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Get Your Best Sleep Episode 4: Habit Overhaul! · The Bridges and Beacons Podcast

• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, hello, hello, and welcome to the Mystic Nerd Squad podcast.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Kelly Meyerson, here for our last uh part in this series on getting your best sleep.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: And I saved the best and probably most painful for last.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: I have to laugh because I know as soon as I hit the topic of habits related to sleep, people start to get a little bit uh reluctant because I'm asking you to let go of some things that probably you're pretty connected to.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: So fear not.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: As I said before, this is going to be an easy peasy one step at a time.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: So when we're talking about our habits, these are not just the things we do right before bed, but leading up to sleep and even really on a 24-hour cycle to support your sleep or not.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're someone who believes you might have habits that are impacting your sleep and you've been a little bit hesitant in starting to make those changes, let's just take a deep breath together, breathing in, breathing out, it's gonna be okay.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're following on with the series and you've checked out the previous three episodes, you know, we talked about your environment, we talked about your mindset and what you can do if you're more of a busy brain.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: And today we're gonna talk about all those things we enjoy so much.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: So the first thing I'm gonna jump right in with is caffeine.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're anything like me, I wake up excited for my cup of coffee.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I have learned that if that cup of coffee becomes two or three, and if it occurs afternoon, I have a very difficult time sleeping.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes it's even I can fall asleep, but I wake up frequently.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: And that's because caffeine stays in your system for up to eight to 12 hours.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's different for everyone.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, and even those of you that might say, hey, listen, I can drink a cup of coffee and I sleep totally fine, maybe, but more than likely there is some impact on the quality of your sleep.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: We have to go into some deeper quality of sleep over the night.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: And so if you've had any caffeine that could be interfering with it, it could be causing more times that you're waking up, so you're not completing sleep cycles.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: And definitely when caffeine wears off and your body becomes tired, you can end up feeling more fatigued.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: So trying to limit that caffeine intake, and it's not just coffee, of course, that's that's my personal favorite way to get my caffeine in the morning, but it could be tea, it could be chocolate, it could be other caffeinated beverages like sodas.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: So trying to avoid those eight to 12 hours before bedtime is going to make it more easy for you to fall asleep.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: The second habit, which is kind of a surprising one and maybe wouldn't be the first thing you think about, is exercise.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: So, what happens when we exercise, for those of you who love to exercise, especially aerobic exercise or high impact exercise, you're releasing a lot of endorphins into your body and it's making you feel very alert and awake.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: So you want to avoid doing that type of exercise within four hours of bedtime.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, these are statistics based on the sleep research.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if you were interested in learning more about this, I'm not a sleep researcher myself, but one of my favorite people that I follow is Dr.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Matthew Walker.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: And he wrote this incredible book called Why We Sleep.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: And there are just dozens of research studies about things like the impact of caffeine and exercise, etc., um, and how they impact your sleep.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're like me and you love to nerd out on those kind of details, go for it.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: Otherwise, I've already done the research and spent the time reading the books for you.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: You're welcome.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so the next um item, also not a very popular one, is two to three hours before bed, stopping any light that's getting into your eyes, such as from technology or TV screens.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the light that comes from screens and even from some lights, you know, a lot of our LED lights is very stimulating to your brain and it interferes with your body's ability to release its natural melatonin, which helps you to start to settle into sleep.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I know two to three hours before bedtime, everybody is not necessarily in the habit of not being on technology or not watching TV.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: But if you are somebody who's struggling with sleep, this could be something that is interfering.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the American Medical Association also makes this recommendation, especially for children.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're a parent and you have kids in your house, you want to be aware of how much the technology is impacting your kids and giving them those breaks from technology a couple hours before bedtime.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: I know that seems very hard and very painful, but these are the routines that are gonna help them to get better quality sleep and hopefully better quality sleep for you too.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: Um, another bonus item is fasting before bedtime.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: And so um I'm gonna say this is more for the adult population, not necessarily for children, um, but for adults, if you're eating close into bedtime, snacking after dinner, it could be that there's still some food in your stomach and your body is spending a lot of energy digesting.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And so it makes it a little harder for you to settle into sleep.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: I personally find that this helps me to sleep better.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're someone who experiences any kind of reflux, um, it also helps to not be eating so close into bed and consider how much liquid you're drinking before bed as well, because obviously too much liquid means you're gonna be up in the middle of the night using the restroom.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: So just a final thought on habits.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: It's also great to have a routine for bedtime.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: And so whether this is just a quick two to three steps, um, finding those things that really make your bedtime feel more like a sacred practice.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: So is it washing your face, is it taking a hot bath or a hot shower?
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: Ways that you can relax yourself, relax your mind, relax your body so that you're ready for sleep and you're less likely to procrastinate sleep.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: I know parents fall into that category a lot of times because sometimes the only quiet time we find for ourselves is when everybody else has gone to sleep.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_00: And we're sort of at the crossroads of do I go to bed and get enough sleep or do I actually have time for myself?
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're struggling with figuring out that balance as a parent, how to get enough sleep and how to have enough time for yourself, I'm gonna encourage you to go down into the show notes.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: I have a link for my calendarly page and you can schedule a 15-minute sleep check with me.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_00: And let's see if we can figure out for you where you can arrange your schedule to allow not only for you to get a great night of sleep, but some time for yourself as well.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because overarching my love of sleep is a true, true, true belief that your self-care and your well-being is so important and foundational for having a great life, not only a great night of sleep.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that this series has been really helpful for you.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I would love if you would reach out to me and let me know what were some of the tips and tricks that really worked for you.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: You can go ahead and send me an email or head over to Instagram or Facebook and let me know.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_00: What did you think?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: What worked for you?
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Or tell me, Kelly, you got this wrong here.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: I love to hear all of these comments and thoughts.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: All right, all.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you get a great night of sleep and thanks for joining me.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, be well, sleep well.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: Take care.