Tagged: Your Guide to Better Sleep

This week was filled with interesting research that I think can be very valuable for all of us. There were three sleep studies that I think you will enjoy and get great benefit from reading.

• Sleeping pill use has been associated with an increase in blood pressure.
• Insomnia has now been genetically identified
• Sleep and the Menstrual Cycle, new evidence of disruption

Looking at this first study, I thought it was fascinating that in patients who were above 60 and diagnosed with insomnia, 21% of them had to increase their blood pressure medications.

Unfortunately, we do not know which medications were being used.

Researchers think there may be a few reasons why this could be occurring. First is that when you use a pharmaceutical for sleep, many of them decrease your drive to breathe. This is called respiratory drive and it can be compromised when taking certain sleeping pills like Valium, Restoril, Xanax, etc. This can lead to sleep apnea, and undiagnosed sleep apnea can lead to an elevation in blood pressure. There was also discussion that some of …

This week was filled with a little travel, and some relaxing down time for reading. I really enjoy Entrepreneur magazine and last week was a story on why Entrepreneurs need more sleep. I liked this idea so much that I have decided to expand upon it a little more here because let’s face it in one way or another we are all Entrepreneurs (bake sale fundraisers to tech startups).

One of the most famous entrepreneurs who has talked openly about her significant sleep problems in the past is Arianna Huffington. She tells her story of when she basically collapses from exhaustion and cuts open her cheek. Another well known entrepreneur who may still currently be struggling with sleep issues is Elon Musk. I wrote about him previously where he said:

“It is often a choice of no sleep or Ambien.”

These are critical situations people fall into when they are working 24/7, like when they start up a new business or are scaling a company, and we want to try to avoid them. There are three areas entrepreneurs’ …

I call this newsletter the Sunday Snoozer because many relax Sunday and stay in bed later. As I was thinking of that, I realized that I don’t think I have ever really explained the dangers of the Snooze Button.

It’s an old pastime, likely from your high school days. The alarm blares, you, half dazed, slap the clock, hoping it will stop so you can get some much needed rest. Only it goes off again what feels like seconds later, even if it’s really 7-9 minutes later, and after the fourth time, you’re late for school! Now you’re an adult, and the same tradition seems to hold, at least for many.

So why was the snooze something that you started using back in high school and probably shouldn’t use now?

It’s all based on your Chronotype, of course.

Remember most of us were a WOLF (aka Night Owls) during high school, because that is how our biology works. So of course, we needed extra prodding and pushing to get up in the morning, because our melatonin faucet was still flowing …

I wrote last week answering the question,
how many calories do
our bodies burn during sleep? Contrary
to what many people think, sleep is not an inactive state. During sleep our
bodies are doing lots of important work—repairing cells and tissues, restoring
full, healthy function to our immune system, consolidating memories and
rebooting the neural cells and networks of the brain. We’re burning calories
the whole time. For a 150-pound person, the estimated calorie burn over a 7-hour
night of rest is just over 440 calories. That’s a 40-minute jog on a treadmill!

Getting plenty of high-quality rest is an
important—and still overlooked– factor in weight control. Here are some of the
ways you can harness your sleep routine and your overnight rest to help your
body burn more calories and stay metabolically healthier.

Activate your body’s ‘thinning’ fats

It might surprise you to learn there
isn’t just one type of fat—and certain kinds of fat actually work to burn
energy, rather than storing it. Brown fat and beige fat both appear to have
significant metabolic benefits. In contrast …

This is one of my favorite times of year… March Madness!

My son and I love to make our brackets, watch the games, and
root for my team vs. his!

That said, I started to think.

I know that sleep can be a BIG factor for both team and
individual performance, and I have seen a few research studies looking at the
football season, and selected games (Monday Night Football), but this is March
Madness we are talking about!

There was a great article from the University
of Michigan Newsletter about a sleep specialist there, who really looked at
all aspects:

First of all, she correctly identifies circadian rhythms as
a key factor. I have written quite a bit about circadian rhythms
over the years. She also correctly identified that there are times in a 24-hour
cycle where performance can be enhanced or decline.

It’s cool to see this hit the mainstream since that’s what
my Power of When book is all about.

Looking at some of the basics, research shows that a peak time for athletic performance is
generally …

My first TED Talk was out this week and I’m really excited. If you haven’t had a chance to watch it yet, take a look this morning. It will help you understand how to do everything better based on hormonal timing. It was really fun to be able to do a TED Talk. I’ve always enjoyed watching them, so being a part of the program was a great honor.

If you know someone who’ll enjoy my talk, please share it with them. I’ll really appreciate it.

As we move into spring, daylight lasts longer, and the days get warmer.  This means people regularly ask me what to drink before bed when it’s hotter outside because my recommendation for a nighttime beverage is Guava Leaf Tea. Despite the change in temperature, my answer is still Guava Leaf Tea. I understand those same people don’t want something hot before bed (I’m from the South and forget iced tea isn’t a staple for everyone) but here’s the thing, Guava Leaf Tea is great on ice. Simply brew it as usual, let …

This week was a ton of fun. I was honored to be asked to be on The Today Show for the first two days of Sleep Awareness Week. It was amazing! The premise of day one was sleep gadgets. I picked some sleep items for the show staff to use for several days and then they’d report back their experience. The Anchors were fantastic and followed my advice. The show was fantastic, you can watch it here.

Here is a great Instagram post from Carson Daly using Guava Leaf Tea with Raw Honey AND his Blue Light Blocking Glasses:

The second show was all about dreams, you can watch that one here.

Two fascinating articles I read on the plane flight home were:

Napping May Be As Good As Blood Pressure Medication For Lowering Your Blood Pressure

An article on Medical News Today reported that a research group from the Asklepieion General Hospital in Voula, Greece conducted a study and found that taking a nap at midday can effectively help people lower their blood pressure levels.

“Midday …