How is your SLEEP?

What is your sleep routine each night?

Are you getting to bed on time to be asleep by 10pm??

Do you wake up in the middle of the night?

Do you wake up refreshed or depressed?

There are many simple lifestyle habits you can implement for FREE into your household to improve everyone’s sleep at night which will help improve in all the other areas of “The WHOLESTIC Method”.

Quality sleep impacts…

• what you eat and how you eat
• how you exercise session is that day- energy levels
• your ability to cope with stressors
• your digestion, gut health and immune system could be impacted with lack of sleep because of the food you eat and your stress levels
• your mood- happiness and laughter may be impacted if you are too sleepy and exhausted!

What are you doing in the morning? How you start the day will impact how you end the day – your quality of sleep can be improve by starting your day with spending more time outside at sunrise.

What are you doing in the evening?

If you exercise too intensely in the evening – you may impact your sleep by increasing the stress hormone cortisol and adrenaline.

If you eat too much food and the wrong types of foods… and too close to bed then you may impact your sleep.

If you are on your computer and electronic devices before bed with the blue light coming off the screen – then you may impact your sleep by signaling your brain that is it daytime!

If you work too late at night or read stressful emails…or watch stressful, depressing news, then you may be impacting your sleep.

What can you do to improve your sleep hygiene routine tonight?

I found this infographic for tips … from www.restedlife.com

Here is a list of sleep “hacks” to improve your quality of sleep from the www.sleep.org …

• Be Mindful. Shortly before bedtime, try a relaxation strategy that incorporates mindfulness, such as yoga, deep breathing, or meditation, all of which boost sleep time and quality.

• Skip Screens. The blue light emitted by digital devices—including TVs, phones, laptops, and tablets—can throw off your body’s internal clock, so avoid them before bedtime. Finding a tech-free way to wind down can help soothe stress.

• Sip Chamomile Tea. This herb can help lower anxiety, making it easier to fall asleep.

• Take a Hot Bath or Shower. A pre-bedtime soak is relaxing. Plus, going from warm water into a cooler bedroom will cause your body temperature to drop, naturally making you feel sleepy.

Do Some Leg Work. While exercising right before bed can sometimes keep you awake, gentle leg exercises are unlikely to negatively affect your sleep. Moves like leg lifts and squats help bring flood flow down to your legs; interestingly, this can have a soothing effect and make it easier to drift off.

Count Sheep. It might sound a little silly, but this actually works. The reason? Keeping your brain focused on one thing helps you power down. If counting sheep isn’t for you, try focusing on your breathing, consciously taking deep breaths in and out, until you feel calmer.

Picture Yourself Asleep. By envisioning yourself in a peaceful sleep, you’ll instantly put yourself in a state of relaxation. For extra calm, clench and release your muscles, starting with your face and working down to your feet.

Work Out Early. Exercise is a great stress reliever and has been shown to improve the quality of sleep, particularly for insomniacs. But make sure your more intense workouts aren’t too close to bedtime. If you find that your treadmill runs are keeping you awake at night, hit the gym at least three hours before you turn in.

Worry Earlier in the Day. When your mind is racing with concerns while you’re trying to fall asleep, that can make it nearly impossible to drift off. Instead, dedicate 15 minutes during the day to process these thoughts. Writing a to-do list or thinking about solutions can be a healthy way to deal with stress and prevent it from interfering with sleep later.

What are some of my simple “The WHOLESTIC Method SELF-CARE Tips” that you can start implementing into your life today?

1. Nutrition: eat real food…avoid inflammatory foods as sugar, gluten-grains, soy, corn, peanuts, vegetable oils and processed foods. Focus on WHAT you are eating but also WHEN (16/8 IF), HOW (chewing your food, PNS, focused…), and WHY (emotional and mindless eating vs. mindful eating). Eat organic as much as you can and avoid GMO and factory made foods – including factory animal foods.
2. Exercise: I call it the “Goldilocks Effect” …not too much and not too little. I would suggest limited or eliminating high intensity interval training if you are experiencing more total chronic stress at this time. Less is more. Quality over Quality. Get outdoors as much as possible for fresh air. Lift weights or use bodyweight for ANABOLIC exercise to build up and less CATABOLIC exercise that breaks you down. Balance. Strength work, core work, yoga, bike, run, hike, and stability.
3. Sleep: stop eating three hours before bed (7pm or earlier) and get to bed around 9pm so you are asleep by 10pm. See suggestions above.
4. Stress: make a list of your external stressors including toxic energy robbers, environmental and emotional stressors. Next, select your top three or five stressors and make a list of what you can do to reduce or eliminate those sources of stress. You can order functional lab tests to run at home (saliva, stool and urine) via a FDN Practitioner to help start you investigation into identifying your unique external HIDDEN internal stressors (that I keep discussing on my blog, podcast episodes and social media posts!). Meditate, breathe, pause, reset and reboot the WHOLE you! Find more “rest and reset” time.
5. Movement & Mobility: get outside for your 10,000 steps per day. Move more throughout the day…set an alarm to get up each hour and move, stretch, bend, reach, and open up. I decided that the new meaning of “breakfast”, “lunch” and “dinner” = WALK outside or just go outside and move. Eat when hungry- not by the time of day. Let outside walking be your “meal”.
6. Digestion & Gut Health = Immunity & Resiliency. See my many other blog posts on the connection of chronic stress to digestion to gut health to immune system to inflammation. In order to improve your immune system, we need to improve our digestion, gut health and remove hidden internal stressors that are contributing to dysfunction as pathogens. Test and not guess!
7. Hydration: avoid excess dehydrating beverages as coffee, alcohol, soda, juice and other caffeinated beverages. Also limit your coffee to two cups per day and avoid after 12pm (2pm max) or else the caffeine will still be in your system when you are trying to fall asleep. Drink filtered, clean water (avoid tap water) and add minerals to help hydration in your cells. You goal should be to consume 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water per day plus more if consuming caffeinated beverages. I try to avoid drinking liquids at night time before bed to avoid waking up to go to the bathroom at night – plus avoid drinking during your meal. Instead drink before and after your meals in order not to dilute your stomach acid.
8. Happiness: my goal is to make someone else smile, laugh and be happy each day as that makes me happy! If you smile and say hello to someone else or make them laugh… it is rewarding! I am making an effort to write in my “Gratitude” journal each night with my list of three or more items/experiences that I am grateful for that day. I also set my intentions for the following day and write them down in my journal. During our “stay at home” requirement in life right now- I am making an effort to “Face Time” a friend or family member each day! Reach out and make someone smile today!

More to come on www.debbiepotts.net and my future new “SELF CARE” Ebook with “The WHOLESTIC Method” eight elements.

Take care of the WHOLE you,

Debbie