Balancing Health In The Absence of Sleep

Ever wondered how to stay sane and healthy when you're awake for 32 hours straight? In this episode of the Simplicity of Wellness podcast, I recount my recent sleepless adventure in London. Despite my usual resilience to jet lag, this trip threw me for a loop, leaving me wide awake and battling the effects of severe sleep deprivation. Discover the real-life impact of sleep loss on hunger, cravings, energy levels, and mental well-being, and learn why it's crucial to grant your body self-compassion during these challenging times.

Tune in as I share insights backed by experience and science on how to navigate the pitfalls of sleep deprivation without falling into unhealthy patterns. From understanding your body’s natural reactions to practical tips on restoring balance, this episode is packed with valuable information to help you manage your wellness journey, even when life disrupts your sleep. Whether you're a frequent traveler or just someone striving for better sleep, this episode offers the guidance you need to keep your health on track.

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast. I'm your host, board-certified holistic nutritionist and professional life coach, amy White. The purpose of this podcast is to share information that you can use to become leaner, stronger and healthier by losing weight, shedding inches, maintaining muscle and managing your mind, all while living your normal busy life in this modern, sugar-filled world. Hello simplifiers, today I want to talk about sleep, and I'm going to start with my story of terrible sleep. Our son is living in London for the next seven months, so we flew to London last week to visit. The flight from the West Coast is 10 and a half hours. We had to drive three hours to the airport, then wait around and then fly 10 and a half hours. Our plane took off at 3 30 pm pacific time and we arrived in London at 10 30 am. Basically, I was awake for 32 straight hours, really more because I didn't sleep well when I did finally get to go to bed. Generally I sleep pretty well and haven't ever really noticed jet lag from time changes, not this time. I pretty much didn't sleep the entire time we were there. I remember feeling so awake at 11.30 pm and then still at 2 am. It was kind of laughable, I think, if I'm being generous, I maybe got about four hours of sleep each night. All in all, I felt fine and the lack of sleep didn't negatively impact our visit.

Speaker 1: 1:33

We flew home Again. This was a long stretch of awake time. I did not sleep a wink on the airplane. Good news turns out, I can entertain myself very well for 10 and a half straight hours. We got home and that night was great. I slept amazing. The next two nights not so much.

Speaker 1: 1:54

I do track my sleep with an Oura Ring, so I have some data to validate this lack of sleep that I was having, or that I was believing that I was having. My Oura Ring indicated that I was not wrong I was having, or that I was believing that I was having. My aura ring indicated that I was not wrong. I was not sleeping well. The reason I wanted to tell you this story is because I want to share what happens to the body when we don't get enough restful, restorative sleep. The literature based on studies indicates that adults need seven or more hours of sleep to stay healthy and metabolically balanced. I know this intellectually because I've done a lot of research about sleep and proper sleep hygiene, but I also know this on a personal level, from my experience being tuned into my body and what happens when I don't get enough sleep.

Speaker 1: 2:41

So, after being home from London for two days and then having a terrible night's sleep, I knew to give my body some grace. I knew self-compassion was going to be very important, because my lack of sleep was inevitably going to throw me off and have me feeling a little out of control, and what that means, or what that looks like for me, is that I'm going to feel extra hungry. I'm going to have more demanding sugar and carb cravings. I'm going to have a lack of patience, so convenient, easy processed food will be very appealing. I was also likely going to have low energy and more than my usual amount of brain cramps.

Speaker 1: 3:26

If I hadn't taken a moment to think about what was likely coming my way, I would have been angry. I would have wondered what was wrong with me. I would have started to think is this not working anymore, all the things that I do to keep my body healthy and feel my best? Has my body shifted again in some way, and is this no longer working? I would have maybe done some extreme things like started fasting longer, eating less, exercising more all of the things that my body didn't need the exact opposite, in fact, of what my body actually needed. The lack of sleep meant my body needed my support more than ever. Giving into the sugar cravings, the eating, non-stop, sleeping for hours during the day, would have actually made things much worse. I knew that to support my body, I needed to help it come back into balance, not do things that, in the moment, would feel easy but inevitably extend my imbalance. I recognized the sugar cravings and excess hunger for what they were a reaction to my lack of sleep. Nothing had gone wrong. This was exactly what I should expect in this situation. By sticking to my normal eating pattern and my, most of the time, foods, I'd help my body regain balance. The one thing I decided I might do differently was take a nap Not hours of sleep, but maybe a 30 to 60 minute nap if my body really wanted it. I did end up napping and it was great. I really did feel better. I also think the nap helped with the hunger. I just wasn't as hungry as I thought I was going to be.

Speaker 1: 5:02

So now that you've heard my story, let's talk about sleep. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in three American adults reports not getting enough rest or sleep. Do you fall asleep unintentionally during the day? I do. Sometimes I might take a work break and pick up my book and actually nod off while reading. As it turns out, 40% of adults report falling asleep during the day, without meaning to, at least one time a month. There's actually an estimate that 50 to 70% of Americans have chronic sleep disorders, so ongoing sleep deprivation can easily become sleep deficiency, and sleep deficiency has been shown to lead to physical and mental health problems, injuries, loss of productivity. Basically, an ongoing lack of good, restful sleep interferes with work, school, driving and even your social life.

Speaker 1: 6:02

Here's the part that I find most interesting. Sleep deficiency is linked to many chronic health problems like heart disease, kidney disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and depression. Here's what happens in your body when you get four hours or less sleep for two nights in a row your ghrelin levels go up. This is your hunger signal. You feel hungrier when you don't sleep well, which can, over time, cause weight gain and obesity. I knew this. I have been researching sleep for years. My Hangry to Healthy coaching program has a whole module on sleep, because it's so important for overall health and weight management, because I knew a lack of good sleep, even just one night of bad sleep, has a major impact on hunger and cravings. I was prepared. I knew what to expect. When you have an expectation of a particular situation, you can prepare ahead of time for how you want to handle that situation case. I knew to listen to my body with compassionate curiosity and make choices based on what I knew would help me, not in the moment but in the long run.

Speaker 1: 7:15

Often when women become hangry to healthy coaching clients, they tell me that they don't sleep. In fact, I have one client who told me she hadn't slept in 30 years and had tried everything, all of the drugs and other holistic interventions, and nothing worked. She had seen all of the doctors, all of the specialists. She could not sleep. After a few weeks as a hangry to healthy client and making food adjustments, she discovered that she was sleeping 30 years and nothing worked. Until she started eating in a way that worked for her body. She brought her body into balance and she was able to sleep.

Speaker 1: 7:51

We all have a bad night here and there, and that's okay. Be kind to your body, feed it well. Avoid the things that could make that one night into a second and a third night. Things like alcohol, excess sugary treats, screen time too close to bed, no movement during the day or outside time. Three natural things you can do right now to improve your sleep. Number one get early morning light. Go outside for 10 or more minutes between 6 am and 8 am without sunglasses. Drink your coffee outside. And here's a bonus If you're outside drinking your coffee, take off your shoes. Go out barefoot, stand on your lawn. If you don't have a lawn, if there's dirt, stand on the dirt and drink your coffee.

Speaker 1: 8:38

Number two skip the alcohol and see how that impacts your sleep. You may think alcohol helps you fall asleep, and it probably does, but it also tends to disrupt sleep by causing your blood sugar to drop and that wakes you up in the middle of the night. Skip the alcohol and see if your sleep patterns change. Number three commit to avoiding blue light for one week. Try this no TV, computer, phone, tablet at least one hour before bed. If you can do two or three hours before bed, that's even better. Read a book or a magazine. Do a crossword. Knit Fold laundry. Do something that's calming to prep your body for sleep. Knit fold laundry. Do something that's calming to prep your body for sleep. As someone who listens to this podcast, I suspect you are a person who is interested in managing your health and working with your body so that you age as a person who is lean, strong and healthy. Making an effort to create a bedtime routine that helps you get restful sleep for seven or more hours is one of the biggest things you can do to age well, so that you can live life the way you want to live it.

Speaker 1: 9:45

Have you noticed the new link in the show notes? It says questions, comments. Shoot me a text. Now you can text me if you have something that you'd like to share about the episode or if you have a question that you'd like me to address on the next episode. Please hit that button and send me a text. I won't be replying to the text with another text. I will reply to any comments that you send me questions, comments that you text me through that link. I will reply in the next episode of the podcast. So please, let's talk. Shoot me a text, let me know what you're thinking and I will get back to you in the next episode. All right, I'll see you next week. Life is busy and when we're busy, sitting down to a meal often isn't realistic, which means we're grabbing snacks. If you're eating on the run, more often than not, click the link below the podcast to grab my healthy snacks list. You'll find lots of ideas for mini meals at home and easy on the go travel snacks.