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Racing Heart at 3 AM? Here's What's Really Happening · Create The Best Me

• 0:01
  It starts the exact same way every single night.
• 0:06
  You fall asleep, fine.
• 0:08
  You are exhausted, but then it happens.
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  You don't just wake up.
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  You are jolted, awake.
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  It's 2: 58 AM The house is completely silent, but inside your chest, it sounds like a drum line.
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  It's 2: Your heart is pounding, you are sweating.
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  It's 2: Your mind instantly starts racing.
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  It's 2: And the first thought isn't, oh, I'm awake.
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  It's 2: The first thought is often, is something wrong with my heart?
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  It's 2: Am I dying?
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  It's 2: Is this a panic attack?
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  It's 2: If you're a woman over 50, and this is happening to you, I need you to listen very carefully right now.
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  It's 2: You're not going crazy.
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  It's 2: You're not having a heart attack.
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  It's 2: And most importantly, this is usually not anxiety.
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  It's 2: Here at Create The Best Me, we don't just talk about aging gracefully.
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  It's 2: We talk about practical solutions for things that scare us, and nothing is
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  scarier than waking up at 3: 00 AM.
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  scarier than waking up at 3: Today I'm going to show you that what you are feeling isn't an emotional problem, it's a biological fuel gauge error.
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  scarier than waking up at 3: Your body isn't attacking you.
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  scarier than waking up at 3: It's actually trying to save you.
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  scarier than waking up at 3: I'm going to explain exactly why this happens at 3:00 AM specifically, and then I'm going to give you my three part nighttime rescue protocol, including the one simple change to your evening routine that can stop the pounding heart before it even starts.
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  scarier than waking up at 3: So, why does this happen?
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  scarier than waking up at 3: And why does it always seem to happen at 2:00 AM and 4:00 AM?
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  scarier than waking up at 3: To understand this, we need to stop looking at your brain and start looking at your blood sugar.
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  scarier than waking up at 3: Here's the scenario.
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  You eat dinner at six or 7: 00 PM maybe if you're trying to be healthy, so you have a light salad, or maybe you skip carbs because you're watching your waistline.
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  You go to bed at, let's say, 10: 00 PM.
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  By 3: 00 AM it's been about eight to nine hours since you last ate.
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  By 3: Your blood sugar levels are naturally dropping as you sleep.
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  By 3: Now in our twenties or thirties, our bodies could handle this drop easily.
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  By 3: Our liver had plenty of stored energy to trickle into our bloodstream to keep us stable until breakfast.
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  By 3: But in midlife, thanks to fluctuating estrogen and progesterone, our sensitivity to insulin changes.
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  By 3: Our liver's ability to store and release that energy isn't as efficient.
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  So, 3: 00 AM hits your blood sugar dips slightly too low.
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  So, 3: Your brain, which needs glucose to survive, senses this drop and says" emergency, we're running out of fuel!" And your brain needs to get that blood sugar up fast.
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  So, 3: So it sends a signal to your adrenal glands to release a surge of two hormones, cortisol and adrenaline.
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  So, 3: Think about that.
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  So, 3: Adrenaline is the "fight or flight" hormone.
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  So, 3: It is designed to help us run from a bear.
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  So, 3: So your body dumps a shot of run from the bear juice into your blood while you're fast asleep in a dark room.
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  So, 3: This is why you wake up with a pounding heart.
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  So, 3: You aren't anxious about your to-do list.
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  So, 3: You are having a physiological reactions to adrenaline.
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  So, 3: The anxiety you feel after you wake up?
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  So, 3: That's just your brain trying to make sense of the physical sensation.
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  So, 3: Your brain feels the racing heart and thinks, " Wow, we must be really worried about something," and it starts looking for a problem to solve.
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  So, 3: But the root cause wasn't worry.
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  So, 3: It was fuel cash.
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  So, 3: Now that we know the "why," that this is blood sugar crash, the solution becomes obvious.
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  So, 3: We have to prevent the crash.
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  So, 3: This brings us to strategy number one.
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  So, 3: This is going to be controversial because it's going against most every diet rule you've been told for the last 20 years.
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  So, 3: I want you to eat before bed.
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  So, 3: This is called "Safety Snack." I know, I know.
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  So, 3: We've been programmed to believe that eating after 7:00 PM makes you fat.
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  So, 3: Or maybe you're practicing intermittent fasting and you close your eating window early.
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  So, 3: But here's the truth for women in midlife: If fasting for 14 hours causes
• 5:19
  a cortisol strike at 3: 00 AM that wakes you up and wrecks your sleep, that stress is doing more damage to your waistline than a few calories ever would.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: Cortisol is the enemy of weight loss.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: Sleep is the best fat burner we have.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: If we have to choose between perfect fasting window and a full night's sleep, I take sleep anytime.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: So, what is a Safety Snack?
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  a cortisol strike at 3: We're not talking about a bowl of ice cream or a bag of chips.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: Those will spike your sugar and make the crash worse.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: We need a small combination of complex carbs and high quality fat or protein.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: The carb gives us a slow release of fuel.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: The fat and protein anchors it so it lasts all night.
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  a cortisol strike at 3: Here are three of my favorites.
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  The classic: half a banana with a tablespoon of almond butter.
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  The savory: a small handful of walnuts and a few organic apple slices.
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  The simple: a few ounces of leftover chicken or turkey.
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  The simple: Try this for three nights, about 30 to 45 minutes before you go to sleep.
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  The simple: Have a small Safety Snack.
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  The simple: You are essentially filling up the gas tank just enough so that the empty
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  fuel light doesn't flash on at 3: 00 AM.
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  fuel light doesn't flash on at 3: Strategy, number two, addressing the second biggest trigger
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  for the 3: 00 AM wake up heat.
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  for the 3: Even if you don't think you are having hot flashes, your body's temperature naturally fluctuates at night.
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  for the 3: In perimenopause, our internal thermostat gets a little broken.
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  for the 3: When your body temperature rises too high, it triggers a very similar danger signal to the brain as low blood sugar.
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  for the 3: It releases and you guessed it, adrenaline and cortisol to wake up so you can cool down.
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  for the 3: So if you're waking up kicking the covers off, or if you just feel buzzing and hot, we need to fix the environment.
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  for the 3: Here's a checklist, I use.
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  The ambient temperature: Your room needs to be cooler than you think.
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  The ambient temperature: 65 to 67 degrees Fahrenheit is the sweet spot for menopausal sleep.
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  The layering system: Stop using one giant heavy duvet.
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  The layering system: You need layers, A sheet, a light cotton blanket, and then a heavy throw at the foot of your bed.
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  The layering system: This gives you control.
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  The layering system: When you wake up hot, you can peel back one layer without freezing.
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  The layering system: When you wake up cold, because the sweat dries, you can pull one up.
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  Material matters: If you are sleeping in polyester or cheap satin, you are sleeping in a plastic wrap.
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  Material matters: You need 100% cotton, bamboo, or linen.
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  Material matters: Your skin needs to breathe.
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  Material matters: If you combine the safety snack to stabilize the fuel with a cool room to stabilize the temperature, you eliminate 90% of the biological triggers that jolt you awake.
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  Material matters: But what if it happens anyways?
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  Material matters: You did the snack, you cooled the room, but here you are, it's
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  3: 15 AM and your heart is racing.
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  3: Strategy number three to the rescue protocol.
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  3: The biggest mistake we make in this moment is we lay there and worry about being awake.
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  3: We look at the clock.
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  We do the math: " If I fall asleep now, I'll get three hours... oh no, now I'll only get two hours." This is called the "Second Arrow." The first arrow is waking up.
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  We do the math: The second arrow is the stress you pile on top of it.
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  We do the math: We need to turn off the adrenal alarm manually.
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  We do the math: We are going to do a technique right now called the Physiological Sigh.
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  We do the math: This is scientifically proven to offload CO2 and tell your heart to slow down.
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  We do the math: I want you to try this with me right now.
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  We do the math: We are going to take two inhales through the nose, one big one, and then a tiny sip of air on top, and then a long, slow exhale through our mouth.
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  We do the math: Ready?
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  We do the math: Inhale Now sip a little more air, a long, slow exhale out the mouth.
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  We do the math: Like you're blowing through a straw.
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  We do the math: Let's do it again.
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  We do the math: Inhale.
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  We do the math: Now a sip, a little more air and then a long, slow exhale out our mouth.
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  We do the math: Let's do it again.
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  We do the math: Inhale.
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  We do the math: Now sip a little more air.
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  We do the math: And a long, slow exhale out of our mouth.
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  We do the math: Let's do it again.
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  We do the math: Inhale.
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  We do the math: Now sip a little more air, and now a long, slow exhale out of our mouth.
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  We do the math: Do you feel that?
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  We do the math: That drop in your shoulders?
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  We do the math: That is your nervous system shifting from" Fight or Flight" to "Reset and Digest." When you wake up with that racing heart, do 10 of these immediately.
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  We do the math: Don't check your phone.
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  We do the math: Don't check the clock.
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  We do the math: Just breathe.
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  I want you to remember this: Your body's changing and it requires a new owner's manual.
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  I want you to remember this: The thing that worked at 30 doesn't work at 50, and that's okay.
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  I want you to remember this: You aren't broken because you need a bedtime snack.
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  I want you to remember this: You aren't broken because you need to breathe at 3:00 AM.
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  I want you to remember this: You are just evolving.
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  I want you to remember this: Try the Safety Snacks tonight.
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  I want you to remember this: Set your thermostat to 65.
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  And let me know in the comments: Does your wake-up call happen at a specific time?
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  Is this always at 3: 00 AM or is it at 2:00 AM?
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  Is this always at 3: I wanna hear your patterns.
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  Is this always at 3: If you would like to learn more about this topic, you can find that information at createthebestme.com/ep151.
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  Is this always at 3: And if you're looking for what to do when you actually get out of bed, to start your day without anxiety, you need to watch this video right here where I walk you through my anti-stress morning routine.
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  Is this always at 3: Let's work together in creating the best version of ourselves, and I will see you in the next video.
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  Is this always at 3: Thank you for watching.
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  Is this always at 3: Catch you next week.
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  Is this always at 3: Bye for now.