your pregnancy,
(04:07):
your menopause.
Halle Berry has been talkingabout menopause nonstop, because
it is a period of time thatgives women so much stress and
it is a difficult period of time.
Pregnancy is difficult.
Some women's menstrual cyclesare difficult.
(04:28):
All of that fluctuates yourhormone and usually the first
thing impacted is your sleep,right.
The next thing impacted is youreating habits, right.
Your hormones fluctuate.
You want to eat more or youwant to eat less, causing your
body to causing you to gainweight or causing you to store
(04:49):
food, which still makes you gainweight.
Um, so you all have to.
Women really have to look atthis and make sure that they are
practicing self-care in thissituation.
Guys, same situation.
I think it's more about when youage, though I think more
happens to you with your bodyrhythm when you age and things
(05:13):
start to change.
You know, various things happenwith your sex drive and all of
that sort of stuff, and all ofthose things can mess with your
rhythm.
We can get insomnia for thesmallest little things that we
(05:34):
are not even thinking about.
The study said that bodytemperature can fluctuate, now
you could be somewhere hot andyou can't sleep right, messing
with your rhythm.
If you stay in that situation,your body's rhythm can be messed
up.
So those are the things thatsort of define what's happening
(05:57):
with the circadian rhythm.
How does it work exactly?
So the first thing that comesinto play is the light and the
dark cycle.
Our circadian rhythms areprimarily influenced by the
light and dark cycle.
Exposure to natural light helpsus synchronize the SCN, all
that retinal long word, mumble,jumble, I said earlier, within a
(06:22):
24 hour day.
So shift work we have to thinkabout all of that stuff, and if
we are that sort of person whocan do a shift work, then it
works out.
Some of us can't, though, andwe have to think about all of
that, or you have to recognizethat there is going to be an
(06:43):
extended adjustment period ifyou decide that.
Otherwise, folks who workduring the day remember to get
outside and get some air and getsome light on your body.
It helps you.
Melatonin is a hormone producedby the pineal gland in the brain
.
Produced by the pineal gland inthe brain, it also helps
(07:08):
regulate sleep by increasing inthe evening, when it gets dark,
and decreasing in the morningwhen it gets light.
I know folks who take a littleextra melatonin at night to try
to get their body to bolstertheir melatonin so that they can
get some rest because they arehaving trouble sleeping.
That is how important melatoninso that they can get some rest
because they are having troublesleeping.
That is how important melatoninis.
(07:28):
Mind you, I said it was ahormone that is produced.
So if you're not doing, if youdon't have habits around the
production of that healthyhormone to get you to sleep,
then you're going to have aproblem going to sleep.
Let's talk about the next one,which is one of the worst.
Cortisol is also a hormoneassociated with stress.
(07:52):
It follows a daily rhythm aswell.
It peaks in the morning to helpyou, to help wake us up, and it
decreases throughout the day.
So I said stress, right, it's ahormone associated with stress.
You heard what I said stress.
We are under various levels ofstress throughout the day, all
(08:15):
kinds of stress worry aboutwhat's going on in the world,
worry about your job, worryabout your kids, worry about
your family.
You are stressed and worriedabout every little thing your
bills, how much money you make.
We have to manage that.
We have to have healthy habitsthat help us manage what is
(08:36):
going on with our stress leveland we have to remember to help
decrease our stress level, havehabits that help decrease the
stress level as we get closer togoing to bed so that we can
start to produce that otherhormone, melatoninin, so that we
(08:57):
can go to sleep.
So there are other genes andproteins that also may play a
role in maintaining yourcircadian rhythm.
(09:19):
The clock genes produceproteins that the proper
proteins that help interact withthe feedback loop, and you have
too much stress and then yourbody's not producing melatonin.
You see how you could just getall out of whack and not really
(09:39):
be sleeping at all If you don'tpay attention to all of these
things that sort of affect howyou get your sleep and how your
body rhythm is.
I mean, let's unpack that for aminute, let's think about it.
We have so much input duringthe course of the day.
We have so many things thatdistract us from our self-care
(10:04):
and that's really what this isabout, right, I mean this is
really about self-care Thinkingabout, when you're stressed,
doing the things that help youde-stress, eating right to make
sure that your body is properlyfortified to make sure that you,
you know you have all the rightlevels in your body.
(10:26):
And I know that is a massiveundertaking, it is just a job in
itself, and so we have to makesure that we are giving it some
conscious thought about what weare doing to get our sleep.
Now I'm not saying thateverybody sleeps for eight or 10
(10:47):
hours.
You know you can sleep for six,and that might be good for your
body.
The next person might sleep forseven and eight, and so on and
so forth.
The next person might sleep forseven and eight, and so on and
so forth.
Just make sure that you aremaking a conscious effort to
find out what your body rhythmis and how much time it needs,
(11:08):
and you are doing that to takecare of yourself.
So you say, well, can you helpme out here?
What are some tips?
So I'm going to give you somepractical tips for aligning your
body's daily activities withyour natural body rhythms.
So all of these are routines,routines and schedules that you
(11:30):
need to think about, right?
So let's talk about a morningroutine.
Start your day with someexposure to natural light, open
up those blackout curtains orstep outside to signal to your
body that it is time to wake up.
Right, get some light.
(11:51):
I love morning light.
Personally, I love morninglight waking me up.
If I had it my way, I wouldhave my curtains on a timer and
they would open up at the timethat it's time to get me up, as
opposed to those obnoxiousalarms that are on our phones
and or alarm clocks.
I would much prefer that.
(12:16):
So think about a way to getsome light exposure, even if you
just walk down in your livingroom and open your curtains in
the morning to get some light onyour face.
Try that.
Then hydration and nutrition.
This is first thing in themorning.
We're still on the morningroutine Drink a glass of water
(12:37):
to kickstart your metabolism andeat a balanced breakfast to
fuel your body for the day.
Again, let's unpack that Now.
Us busy adults don'tnecessarily do all those things.
One of the ways that I havegotten in the habit of drinking
a glass of water in the morningis I put the water next to my
(12:58):
bed, right, not too close.
Just, I have a you know, acontainer of water.
I'm crazy, so I don't drink outof plastic.
I have a big glass, 64 ouncejug that I keep on the side of
my bed to drink water, that Ikeep on the side of my bed to
(13:19):
drink water.
So try to drink a glass ofwater in the morning to let your
metabolism know we're up, we'retaking in something and we need
you to wake up to get going.
The balanced breakfast partWhatever your balanced breakfast
is, try to eat something.
Some people don't likebreakfast, right, and I can
understand that.
(13:40):
I've gotten picky over theyears about what I eat for
breakfast and it's sort of injust a couple of food groups.
Oddly enough, I like somethinghot in the morning, like a cup
of coffee, cup of tea orsomething, but unfortunately I
like to eat a little somethingsweet.
And that might not benecessarily the thing, because
it did say balanced breakfast.
(14:01):
You should be eating a balancedbreakfast, right.
So try to eat a good breakfastin the morning.
And unfortunately, sometimesthat means we're eating
something in the car, we'redropping off the kids, we're
doing whatever we need to bedoing first thing in the morning
, and it might be taking care ofeverybody else.
But I have to drag you back tothat self-care situation.
(14:23):
You have to make sure that youare doing the right things to
get you kicked off.
I mean, you aren't any good toyour kids if you're not ready to
go right and then engage insome light exercise, light
stretching or short walk toboost your energy levels and
improve your mood.
Again, I have to unpack thatbecause I don't have time all
(14:46):
the time to do this.
My, my short walk might be, youknow, from my car to my office
building where I work.
My short walk might be from thevan to the front door of the
school to walk my kids into theschool.
My short walk might be any ofthose things.
(15:07):
It might not be something whereI can go get on the treadmill.
I might not have that kind oftime.
So try to remember to get alittle bit of something in.
Um, I don't know, maybe you canroll out of your bed, have your
glass of water and do 10push-ups on the floor or stretch
for 10 minutes before the kidscome in screaming for you to go
(15:31):
to do breakfast.
Think of little ways to helpimprove your mood and accomplish
those things for yourself.
So let's move on to a possiblemid-morning routine.
Most people experience a peak incognitive function and
alertness mid-morning.
(15:52):
They schedule important tasksor meetings during this time for
optimal performance.
Now again, I'm glad that thesestudies have shown that we have
peak cognitive functionmid-morning, but I generally
(16:15):
only have, you know, about 50percent of the control over when
meetings are scheduled.
I can tell I tank towards theend of the day and I'm not
really firing on all cylindersabout whatever it is I'm
supposed to be doing, and sothat's a tough one.
But do the best that you canand try to fire up your brain as
(16:41):
long as you can.
Another way to do that is totake short breaks to avoid
burnout.
A five to 10 minute break everyhour can help maintain
productivity and focus.
So a break can be look awayfrom your computer screen at
something else, get up, walkaway from your desk, do a lap
(17:06):
around the building, go havewater cooler conversation for
five minutes with someone else.
Just do something to walk awayfrom whatever it is that you're
doing every hour.
Now some jobs are really picky,picky, picky.
You might only get a 15 minutebreak in the morning and one in
(17:29):
the afternoon and your lunch.
So you might have to do thelook away from your computer
screen for five minutes andraise up your sit-stand desk if
that's what it is.
But you have to do something tobreak up the monotony so that
your brain can unfocus onwhatever it is that you have to
(17:53):
do for the day at work andrefocus on something else.
Give it a few minutes and thencome back to that.
You know, and I have testedthis theory because I used to
say I don't have time for this,right, I just can't do it, I
don't have time.
I've tested this theory where Icouldn't figure out something
that I was doing.
(18:13):
In particular, let me tell you,if you close it, walk away from
it and then come back, it's abrand new world.
Sometimes I've waited like awhole half a day to deal with
something that I couldn't figureout, or even the next day and
had an epiphany all of a sudden.
So I find that that one really,really, really works for me.
(18:40):
Let's move on to the afternoon.
Eat a balanced lunch withprotein, healthy fats and
complex carbohydrates to sustainyour energy levels.
That doesn't mean eat a big oldmeat and potatoes meal in the
middle of the day, which a lotof folks do, which causes them
to fall asleep, because it'snatural to feel a dip in energy
(19:06):
after lunch.
Combat this by taking a briskwalk, do some light stretching
or practicing some deepbreathing exercises right, or
practicing some deep breathingexercises right.
So have a healthy lunch,healthy lunch, eat a decent
lunch, you know.
Try to get all the food groupsin there.
Try not to eat too much.
(19:28):
I've also tested this quite abit.
Personally, I try not to eatuntil I feel full at lunch.
I try to eat just enough, right.
So what I would usually eat.
For instance, if you get aburrito, eat half of it, eat
three quarters of it and holdthe rest for that afternoon
(19:52):
break.
If you do, if you're doing thehourly thing, or if you only get
the 115, hold the rest for theafternoon break.
I find that if I do that likeI'm more energized when I get
home, that if I do that like I'mmore energized when I get home
and you want that because youdon't want to feel like you're
on this hamster wheel of I gotoff work, I'm really tired, I
(20:14):
got to get some dinner done andthen I got to go to bed, right.
Or I got to work out and then Igot to go to bed, if you do
that you will feel better.
I promise you do not eat a bigold heavy fat lunch in the
middle of the day you are goingto feel terrible and feel run
(20:35):
down.
When you get that slump, thatpost lunch slump, you're going
to feel bad.
So eat half of what you wouldeat eat three quarters of what
you would eat if you have aheavy physical job and then eat
the rest during that 15 minutebreak.
So as far as the afternoon tasksthey're saying, schedule less
(20:58):
demanding tasks for the earlyafternoon when energy levels
might dip slightly.
Save creative or collaborativework for later in the afternoon
when your second wind kicks in.
And I would say I've testedthat as well.
I believe that a lot ofcalculations and a lot of the I
(21:19):
don't know how you call it, Idon't know how you call it like
task oriented things that mustget done tend to get done before
lunch.
Anything that I need to thinkthrough or make decisions on
generally happens, honestly,even later in the week.
Those happen later in theafternoon and later in the week.
(21:43):
So definitely think through howyou can do that.
If you have a task, heavy jobor a heavy physical labor job,
you're just going to be workingthrough the week, through the
day, and it's not going to evencome to that.
But if you have a job wherethere's a little bit more of a
cognitive load, then you have tothink about where you place
(22:06):
things, because that post-lunchslump is real.
And now let's move on to yourevening routine and your wind
down time.
Establish a relaxing eveningroutine to signal to your body
that it's time to prepare forsleep.
Activities like reading,meditating or taking a warm bath
can help, and I have taken awarm bath and or a shower warm
(22:35):
shower in the evening and onthose evenings that I've done
that, I've gotten some righteoussleep.
So I definitely would recommendthose things Meditation and
reading.
And again, be careful whatyou're reading, because not all
(22:58):
of us have paperback booksanymore.
We have Kindles, laptops andphones that we do our reading on
.
And watch out for that.
Back light.
Once again, reduce yourexposure to screens and blue
light at least an hour beforebed.
Blue light can interfere withthe melatonin production and
(23:18):
disrupt your sleep.
So that goes to what I justsaid Be careful with that.
Figure out if there is somekind of sleep setting or some
kind of dimming that you can doon your equipment to help you
sleep, because I know readingdoes help people sleep, but not
all of us have a good oldfashioned book anymore, right,
(23:40):
or the space to put a good oldfashioned book.
So think about that when you'relooking at your screens or
you're going to read that greatbook on your Kindle or your
laptop.
Make a consistent sleep schedule.
Try to go to bed and wake up atthe same time every day, even
on the weekends.
This consistency helps regulateyour internal clock.
(24:03):
So you know we've talked a lotabout that and make sure that
you figure out your internalclock and you try to match it
and you try to regulate it.
I mean, don't let it run you,but you also have to pay
attention to what your naturalbody is doing and schedule
(24:26):
yourselves.
And they say that you need toschedule your children.
So just take it a little stepfurther.
If you have kids, schedule themand go right on into the
schedule for yourself Once youget them in your sleeping
environment.
Create sleep-friendlyenvironment.
(24:47):
Ensure your bedroom is cool,dark and quiet.
Use blackout curtains, earplugsor a white noise machine if
necessary.
Listen, pick any of thosethings to implement to try and
help you.
I'm not sure about quiet.
That doesn't necessarily workfor me.
I like noise.
(25:08):
I do have personally have someblackout curtains and so that
stuff works.
I'm not ear plugging up, so youknow, pick the things that work
for you.
I know a lot of people sleep inthose masks covering their eyes
.
I'm not down with that, so youjust pick what works for you.
(25:28):
I know a lot of people sleep inthose masks covering their eyes
.
I'm not down with that, so youjust pick what works for you.
Avoid the heavy meals, thecaffeine and the alcohol.
Remember, I tried.
I drink tea.
I find that a warm tea is likea warm shower knocks me right
out.
And stay away from that.
(25:48):
You know, let me go run fivemiles 45 minutes before I'm
supposed to go to sleep thing.
Getting your heart rate up thathigh before you're trying to go
to sleep doesn't really work outfor you.
You have to bring all thoselevels back down to lower than
you function in order for you torest.
So think about imagine yourregular daily stress.
(26:09):
You want to bring your heartrate on down, you know, low 70s,
60s, depending on your age sothat you can try and get your
sleep melatonin production going.
You want to practice stressreducing techniques like
(26:30):
meditation, like yoga oranything that can help you calm
and balance your mind.
This is self-care.
I said it in one of the otherepisodes sleep is like the air
you breathe.
As far as I'm concerned, if youare not getting the proper
sleep, all of your systems areout of whack.
(26:53):
So please be mindful of all ofthat.
So today, you know, we exploredthe science again, just did a
little recap on the science andjust did a little recap on the
science, how they work, andpractical tips to align your
daily activities with yournatural body rhythms for optimal
performance.
So try implementing a few ofthese things and get that sleep.
(27:15):
Get that sleep.
This can help your overallproductivity and overall
well-being.
I mean, we even have there's ahuge case being made for the
fact that you can't lose weightif you don't sleep.
So in my next episode, I'm goingto probably talk about running
(27:37):
after a certain age.
We know a lot of people like torun and they talk about how bad
it is for you, how good it isfor you, how bad it is for you.
There's a good study.
I found that I wanted to talkabout it and you won't want to
miss out.
So I appreciate you, as always,for listening, and I hope this
(28:01):
helps you think about your sleepand really recognize that it's
not a chore.
It is about self-care.
Again, it is like the air youbreathe.
So thank you for listening andhave a wonderful day.
Welcome to Episode 8 of 24-7 Health News sponsored by
myself, health Coach Shea atSage Life Therapeutics.
These topics are from my blogat 247healthnewscom, so that's
the word 20, the number 4, 7,the words healthandnewscom.
(00:26):
So I pull all of these topicsfrom there, or topics I might
think are important to healthand fitness, because these
topics are important to yourhealth.
If they get too complicated,I'll try to break them down and
help you apply them to yourdaily life.
Again, I am your host, healthCoach Shea.
(00:50):
I'm a master trainer and aholistic health coach with Sage
Life Therapeutics.
So let's go over a few of mydisclaimers.
My information is not meant toprescribe or be taken in lieu of
a discussion with your doctoror health care professional.
You should always speak to yourhealth care professional before
(01:13):
you make any nutrition orfitness changes.
I'm a health coach and I'mmaking recommendations only in
that capacity in that capacityWith regard to the latest on
COVID.
I don't talk much about COVID,even though its cases are a
(01:37):
little bit on the rise.
Be careful out there.
But if something is relevant towhat we may be discussing, if
it crosses over, I may suggestthat you read it.
So let's get started for today.
Today we are going to concludeand complete our three-part
series on circadian rhythms.
We've been talking about howthey work, we've been sharing
(01:57):
practical tips, and today we'regoing to talk a little bit more
deeply about how to align yourdaily activities with your
natural body's rhythms foroptimal performance.
So let's do a quick recap.
Your rhythms, your circadianrhythms, are natural internal
(02:20):
processes that regulate sleepand wake cycle and repeat
roughly every 24 hours.
These rhythms are driven by abiological clock located in the
brain, the primary clock knownas the suprachiasmatic nucleus,
(02:56):
a pair of neuron clusters in thehypothalamus situated directly
above your chasmia, thatreceives photo input from the
retina via the optic nerve andthat regulates the body's
circadian rhythms.
So all of this stuff is locatedabove your hypothalamus and
this clock basically coordinatesall your body's rhythms.
So I want you to understand theimportance of that, because
this is the stuff that's makingyour body rhythm work.
(03:19):
So you really have to thinkabout this.
Your sleep is like the air youbreathe.
So I say all that to say whatare the influences?
Right?
Various body functions areinfluencing your circadian
rhythms hormones, eating habits,digestion and body temperature.
(03:45):
All of this is famously knownfor regulating sleep patterns.
Let's unpack that for a minute.
Hormones.
Well, we know, specifically inwomen, that hormones can
fluctuate at various times yourmenstrual cycle, your pregnancy,
(04:07):
your menopause.
Halle Berry has been talkingabout menopause nonstop, because
it is a period of time thatgives women so much stress and
it is a difficult period of time.
Pregnancy is difficult.
Some women's menstrual cyclesare difficult.
(04:28):
All of that fluctuates yourhormone and usually the first
thing impacted is your sleep,right.
The next thing impacted is youreating habits, right.
Your hormones fluctuate.
You want to eat more or youwant to eat less, causing your
body to causing you to gainweight or causing you to store
(04:49):
food, which still makes you gainweight.
Um, so you all have to.
Women really have to look atthis and make sure that they are
practicing self-care in thissituation.
Guys, same situation.
I think it's more about when youage, though I think more
happens to you with your bodyrhythm when you age and things
(05:13):
start to change.
You know, various things happenwith your sex drive and all of
that sort of stuff, and all ofthose things can mess with your
rhythm.
We can get insomnia for thesmallest little things that we
(05:34):
are not even thinking about.
The study said that bodytemperature can fluctuate, now
you could be somewhere hot andyou can't sleep right, messing
with your rhythm.
If you stay in that situation,your body's rhythm can be messed
up.
So those are the things thatsort of define what's happening
(05:57):
with the circadian rhythm.
How does it work exactly?
So the first thing that comesinto play is the light and the
dark cycle.
Our circadian rhythms areprimarily influenced by the
light and dark cycle.
Exposure to natural light helpsus synchronize the SCN, all
that retinal long word, mumble,jumble, I said earlier, within a
(06:22):
24 hour day.
So shift work we have to thinkabout all of that stuff, and if
we are that sort of person whocan do a shift work, then it
works out.
Some of us can't, though, andwe have to think about all of
that, or you have to recognizethat there is going to be an
(06:43):
extended adjustment period ifyou decide that.
Otherwise, folks who workduring the day remember to get
outside and get some air and getsome light on your body.
It helps you.
Melatonin is a hormone producedby the pineal gland in the brain
.
Produced by the pineal gland inthe brain, it also helps
(07:08):
regulate sleep by increasing inthe evening, when it gets dark,
and decreasing in the morningwhen it gets light.
I know folks who take a littleextra melatonin at night to try
to get their body to bolstertheir melatonin so that they can
get some rest because they arehaving trouble sleeping.
That is how important melatoninso that they can get some rest
because they are having troublesleeping.
That is how important melatoninis.
(07:28):
Mind you, I said it was ahormone that is produced.
So if you're not doing, if youdon't have habits around the
production of that healthyhormone to get you to sleep,
then you're going to have aproblem going to sleep.
Let's talk about the next one,which is one of the worst.
Cortisol is also a hormoneassociated with stress.
(07:52):
It follows a daily rhythm aswell.
It peaks in the morning to helpyou, to help wake us up, and it
decreases throughout the day.
So I said stress, right, it's ahormone associated with stress.
You heard what I said stress.
We are under various levels ofstress throughout the day, all
(08:15):
kinds of stress worry aboutwhat's going on in the world,
worry about your job, worryabout your kids, worry about
your family.
You are stressed and worriedabout every little thing your
bills, how much money you make.
We have to manage that.
We have to have healthy habitsthat help us manage what is
(08:36):
going on with our stress leveland we have to remember to help
decrease our stress level, havehabits that help decrease the
stress level as we get closer togoing to bed so that we can
start to produce that otherhormone, melatoninin, so that we
(08:57):
can go to sleep.
So there are other genes andproteins that also may play a
role in maintaining yourcircadian rhythm.
(09:19):
The clock genes produceproteins that the proper
proteins that help interact withthe feedback loop, and you have
too much stress and then yourbody's not producing melatonin.
You see how you could just getall out of whack and not really
(09:39):
be sleeping at all If you don'tpay attention to all of these
things that sort of affect howyou get your sleep and how your
body rhythm is.
I mean, let's unpack that for aminute, let's think about it.
We have so much input duringthe course of the day.
We have so many things thatdistract us from our self-care
(10:04):
and that's really what this isabout, right, I mean this is
really about self-care Thinkingabout, when you're stressed,
doing the things that help youde-stress, eating right to make
sure that your body is properlyfortified to make sure that you,
you know you have all the rightlevels in your body.
(10:26):
And I know that is a massiveundertaking, it is just a job in
itself, and so we have to makesure that we are giving it some
conscious thought about what weare doing to get our sleep.
Now I'm not saying thateverybody sleeps for eight or 10
(10:47):
hours.
You know you can sleep for six,and that might be good for your
body.
The next person might sleep forseven and eight, and so on and
so forth.
The next person might sleep forseven and eight, and so on and
so forth.
Just make sure that you aremaking a conscious effort to
find out what your body rhythmis and how much time it needs,
(11:08):
and you are doing that to takecare of yourself.
So you say, well, can you helpme out here?
What are some tips?
So I'm going to give you somepractical tips for aligning your
body's daily activities withyour natural body rhythms.
So all of these are routines,routines and schedules that you
(11:30):
need to think about, right?
So let's talk about a morningroutine.
Start your day with someexposure to natural light, open
up those blackout curtains orstep outside to signal to your
body that it is time to wake up.
Right, get some light.
(11:51):
I love morning light.
Personally, I love morninglight waking me up.
If I had it my way, I wouldhave my curtains on a timer and
they would open up at the timethat it's time to get me up, as
opposed to those obnoxiousalarms that are on our phones
and or alarm clocks.
I would much prefer that.
(12:16):
So think about a way to getsome light exposure, even if you
just walk down in your livingroom and open your curtains in
the morning to get some light onyour face.
Try that.
Then hydration and nutrition.
This is first thing in themorning.
We're still on the morningroutine Drink a glass of water
(12:37):
to kickstart your metabolism andeat a balanced breakfast to
fuel your body for the day.
Again, let's unpack that Now.
Us busy adults don'tnecessarily do all those things.
One of the ways that I havegotten in the habit of drinking
a glass of water in the morningis I put the water next to my
(12:58):
bed, right, not too close.
Just, I have a you know, acontainer of water.
I'm crazy, so I don't drink outof plastic.
I have a big glass, 64 ouncejug that I keep on the side of
my bed to drink water, that Ikeep on the side of my bed to
(13:19):
drink water.
So try to drink a glass ofwater in the morning to let your
metabolism know we're up, we'retaking in something and we need
you to wake up to get going.
The balanced breakfast partWhatever your balanced breakfast
is, try to eat something.
Some people don't likebreakfast, right, and I can
understand that.
(13:40):
I've gotten picky over theyears about what I eat for
breakfast and it's sort of injust a couple of food groups.
Oddly enough, I like somethinghot in the morning, like a cup
of coffee, cup of tea orsomething, but unfortunately I
like to eat a little somethingsweet.
And that might not benecessarily the thing, because
it did say balanced breakfast.
(14:01):
You should be eating a balancedbreakfast, right.
So try to eat a good breakfastin the morning.
And unfortunately, sometimesthat means we're eating
something in the car, we'redropping off the kids, we're
doing whatever we need to bedoing first thing in the morning
, and it might be taking care ofeverybody else.
But I have to drag you back tothat self-care situation.
(14:23):
You have to make sure that youare doing the right things to
get you kicked off.
I mean, you aren't any good toyour kids if you're not ready to
go right and then engage insome light exercise, light
stretching or short walk toboost your energy levels and
improve your mood.
Again, I have to unpack thatbecause I don't have time all
(14:46):
the time to do this.
My, my short walk might be, youknow, from my car to my office
building where I work.
My short walk might be from thevan to the front door of the
school to walk my kids into theschool.
My short walk might be any ofthose things.
(15:07):
It might not be something whereI can go get on the treadmill.
I might not have that kind oftime.
So try to remember to get alittle bit of something in.
Um, I don't know, maybe you canroll out of your bed, have your
glass of water and do 10push-ups on the floor or stretch
for 10 minutes before the kidscome in screaming for you to go
(15:31):
to do breakfast.
Think of little ways to helpimprove your mood and accomplish
those things for yourself.
So let's move on to a possiblemid-morning routine.
Most people experience a peak incognitive function and
alertness mid-morning.
(15:52):
They schedule important tasksor meetings during this time for
optimal performance.
Now again, I'm glad that thesestudies have shown that we have
peak cognitive functionmid-morning, but I generally
(16:15):
only have, you know, about 50percent of the control over when
meetings are scheduled.
I can tell I tank towards theend of the day and I'm not
really firing on all cylindersabout whatever it is I'm
supposed to be doing, and sothat's a tough one.
But do the best that you canand try to fire up your brain as
(16:41):
long as you can.
Another way to do that is totake short breaks to avoid
burnout.
A five to 10 minute break everyhour can help maintain
productivity and focus.
So a break can be look awayfrom your computer screen at
something else, get up, walkaway from your desk, do a lap
(17:06):
around the building, go havewater cooler conversation for
five minutes with someone else.
Just do something to walk awayfrom whatever it is that you're
doing every hour.
Now some jobs are really picky,picky, picky.
You might only get a 15 minutebreak in the morning and one in
(17:29):
the afternoon and your lunch.
So you might have to do thelook away from your computer
screen for five minutes andraise up your sit-stand desk if
that's what it is.
But you have to do something tobreak up the monotony so that
your brain can unfocus onwhatever it is that you have to
(17:53):
do for the day at work andrefocus on something else.
Give it a few minutes and thencome back to that.
You know, and I have testedthis theory because I used to
say I don't have time for this,right, I just can't do it, I
don't have time.
I've tested this theory where Icouldn't figure out something
that I was doing.
(18:13):
In particular, let me tell you,if you close it, walk away from
it and then come back, it's abrand new world.
Sometimes I've waited like awhole half a day to deal with
something that I couldn't figureout, or even the next day and
had an epiphany all of a sudden.
So I find that that one really,really, really works for me.
(18:40):
Let's move on to the afternoon.
Eat a balanced lunch withprotein, healthy fats and
complex carbohydrates to sustainyour energy levels.
That doesn't mean eat a big oldmeat and potatoes meal in the
middle of the day, which a lotof folks do, which causes them
to fall asleep, because it'snatural to feel a dip in energy
(19:06):
after lunch.
Combat this by taking a briskwalk, do some light stretching
or practicing some deepbreathing exercises right, or
practicing some deep breathingexercises right.
So have a healthy lunch,healthy lunch, eat a decent
lunch, you know.
Try to get all the food groupsin there.
Try not to eat too much.
(19:28):
I've also tested this quite abit.
Personally, I try not to eatuntil I feel full at lunch.
I try to eat just enough, right.
So what I would usually eat.
For instance, if you get aburrito, eat half of it, eat
three quarters of it and holdthe rest for that afternoon
(19:52):
break.
If you do, if you're doing thehourly thing, or if you only get
the 115, hold the rest for theafternoon break.
I find that if I do that likeI'm more energized when I get
home, that if I do that like I'mmore energized when I get home
and you want that because youdon't want to feel like you're
on this hamster wheel of I gotoff work, I'm really tired, I
(20:14):
got to get some dinner done andthen I got to go to bed, right.
Or I got to work out and then Igot to go to bed, if you do
that you will feel better.
I promise you do not eat a bigold heavy fat lunch in the
middle of the day you are goingto feel terrible and feel run
(20:35):
down.
When you get that slump, thatpost lunch slump, you're going
to feel bad.
So eat half of what you wouldeat eat three quarters of what
you would eat if you have aheavy physical job and then eat
the rest during that 15 minutebreak.
So as far as the afternoon tasksthey're saying, schedule less
(20:58):
demanding tasks for the earlyafternoon when energy levels
might dip slightly.
Save creative or collaborativework for later in the afternoon
when your second wind kicks in.
And I would say I've testedthat as well.
I believe that a lot ofcalculations and a lot of the I
(21:19):
don't know how you call it, Idon't know how you call it like
task oriented things that mustget done tend to get done before
lunch.
Anything that I need to thinkthrough or make decisions on
generally happens, honestly,even later in the week.
Those happen later in theafternoon and later in the week.
(21:43):
So definitely think through howyou can do that.
If you have a task, heavy jobor a heavy physical labor job,
you're just going to be workingthrough the week, through the
day, and it's not going to evencome to that.
But if you have a job wherethere's a little bit more of a
cognitive load, then you have tothink about where you place
(22:06):
things, because that post-lunchslump is real.
And now let's move on to yourevening routine and your wind
down time.
Establish a relaxing eveningroutine to signal to your body
that it's time to prepare forsleep.
Activities like reading,meditating or taking a warm bath
can help, and I have taken awarm bath and or a shower warm
(22:35):
shower in the evening and onthose evenings that I've done
that, I've gotten some righteoussleep.
So I definitely would recommendthose things Meditation and
reading.
And again, be careful whatyou're reading, because not all
(22:58):
of us have paperback booksanymore.
We have Kindles, laptops andphones that we do our reading on
.
And watch out for that.
Back light.
Once again, reduce yourexposure to screens and blue
light at least an hour beforebed.
Blue light can interfere withthe melatonin production and
(23:18):
disrupt your sleep.
So that goes to what I justsaid Be careful with that.
Figure out if there is somekind of sleep setting or some
kind of dimming that you can doon your equipment to help you
sleep, because I know readingdoes help people sleep, but not
all of us have a good oldfashioned book anymore, right,
(23:40):
or the space to put a good oldfashioned book.
So think about that when you'relooking at your screens or
you're going to read that greatbook on your Kindle or your
laptop.
Make a consistent sleep schedule.
Try to go to bed and wake up atthe same time every day, even
on the weekends.
This consistency helps regulateyour internal clock.
(24:03):
So you know we've talked a lotabout that and make sure that
you figure out your internalclock and you try to match it
and you try to regulate it.
I mean, don't let it run you,but you also have to pay
attention to what your naturalbody is doing and schedule
(24:26):
yourselves.
And they say that you need toschedule your children.
So just take it a little stepfurther.
If you have kids, schedule themand go right on into the
schedule for yourself Once youget them in your sleeping
environment.
Create sleep-friendlyenvironment.
(24:47):
Ensure your bedroom is cool,dark and quiet.
Use blackout curtains, earplugsor a white noise machine if
necessary.
Listen, pick any of thosethings to implement to try and
help you.
I'm not sure about quiet.
That doesn't necessarily workfor me.
I like noise.
(25:08):
I do have personally have someblackout curtains and so that
stuff works.
I'm not ear plugging up, so youknow, pick the things that work
for you.
I know a lot of people sleep inthose masks covering their eyes
.
I'm not down with that, so youjust pick what works for you.
(25:28):
I know a lot of people sleep inthose masks covering their eyes
.
I'm not down with that, so youjust pick what works for you.
Avoid the heavy meals, thecaffeine and the alcohol.
Remember, I tried.
I drink tea.
I find that a warm tea is likea warm shower knocks me right
out.
And stay away from that.
(25:48):
You know, let me go run fivemiles 45 minutes before I'm
supposed to go to sleep thing.
Getting your heart rate up thathigh before you're trying to go
to sleep doesn't really work outfor you.
You have to bring all thoselevels back down to lower than
you function in order for you torest.
So think about imagine yourregular daily stress.
(26:09):
You want to bring your heartrate on down, you know, low 70s,
60s, depending on your age sothat you can try and get your
sleep melatonin production going.
You want to practice stressreducing techniques like
(26:30):
meditation, like yoga oranything that can help you calm
and balance your mind.
This is self-care.
I said it in one of the otherepisodes sleep is like the air
you breathe.
As far as I'm concerned, if youare not getting the proper
sleep, all of your systems areout of whack.
(26:53):
So please be mindful of all ofthat.
So today, you know, we exploredthe science again, just did a
little recap on the science andjust did a little recap on the
science, how they work, andpractical tips to align your
daily activities with yournatural body rhythms for optimal
performance.
So try implementing a few ofthese things and get that sleep.
(27:15):
Get that sleep.
This can help your overallproductivity and overall
well-being.
I mean, we even have there's ahuge case being made for the
fact that you can't lose weightif you don't sleep.
So in my next episode, I'm goingto probably talk about running
(27:37):
after a certain age.
We know a lot of people like torun and they talk about how bad
it is for you, how good it isfor you, how bad it is for you.
There's a good study.
I found that I wanted to talkabout it and you won't want to
miss out.
So I appreciate you, as always,for listening, and I hope this
(28:01):
helps you think about your sleepand really recognize that it's
not a chore.
It is about self-care.
Again, it is like the air youbreathe.
So thank you for listening andhave a wonderful day.
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