Latest / From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing / Sleep Your Way to Healing

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Sleep Your Way to Healing · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:08
  Hello and welcome to From Recovery to Wellness.
• 0:12
  I'm Arnita and today's episode is called Sleep
• 0:15
  Your Way to Healing. If you're in recovery, physically,
• 0:19
  emotionally, or both, this episode is for you.
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  Sleep is often treated like something optional,
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  something you will get. too when everything else
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  is done but the truth is sleep is not a luxury
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  sleep is medicine sleep is repair sleep is how
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  your body heals today we're going to talk about
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  why sleep is essential to healing how to recognize
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  when your sleep may not be restorative and how
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  to gently support deeper more healing rest without
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  pressure or perfection so let's begin So you
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  may wonder why sleep is essential for healing.
• 1:02
  Sleep is not one long passive state. It happens
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  in cycles and each stage has a purpose. During
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  deep non -REM rapid eye movement sleep, your
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  body focuses on physical repair. This is when
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  tissues rebuild, inflammation decreases, and
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  your immune system strengthens. Growth hormone
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  is released, the same hormone responsible for
• 1:30
  wound healing and cellular repair. On the other
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  hand, during REM sleep, which again is rapid
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  eye movement sleep, your brain processes emotions,
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  stress, and memories. This is essential for nervous
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  system regulation and emotional healing and overall
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  brain health. When sleep is disrupted or shortened,
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  These healing processes don't fully happen. Instead,
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  the body stays in a stress response state, which
• 2:02
  slows recovery. Sleep also helps regulate cortisol,
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  your stress hormone. Without enough quality sleep,
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  cortisol stays elevated. Inflammation increases
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  and healing takes longer. When you don't, healing
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  has to wait. So did you know that while you're
• 2:23
  in deep sleep, your body releases growth hormone
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  that helps repair tissues, heal wounds, and reduce
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  inflammation? Research also shows that people
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  who don't get enough quality sleep take longer
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  to recover from illness, surgery, and even emotional
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  stress. Sleep isn't passive rest. Sleep is actually
• 2:44
  active healing. So there are signs when your
• 2:48
  sleep may not be supporting your healing. So
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  how do you know? If your sleep isn't as restorative
• 2:54
  as your body needs, some common signs include
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  waking up tired, even after a full night's sleep,
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  feeling foggy, emotionally sensitive, or easily
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  overwhelmed, slow healing after illness or surgery,
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  persistent aches, inflammation, or discomfort,
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  Feeling tired but wired at night. If any of this
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  sounds familiar, this is not a failure. These
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  are signs that your body is asking for support.
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  So how do you create sleep conditions that support
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  healing? Since healing doesn't come from just
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  doing everything perfectly, it comes from small
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  consistent support. Consistency does matter.
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  Going to bed and waking up around the same time
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  each day helps regulate your internal clock.
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  Light matters. Dimming lights in the evening
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  and limiting screen time before bed supports
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  melatonin, the hormone that signals sleep. Your
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  environment matters. A cool, dark, quiet space
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  supports a deeper rest. Eye mask, blackout curtains,
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  white noise, or a fan can help. Create a simple
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  wind down routine. This could be deep breathing,
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  gentle stretching, journaling, prayer, or quiet
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  sitting. Sleep during recovery and chronic conditions,
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  if you are healing from any of those, like surgery,
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  injury, or managing a chronic condition, sleep
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  becomes even more important. Deep sleep supports
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  tissue repair, immune function, and inflammation
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  control. For heart health sleep helps regulate
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  blood pressure and heart rhythm. For emotional
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  healing sleep gives your nervous system a chance
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  to reset and your brain has a chance to relax.
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  Tracking your sleep alongside how you feel can
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  help you notice patterns and patterns give you
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  information. That's why it's so important to
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  pay attention and listen to your body. Now let's
• 4:59
  summarize because there are some key takeaways.
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  To note, sleep is foundational to healing. Quality
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  sleep supports physical repair, emotional balance,
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  and immune strength. Small gentle changes can
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  make a meaningful difference. Your body is not
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  broken. It's communicating, rejuvenating, and
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  healing. Now, I have a reflection question for
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  you. And I would just suggest that you ask yourself.
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  and just take your time and think about this.
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  What is one small change I could make to my sleep
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  routine that would better support my healing
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  right now? Not everything at once, not perfection,
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  just one gentle shift. Healing often begins there.
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  Now what I normally do is I begin to do, even
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  just starting last week, I'm always wound up
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  when it's time to go to bed because I'm used
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  to being a night owl and an early riser in which
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  that was has not been healthy at all for me and
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  so now what I began to start doing last week
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  was to start just thinking about getting ready
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  for bed a couple of hours early before it's actually
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  time for me to tuck in And I keep that on my
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  mind. I always, you know, I'm paying attention
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  to the time on the clock to make sure that, you
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  know, I've got my head on the pillow and lights
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  are out at that time that I have designated to
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  begin my sleep for the night. So that's my one
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  small thing that I do. And if there's something,
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  and it has, I will say it has made a difference.
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  It has really made a difference. And so just
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  ask yourself and just think about that. What
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  is one small change you could make to your sleep
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  routine that would better support your healing
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  right now? And then you can leave, you can DM
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  me and leave your messages or your feedback if
• 7:08
  you want to share in my email, send me an email.
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  And that information, the email will be in the
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  notes below. now we'll move on to the focus of
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  the week so we can't forget this week's food
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  focus which is dark chocolate dark chocolate
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  is a high quality dark chocolate i'm sorry is
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  ideally a high quality dark chocolate is 70 %
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  or should be 70 % cacao also known as cocoa or
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  70 % or higher which contains magnesium This
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  supports muscle relaxation and nervous system
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  balance. It also contains antioxidants that help
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  reduce inflammation and support heart health.
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  When enjoyed mindfully a square or two earlier
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  in the day or after dinner, dark chocolate can
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  be calming, especially when it replaces more
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  stimulating or sugary desserts. Now pay attention
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  to timing and how your body responds. This is
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  about nourishment not restriction all things
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  again in moderation Now this is the end of our
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  segment and I thank you for spending this time
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  with me today If you'd like additional support
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  you can download my free 30 -day sleep tracker
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  The link is in the notes below. It's designed
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  to help you notice patterns and support your
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  healing gently without pressure If this episode
• 8:39
  resonated with you, consider sharing it with
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  someone who may need permission to rest. And
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  as we close, remember this, sleep creates the
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  foundation for healing, but what we nourish our
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  bodies with during the day also plays a powerful
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  role. In the next episode, we'll be talking about
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  nutrition for heart health, not diets, not restriction,
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  but gentle, supportive nourishment that works
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  with your body. If sleep is the foundation, nutrition
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  is one of the building blocks. So until next
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  time, sleep well, heal gently, take care of yourself,
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  and be well.