Author avisha Categories Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

Catch Those Zzzz’s. It’s Good For Your Health!

Have you said “bye bye” to sleeping through the night?

Are you feeling exhausted or “running on stress hormones” all day?

Do not fear, I have some great tips (and an amazing recipe) for you!

The science of sleep is fascinating, complicated and growing

Sleep is this daily thing that we all do and yet we’re just beginning to understand all of the ways it helps us and all of the factors that can affect it.

Lack of sleep affects just about everything in your body and mind. People who get less sleep tend to be at higher risk for many health issues like diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer; not to mention effects like slower metabolism, weight gain, hormone imbalance and inflammation. And don’t forget the impact lack of sleep can have on moods, memory and decision-making skills.

Do you know that lack of sleep may even negate the health benefits of your exercise program?

OMG – What aspect of health does sleep not affect???

Knowing this, it’s easy to see the three main purposes of sleep:

  • To restore our body and mind. Our bodies repair, grow and even “detoxify” our brains while we sleep.
  • To improve our brain’s ability to learn and remember things, technically known as “synaptic plasticity”.
  • To conserve some energy so we’re not just actively “out and about” 24-hours a day, every day.

Do you know how much sleep adults need? It’s less than your growing kids need but you may be surprised that it’s recommended that all adults get 7 – 9 hours a night. For real!

Try not to skimp!

Tips for better sleep

  • The biggest tip is definitely to try to get yourself into a consistent sleep schedule. Make it a priority and you’re more likely to achieve it. This means turning off your lights 8 hours before your alarm goes off. Seven. Days. A. Week. I know weekends can easily throw this off but by making sleep a priority for a few weeks your body and mind will adjust and thank you for it.

 

  • Balance your blood sugar throughout the day. You know, eat less refined and processed foods and more whole foods (full of blood-sugar-balancing fiber). Choose the whole orange instead of the juice (or orange-flavoured snack). Make sure you’re getting some protein every time you eat.

 

  • During the day get some sunshine and exercise. These things tell your body it’s daytime; time for being productive, active and alert. By doing this during the day it will help you wind down more easily in the evening.

 

  • Cut off your caffeine and added sugar intake after 12pm. Whole foods like fruits and veggies are fine, it’s the “added” sugar we’re minimizing. Yes, this includes your beloved chai latte. Both caffeine and added sugar can keep your mind a bit more active than you want it to be come evening.

 

  • Have a relaxing bedtime routine that starts 1 hour before your “lights out” time (that is 8 – 10 hours before your alarm is set to go off). This would include dimming your artificial lights, nixing screen time and perhaps reading an (actual, not “e”) book or having a bath.

 

So how many of these tips can you start implementing today?

 

Recipe (Caffeine-free latte for your afternoon “coffee break”): Caffeine-Free Chai Latte

Serves 1-2

1 bag of rooibos chai tea (rooibos is naturally caffeine-free)

2 cups of boiling water

1 tablespoon tahini

1 tablespoon almond butter (creamy is preferred)

2 dates (optional)

 

Cover the teabag and dates (if using) with 2 cups of boiling water and steep for a few minutes.

Discard the tea bag & place tea, soaked dates, tahini & almond butter into a blender.

Blend until creamy.

Serve and Enjoy!

 

Tip: You can try this with other nut or seed butters to see which flavour combination you like the best. Cashew butter anyone?

 

References:

http://www.thepaleomom.com/gotobed/

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/hacking-sleep

Author avisha Categories Lifestyle, Recipes Posted on 0 Comments

Sleeping…A Cancer Fighting Powerhouse

The science of sleep is fascinating.

Sleep is, or at least should, be a part of our daily lives yet we’re just beginning to understand all of the ways it affects our health.

Lack of sleep can effect our mind and our body. People who get less sleep tend to be at higher risk for health issues like diabetes and heart disease not to mention effects like slower metabolism, weight gain, hormone imbalance and inflammation. Lack of sleep can effect our mood, our memory and decision-making skills.

And how well we sleep may also have a vital role in how well our body fights certain cancers.  Studies have shown that sleeping irregularities may suppress our immune system decreasing our ability to fight cancer.  As well, inadequate or irregular sleep can result in a deficiency of melatonin. Melatonin has been shown to have anti-proliferative effects in certain cancers like breast and colorectal cancers.

It is clear that getting a good night’s sleep needs to be a priority.  As adults we should strive to get 7 – 9 hours of sleep per night.

Tips for better sleep

  • The biggest tip is definitely to try to get yourself into a consistent sleep schedule. Make it a priority and you’re more likely to achieve it. Go to bed at the same time each evening.  Get a routine going.  It signals to your body that it’s sleep time.
  • Balance your blood sugar throughout the day. Eat less refined and processed foods and more whole foods full of blood-sugar-balancing fiber.  Make sure you’re getting some protein every time you eat.
  • During the day get some sunshine and exercise. These things tell your body it’s daytime; time for being productive, active and alert. By doing this during the day it will help you wind down more easily in the evening.
  • Sleep in a dark, cool room and keep your electronics out of the bedroom!

Make your bedroom a sanctuary.  A place of peace and calm where you can retreat and sleep for your better health.

 

Additional References

http://www.thepaleomom.com/gotobed/

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/hacking-sleep

 

 

 

 

Author avisha Categories Blog, Food & Nutrition, Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

Sleep and Your Gut Bacteria

Circadian rhythms are patterns of brainwave activity, hormones, cell regeneration and biological activities that occur on a daily basis. And sleeping well at the right time each day is essential to keeping the circadian rhythms functioning properly so we function properly too.

The fact that our microbes are actually the regulators of this function and that our sleep patterns are an issue for our microbes should not surprise us. They need us to rest so they can do their thing while we sleep and keep their balance as it should be.

There is also more news you might be interested in. Not having the right microbes may be lowering your metabolic rate while you sleep and this can lead to weight gain. This is based on a mouse study at UI Carver College of Medicine which found that mice given a drug that lowers beneficial bacteria, had a lower metabolic rate both when resting and when asleep, causing them to gain weight.

So what should you do? Should you work on sleeping better to help the microbes or should you work on your gut health to help you sleep better? The answer is to do both. There are number of strategies that can help.

To help reset your circadian rhythm:

  • Go to bed at a set time and get up at the same time as much as possible
  • Avoid bright lights near bedtime
  • Avoid eating or exercising close to bedtime
  • Sleep in a dark space as light tricks the body into thinking it is time to be awake
  • Develop a relaxing routine before bed whether it is taking a bed, deep breathing exercises or having a nice cup of herbal tea such as chamomile or valerian.

For those who have irregular work hours and therefore sleep schedules, consider talking to a practitioner about taking melatonin.

Diet also plays a role. In another mouse study, both high fat and low fat diets played a negative role in the function of circadian rhythms and they also altered the microbiome. Short-chain fatty acid production was lower, especially butyrate which is essential for circadian rhythm function. Butyrate is produced by beneficial colon bacteria from resistant starch found in complex carbohydrates such as potatoes, wheat, rice, legumes and sweet potatoes. To improve gut health:

  • Eat prebiotic foods, especially those with resistant starch
  • Take probiotics which can help melatonin levels and in turn, help restore circadian rhythms
  • Butyrate supplements are available if you are unsure as to how well you are producing it

Sleep is one more example of the potential problems caused by dysbiosis and why we should be focused on improving our gut health.

Author avisha Categories Lifestyle Posted on 0 Comments

5 Tips To Help You Get A Good Night’s Sleep

Consistently getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your good health on so many levels.  For instance sleep is essential for:

  • Healing and repairing your heart, blood vessels, cells and tissues
  • Detoxification
  • Weight management
  • Blood sugar management
  • Immune strengthing
  • Brain health and memory function

But what exactly is a good night’s sleep?  Well, it’s a combination of adequate duration coupled with experiencing the 4 phases of quality sleep.  According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep is experienced in 4 phases ending with Rapid Eye Movement (REM) and the stages repeat in order every 90-110 minutes as follows:

Stages 1 and 2 are a progression from light sleep through to a gradual slowing of brain waves. In Stage 3 we enter a deeper sleep. If we are awakened during this phase we may feel quite disoriented. Stage 4 is the REM phase. In this final stage our breathing quickens and our eyes move beneath our eyelids. This is our deepest stage of sleep where we can get our most powerful dreams.

So knowing the importance and the characteristics of a good night’s sleep, the question becomes how do we go about achieving it?  As they say there are many ways to skin a cat but here are my top 5 recommendations:

  1. Create a bedtime routine.  This will send a signal to your body that rest is coming and then those lovely sleepy time hormones will kick in.  For example, turn the lights down, brush your teeth and get in to your jammies at the same time each night.
  2. Turn all electronics off 1/2 hour before bedtime and keep them out of the bedroom.  This will allow your brain to settle down for the night.
  3. Sleep in a cool, dark room.
  4. Do not eat right before bedtime.  You want your body to be in repair mode not digestion mode.
  5. Once you are in bed do some deep breathing to slow everything down.  I always recommend Dr. Weil’s 4-7-8 technique.  Breathe in for 4.  Hold for 7.  Breathe out for 8. Repeat this a few times.

Start working these tips in to your nightly routine and let your good sleep get to work!

 

 

 

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