We most recently discussed the Web of Health and how it directly related to sleeping problems, sleep and digestion and overall diet and sleep. We have articulated numerous methods to get better sleep. We have discussed mental health and sleep energy levels and  then covered methods for finding our most healthy sleep. We saw how the Web of Health together with the relationships in our lives directly affect us finding our most natural nocturnal rhythm. Today we’re going to talk about getting better sleep with a better schedule.

Everybody is wired different.  Some of us prefer to go to retire late and rise well after the sun is already sitting high in the sky.  For others it is the opposite.  There has been an ongoing debate as to which tactic results in better sleep and all around health, but I believe that as long as you get enough of the right kind of sleep (deep REM sleep) and live a healthy lifestyle, you will be rewarded with excellent health.  Either way, it’s important to touch upon a few points in regard to these two different types of sleep patterns. 

Early Riser 

I myself am an early riser, as was my father and his father before him. You could say it’s in my genes.  I must admit, I am thankful this is my nature because, for me, morning is the best time of the day.  Less people are awake, even nature herself is still getting settled.  It is the early morning when I feel most at peace and when focus comes easy. 

Rising early provides a jump on the day and a feeling that I am more prepared for what the coming hours might have in store. If getting up early is something you already do or would like to start doing, here are some tips to help you maintain the schedule while getting the deep sleep you need. 

Ease into it 

Don’t just start getting up two hours earlier.  If you do this, you will crash and burn.  Begin by going to bed fifteen to thirty minutes earlier each night, and rising earlier in the morning with the minutes to match.  Maintain that routine for a week or so and then adjust it some more.  Do this until you are waking up at the desired timewhile still getting all the sleep your body needs. 

Don’t go to bed too early 

Don’t overdo it.  It isn’t that you can get up too early so much as that you can go to bed before it’s time.  This has more to do with practicality than health.  Since most people go to bed between 10 and 11, there are often important things taking place within a few hours of this time. For example, say some friends wanted to have you over for dinner.  If you are going to bed every night at 8 PM, it makes it difficult to visit and still make your curfew. 

Be aware of reality when drafting your schedule so you will be setting yourself up for greater success. 

Finding your best schedule is essential to finding your best sleep, but if I can find my best sleep, so can you!

Eric

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We’ve previously discussed sleep and digestion  diet and sleep, sleeping problems, and numerous methods to get better sleep. We talked about sleep and energy levels and mental health then correlated it to finding our most healthy sleep. Most recently we discussed the relationships in our lives and how they affect us falling into our best nocturnal rhythm. Today we’re going to talk about the Web of Health.

I’ve mentioned the Web of Health before, but please allow me now to clarify precisely what the web of health is and why it’s so important. 

We have discussed the many ways of obtaining, and maintaining, our best health. We’ve mentioned diet, blood sugar, exercise, mental fitness and of course, sleep. 

Let’s see how they all work together. 

Sleep is the foundation of all around good heath and well being, but without exercise, a healthy diet, balanced blood sugar levels, and good mental health, we cannot affectively achieve the sleep that we need.  Without our best sleep, it is difficult to accomplish the many goals of a modern life. 

Imagine the Web of Health as a diagram with sleep in the middle. In four separate spokes circling “sleep” we have Exercise, Diet, Mental Health, and Blood Sugar. As you can see from this verbal illustration, when it comes to getting a good night’s sleep (or just being a healthy person for that matter) everything you do affects everything else. 

When you leave out one ingredient, the others invariably suffer. 

The web of health is a web that surrounds us all. It is impossible to ignore or even escape. The best thing to do is to understand the Web and how it holds our lives together. We must eat within the diet that is best for our body, exercise regularly to get our blood flowing and neurons popping, be aware of the relationships in our life and how they directly affect our mental health, and be mindful of the amount of sugar and foreign toxins we put into our body.

As you can see, it is not one action, but the accumulation of many that gives a person their best sleep and in turn their best health. Be aware of what you are doing and understand why you are doing it. Only then will you be able to truly find the sleep your body deserves.

Remember, the Web of Health is with us always. If I can find my best sleep, so can you!

Eric

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We’ve discussed diet and sleep, sleeping problems, sleep and digestion and numerous methods to get better sleep. We discussed sleep and energy levels and most recently we talked about mental health and how it relates to getting healthy sleep. In this post we’re going to talk about the relationships in our lives and how they affect our night time solace.

Our relationships play a key role in our picture of mental health.   Healthy relationships among family and friends is nourishment for our minds.  When we have active, unhealthy relationships, we are only feeding them poison, 

and our mental health invariably suffers. 

I won’t get into specifics, but we usually know when we are falling into these sorts of relationships.  If you find yourself engaged in the regular exchange of an unhealthy back and forth, it is up to you to remove yourself from the situation, or resolve the issues ausing them to be unhealthy. 

Why being mentally fit is instrumental to your best sleep. 

Have you ever tried going to bed angry?  How about sad, depressed or frustrated? Did you sleep well? Chances are you didn’t. 

While sleeping, the mind goes into a certain mode, allowing the body to recover from the day. Your mind and body attempt to mend their wounds and get ready for another round of life.  If your mind can’t fall into that relaxed state, it cannot properly prepare for the coming day.  

It is necessary to head to bed relaxed.  Content and clear, with a positive mindset. You are far more likely to achieve this when you can look back on your day, confident about how you treated yourself and others. Don’t let yourself get too stimulated. If you are lying in bed, trying to fall asleep with your mind still racing, you are too stimulated to sleep.  If you are anticipating a big event, mulling over a project, or checking your to do’s, then your mind will have a difficult time falling to sleep. 

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We’ve discussed diet and sleep, sleeping problems, sleep and digestion and numerous methods to get better sleep. Most recently we discussed sleep and energy levels. In this post, we’ll mental health and how it relates to getting healthy sleep.

It is easy to overlook this area of overall wellness as it is always more difficult to discuss those things we cannot see.  However, mental health is every bit as important to achieving our best rest as any other factor. 

What is mental health? 

Mental health is basically your outlook or perspective; the general mindset that frames the world around you.  Your individual view affects your ability to be optimistic as it is the constant filter for your everyday life.  

When we have poor mental health, we find ourselves more pessimistic, negative, unmotivated, or simply incapable of experiencing true happiness. 

How do we maintain our best mental health? 

This is a difficult question.  Entire aisles of the bookstore are dedicated to digging deeper than I could ever hope to delve in a single measly chapter.  However, I can say that how you choose to view your environment greatly affects how you will view things in the future.  If you choose to see everything cast in the shadow of a negative light, you will likely continue to do so.  If you choose to see the cup as half full, you will find this mindset eventually becomes second nature. 

For most people, barring those who struggle with clinical depression of course, our mindset slowly develops as our mental picture of the way we see our world.  Though our personalities might make us more or less susceptible to a positive or negative mindset, we have enormous control over the way we think.  Much more so than most of us ever realize. 

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We’ve previously discussed the link between blood sugar and sleep, and sleep and exercise. Today we’ll talk about the link between our best sleep and our overall energy levels.

A common misconception is that if you have stored energy left when you’re ready to sleep, your body will simply use it the following day. The problem with this theory is that as a result of your excess energy, your body won’t be able to shut down as well. Your sleep that night will be stilted and by the next day you will actually have less energy, not more. 

Soon you will find yourself in the horrible cycle of permanent exhaustion: forever too tired to exercise, yet unable to sleep due to a lack of physical activity.   

Gaining energy is like running on a treadmill.  If you stand still, you’re moving backwards. To gain velocity, or even to simply maintain, you must exert the effort required. 

Figuring out exactly how much effort is needed, is one of the keys to getting deep, rejuvenating sleep.

What is the best time of day to exercise? 

Different people have different preferences, yet when it comes to optimal sleep, the best time is between three to five hours before bedtime.  I prefer to exercise immediately prior to dinner.  This is an excellent schedule for achieving the best rest because it puts your body through a certain cycle where it is winding down just as you’re drifting off. 

When you first start exercising, your blood flow is up and your body begins the production of endorphins, that particular hormone that makes you feel good.  Once you’ve exercised, your body will gain a few hours of sustained energy, which is why you don’t want to exercise right before bed.  After a couple of hours, your body will start to relax, bringing your mind along with it.  Now you are ready for sleep. 

Of course it’s acceptable to exercise earlier, but this energy cycle might kick in all over again if you engage in your exercise routine too early.  You might easily find yourself in a second wind, which will render it difficult to fall to sleep.  

Everyone is different.  It’s far more important that you DO exercise, than follow a particular schedule.  Exercise when it suits you best, your body and mind will thank you, and your sleep will be better than you imagined.

If I can find my best sleep, so can you!

Eric 

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It is a well established fact that exercise is an essential part of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. Quite frankly, there’s a lot more to it than that.  Exercise affects every other avenue of your overall health and wellness as well. 

When you exercise regularly, you both sleep and feel better.  Your body functions with more efficiency and it is easier to keep your mindset generally more positive.  To find our best sleep, we cannot afford to forget this essential ingredient.

I love to mountain bike and run.  These are my two main forms of exercise, but that’s just me.  Anything that gets your heart going for about twenty minutes every day is a giant leap in the right direction.  I believe there is a misconception with exercise and health - that we somehow must join a gym and spend two hours in a sweaty pool, but this is simply not the case. 

Of course you can ramble down this road, but as I have already stated many ties before, you can still be a healthy person by simply leaving the house for a brisk jog or steady walk for twenty to thirty minutes each day.  Even if you miss a day or two a week, you will still be doing fine.  After a while, you will probably find yourself really enjoying your new routine. 

You may already be an avid exerciser, and I certainly don’t mean to offend anyone with this simplistic routine.  I am simply trying to illustrate that regular exercise doesn’t have to be a chore.

Try to adjust the amount and intensity of your exercise to meet your sleep needs. 

You must recognize sleep for it is: a way to recharge your batteries; a time to give your body the chance it needs to heal. If your batteries are merely run down, they won’t charge as well as they would if they were completely depleted. With actual batteries, this is called cycling. Our bodies are similar. You are cycling through the batteries energy by completely running it down so it will completely fill back up.  If you are regularly exercising but still having difficulty falling or staying asleep, it might be that you aren’t completely getting rid of your stored up energy throughout the day.  Try to exercise a little longer or harder.  See if you feel an improvement.  If you do, keep adjusting your exercise habits until you find your sweet spot.

Next time we’ll discuss a few common misconceptions and strategies about exercise and sleeping.

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Today we’ll take a look at how blood sugar affects your mind and mood.  We’ve all seen how children go wild after they eat a bunch of sugar, right?  We’ve also seen how they come crashing down, moody and disobedient. This is because their blood sugar has become unusually low at an unreasonable speed. This change in the body introduces feelings of anxiety and frustration.  It makes it difficult to focus and the children feel suddenly tired and sometimes out of control.

Grownups are no different.  We are simply able to deal with things in a less obvious manner.  Regardless, the results are the same.  We feel frustrated as our fuse begins to shorten.  We grow moody and sometimes suffer from temporary depression and anxiety.  We get headache brought on by the sudden plummet of our blood sugar.

It is easy to see why it is imperative to maintain a steady balance of blood sugar levels.  Your body is affected, but so is your mind. 

When you fall to sleep, your mind and body both need to be in the healthiest state possible to receive the best possible sleep.  If you retire to bed in a bad mood, your rest will likely be as lousy as your mindset.  Even dreams are affected by the sugar in our blood.

You may have noticed earlier that I mentioned ADHD.  Both my wife and I have ADHD, and have wrestled with it since we were kids.  We both struggled in school and share the experience of riding an emotional roller coaster every day of our lives. 

Things such as too much sugar and caffeine would send me into ups and downs, making it impossible for me to concentrate.  My wife would tell me stories of how she always had a big glass of orange juice (very high in sugar) right before ballet.  Every time, her mom would pick her up only to find her sobbing from a splitting headache.

In our adult lives we are still affected by ADHD.  My consulting business, for example, sometimes falls victim.  My ability to take care of my clients effectively has always been at the mercy of my ADHD.  What I have discovered is that diet, exercise, and a good night’s sleep all have a profound effect on how strong my symptoms are.

When I live a healthy, balanced lifestyle I find myself a far more focused and motivated person. Having ADHD means my thought can become easily scattered, and I find it difficult to concentrate on a single task.  

This is not the case when I put attention into active health.

To be more specific, at least in regard to ADHD, I have found the two most important things I can do are stay away from simple carbs and consistently get a good night’s sleep.  These two factors make all the difference in whether or not my ADHS is a struggle. 

Alas, it isn’t that simple.  You can’t simply focus on one or two areas of your health while leaving out others (exercise for example).  Each area relies on the others to achieve optimum results.  If you ignore exercise, you won’t be able to sleep as well; if you aren’t sleeping well, it will consequently be harder to exercise. 

This is what I like to call the web of health. Everything is connected.  Let’s move on to exercise, the next level of conscious, healthy living. 

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We’ve previously discussed overall mindset and nutrition in regard to healthy sleep. Now I would like to shift our focus to a subject that is not only extremely important for sleep, but also largely related to mood, mindset and even ADHD.  Your blood sugar has an effect on much of your body - that’s a given.  Yet many people are unaware of how much of an effect it also has on both mind and emotion.

Before I dig into this rather deep topic, allow me to deliver some facts.  What precisely is blood sugar, and how does it affect your body?  

Your body breaks down food while extracting the nutrients it needs.  One of the elements your body maintains is a certain type of sugar, which your body uses to fuel itself.  Different foods break down in your body in different ways.  Generally speaking, the foods that break down quickly are those foods that give you short bursts of energy and then have your body fading into languor. 

The opposite can be said for foods that break down slowly.  If this is your primary source of energy, you can understand why the subject is imperative to overall health and sleep.

People with disorders such as diabetes and hypoglycemia are far more affected by fluctuations in blood sugar than those without the disorder.  That doesn’t mean that everyone isn’t affected in some way.  Not only that, but anyone can eventually become diabetic or hypoglycemic if they don’t take care of their bodies. 

Let’s assume you don’t have any such disorder. You will still be amazed at how much you are affected by your blood sugar once you start to pay attention.

Here are some examples of a healthy diet and it’s affect on blood sugar levels followed by the opposite scenario.

Healthy Diet

• Nice balance of protein, fat, and complex carbs. 
• Very little white flower and sugar 
• Mostly water as a beverage.

This type of diet will provide you with sustained energy and very little fluctuation in mood. Because most of these foods break down slowly in your body, your blood sugar will maintain steady levels.

Again, too much of any one thing is never good.  Even too much healthy food can cause your body to fall go into overdrive as it tries to digest it all.  This kind of consumption can often time’s leave your body with a feeling of lethargy.

Unhealthy Diet

• Too much sugar and/or simple carbs without enough protein and fat to balance it out.  
• Mostly soda and/or coffee as a beverage.  
• Too much juice.  Many fruit juices that claim to be healthy are actually loaded to the lip with sugar!

This sort of sugar rich diet will leave your body quickly broken down, and cause a spike in energy immediately followed by a hard crash.

Next time we’ll talk about how sugar affects mind and mood. Until then, remember, if I can get better sleep, so can you!

Eric

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In the last post, we discussed diet, sleep, and plain old common sense. This time we’ll elaborate more on the sleep - food connection.

It sounds boring, but let’s take a closer look at the meals from the previous post. The trail mix I talked about for lunch provides (good) fat, protein and a wee bit of salt and sugar. Too much of the latter can be a bad thing, but blended with the proper amounts make for a well balanced meal.  Sugar provides a few carbs for energy, while the fat and protein help maintain that energy throughout the afternoon.

Although your body is not yet ready for sleep, food will dictate how it is able to carry you throughout the rest of your day.

In addition, (though it has nothing to do with sleep/food) you will also find this sort lunch is far more frugal than going out for lunch a couple of times a week, as well as exceedingly convenient for a modern hectic schedule.  Simply bring along a small bag of trail mix and you have an available snack ready for whenever your body asks.

If you don’t care for nuts, are allergic, or simply don’t enjoy the idea of eating nuts for lunch everyday, then keep in mind a few things when selecting a menu.  You must make choices that are light enough that they won’t render you tired in the afternoon, but heavy enough to last until dinner or a late afternoon snack. Try to stay clear from too much salt or sugar, and make sure you get at least some form of fat and protein.

You may find that having an afternoon snack helps you get through the day.  Everyone’s built a little different.  I don’t need to snack, but my wife most certainly does. She usually has something like an apple with peanut butter or a few whole grain crackers with cheese.  If you do need to snack, this is an excellent time to slip in a fruit or raw vegetable.  Of course, adding some form of fat is a good idea if you’re after lasting energy (peanut butter or cheese are always good choices).

This gives me some complex carbs, fat and protein from the peanut butter and as well as a little bit of sugar from the apple. I find this meal is nice and light, but heavy enough for lasting energy after a physically light day.

Finally, you may want a small snack later on in the evening to help get you through the night. Healthy food leads to healthy sleep. The key, of course, is to not overdo it.  If you do, you will end up waking in the middle of the night with your body in overdrive. Remember poor digestion = poor sleep.

If you do need a snack, I find a few tablespoons of plain, non-fat yogurt with a table spoon of sunflower seeds is an excellent combination.  Also, adding a tablespoon or two of peanut butter to some apple slices or celery sticks works as well. 

Try different things and see what works best for you until you find the food - sleep elixir that works for you.

This meal plan is a valuable reference point, demonstrating how to eat on a regular basis for consistently good health and supremely wonderful sleep. 

Delving deeper in the next chapter, our discussion will turn to blood sugar and how it effects us getting better sleep. You will see this is exceedingly important.  Not only for physical health, but mental health as well.

Eliminating sleeping problems is a slow and steady process, but if I can get better sleep, so can you!

Eric

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