8 Tips for Better sleep with Health Coach Lisa Airhart

How did you sleep last night?

Join me in a discussion with Health Coach Lisa Airhart (find her at  www.lisaairhart.com) with her 8 Tips for Better Sleep.

Get your free copy of 8 Tips for Better Sleep here.  Download and follow along!

Lisa is extremely motivated to make a positive impact on the world by helping people live happier and healthier lives.   She believes it's time to live your potential and live in greatness that we all deserve. It is your birthright. On a personal side,  Lisa is a wife, mom, and Yogi. She loves to bike ride with her husband and walk my beloved dog, Bella.  She is currently a public school teacher and health coach.  She enjoys cooking and creating nutritious recipes.

Find Lisa's Book "I Just Lost 20 Pounds" here.

Lisa has been a regular guest on the show:

• Mindful Eating
• Nourish to Flourish Episode 1
• Nourish to Flourish Episode 2
• Nourish to Flourish Episode 3
• Nourish to Flourish Episode 4

I'm on Patreon!  If you enjoy the show, your support is greatly appreciated!  Support of the show will allow me to share to a bigger audience.  Members will also get access to my upcoming Mindfulness Course.

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and more!

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:55

Hello, Art of Healing podcast listeners. Thank you so much for joining me for another great episode Whenever I have a guest, honestly, to me, these are the best episodes. So I have a guest who has graciously agreed to return. She has blessed my podcast in the past, and she's actually been on, I believe, four or five shows sharing her knowledge. This is Lisa Earhart, and even after you listen today, I'm honestly gonna encourage you to go back and listen to her advice on mindful eating. Um, I'll list links to those episodes on the show notes, but she has been just wonderful as far as sharing her knowledge with us. Um, but this is Lisa, Lisa Earhart. So Lisa is extremely motivated to make positive impact on the world and help the people around her live he happier and healthier lives. She believes it's time for all of us to live up to our potential and to live up to our greatness, and that this is our birthright. She's a wife, a mother, and a yogi. She loves to go bike riding and she loves to take walks with her husband and her dog, Bella. She's currently a public school teacher and she is a health coach. You can find more about Lisa at her website, which I'm gonna say it for you listeners, which is lisa airhart.com. That's L i S A A I R H rt.com. As you're listening, her link to her website will be in the show notes, so if you're walking, you're busy or driving, please just check your show notes and you'll be able to find that. Um, also, you can sign up for my weekly newsletter, and I will be sending all the details of this episode, her previous episodes, and as far as where to find Lisa in my weekly newsletter. And then you can also find Lisa on Instagram and on Facebook, and just keep things simple. I'll put those links in the show notes. She's also a published author and she's got a book that you can buy on Amazon. Um, I have asked Lisa to come back and to discuss Sleep, Better Sleep, um, something she and I have been collaborating on talking about sleep, and that's what we're gonna be discussing today. Hi, Lisa. Thank you for joining me.

Speaker 2: 3:15

Hi, Sheli. It's great to be here again. It feels like home. I love talking to you and your listeners.

Speaker 1: 3:21

It feels like home. I love it. Yay,<laugh>. And for Lisa and I have collaborated, um, and she was a huge supporter for me starting this podcast. It was partially from her advice. So whenever she's here, I just relish this time and really her knowledge and advice is very powerful. So, Lisa, let's talk about sleep. Um, you've been talking to your clients about sleep, Definitely with my patients. We talk about sleep. So can you tell us how is this topic of sleep coming up in your coaching practice?

Speaker 2: 3:54

Well, who doesn't love a good night's sleep? You feel so refreshed, you feel ready for your day. Um, you know, it's just a, it's what we, you know, think of as a, you know, always a gift to us. And sometimes it's, it's not so it's interrupted and it's, you're not getting the proper sleep that you want. And as a health coach, um, I do a well rounded, um, inquiry of, uh, people I work with, um, primarily when they're feeling unbalanced, they'll, um, you know, come see me. And what I mean by imbalance is they're not feeling themselves, they're not feeling right. Um, I do focus on weight loss, but it's all integrated as you know. Um, so, you know, one of the things that I do ask, uh, several questions obviously, but, you know, we look at, you know, um, uh, different facets of their life such as, you know, what does your, you know, um, what does your diet look like? What's your exercise look like? That's obviously something that, you know, you, um, probably, um, already, you know, know that that would be typical questions. But I also look at, you know, what's the relationships? What do your relationships look like with your, you know, family, friends, colleagues? Um, and then, you know, we round around, you know, to your career and, um, what are you doing for fun? But it seems to come up time and time again lately is, um, clients are struggling with, um, either not staying asleep when they go to sleep or having trouble getting to sleep for one reason or another. And I felt like this was, um, a commonality among many of my clients lately. And I said, Hmm, let me dive into this a little bit deeper. Let me see, you know, let me really see what's going on and see how we can correct this. Because this stems, this is the cornerstone, you know, of our health here. Um, because that's when, obviously, that's when our body heals right at night. That's when, um, everything, your hormones are getting into balance, um, to provide you what you provide healing with, you know, keeps you away from getting those colds or, um, or just, you know, your cells are rejuvenating and all kinds of good stuff are going on. And then if you're not getting the proper sleep, well, that's, uh, you know, over time, chronically obviously a few days isn't gonna, um, interrupt your health, but if it's chronic, if it's over time, like weeks into months, um, it, you're definitely gonna see a difference in your health. So that, how it comes up is just organically really. Um, you know, I'm looking at one facet of their life, and all of a sudden, um, uh, there we're talking about being tired and not eating correctly. And a lot starts with just not getting that proper sleep. And I can make that connection. What, Because if you're not getting that proper sleep now, you're not gonna be mindful of what you're eating. Um, so instead of having a well, um, balanced meal that you planned, you're gonna grab those carbs. Um, you might have, instead of that, um, smoothie, maybe you, you typically make for breakfast. And it's not because you're, um, don't have the energy, it's because you just really, you, you're not, that could be a reason, but also you're not being mindful, You know, you're less, less mindful when you're tired. So now you're just gonna grab that bagel with lot of cream cheese, probably more than you would typically, um, put on there because you just wanna be, you know, you just wanna feel better. And so these cravings come up when you're not, and you're craving carbs and sugar when you're not feeling, you know, when you're not feeling your, yourself, your, your best self, your your, um, you know, basically when you're, you know, when you're tired, right? So that's directly related to your, um, how you're eating. Okay? And then the secondly is, like I talked about, I just touched on, is your hormones are not, um, what's happening is they're, um, at night your hormones balanced so that it gives off a signal that you are, you know, you're full. And now if these hormones are not balanced, you're gonna be thinking in during the day when you're eating, you're eating more because you're, you're not feeling that fullness. So now you're, this is, now this is going on, obviously without even you knowing it, and you're not feeling full, so you have to eat more. So that, that's also, um, an effect of, you know, um, having long periods of no sleep. So those are the, you know, um, it, it all makes sense, right? Cause we're not working pro our body's not working the way, um, you know, not during, you know, optimal level of working. So that would be, yeah.

Speaker 1: 8:46

So many of, So it sounds like your clients are, are saying definitely a version of a question that I hear, uh, all the time. And, um, I say it kind of tongue in cheek, but um, cuz the way the question will be presented to me whenever I'm seeing a patient is, Dr. Davis, why am I gaining weight? And I kind of joke and say, Well, I'll use my psychic powers to tell you mm-hmm.<affirmative>, but it's, you know, what I mean to say to them is, um, gosh, you might be gaining weight because, and this has to be one of the factors that, um, although they're asking me, I don't know how they slept in the past six months mm-hmm.<affirmative>, um, I don't know if they slept enough. I don't know if their life is conducive to healthy sleep mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Um, but when the question comes to me, it's already such a big topic, we, we can't quite answer it. But, um, it sounds like you're saying that probably where they are in their health journey and their, their weight journey and their goals mm-hmm.<affirmative> that sleep is affecting it. So when you're working with someone, how do you determine that sleep is interfering, particularly with a weight loss or healthy weight goal?

Speaker 2: 10:02

Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Okay. Yeah. A lot of times we overlook sleep and we don't think it's affecting us. We don't think it's affecting your weight. Cause like sleep is one thing, and weight, you know, is another. We have to keep in mind that, um, losing those unwanted pounds isn't just about diet and exercise. There's so much more, um, components involved in that. It's taking care of your, it's self-care, taking care of, um, yourself beyond the eating vegetables. Although obviously that's, you know, a, a very important piece or exercising, it's about really taking the time to take care of yourself. Is it such a big component? It doesn't look obvious sometimes because we think calories in, calories out, um, uh, good food, food in healthy food, healthy, nutritious food in, Oh, I've gotta be losing weight, and there's more to it. So there, this is the an, um, just so many, you know, factors involved with, um, with why, um, you might not be getting the restful sleep. I mean, ideally, seven to nine hours of night is, uh, the average, though. I do know some people who, I've talked to someone over and over again, and I see her every day and she goes on five hours of sleep, and she doesn't seem tired to me, but her schedule's a little bit different. And it's an individual thing too. Like, she might, that particular person may sleep more on the weekend, so now she's crashing on the weekend and not active on the weekend as you might like to be, because maybe you wanna do, that's your time to spend with friends and family go out, and now you just wanna hang inside, um, because you're catching up on, on on your rest. And if that fits into your lifestyle, then, and, and you're, you're healthy and everything's going well, then that may work for you. But most people, uh, might wanna have that, um, balanced life of having be, you know, having energy during the, and also on the weekend. So typically seven to nine hours, and you should feel restful when you wake up. You should feel, uh, you know, you jump, you should be jumping outta, well, I say jumping outta bed, I mean, it takes me a few minutes to wake up, but you should feel that you're not feeling sluggish for a half hour. You don't need that cup of caffeine, um, to give you a jolt to get you going in the morning. You could, you know, you can just, um, you're, you're happy about your life and you're just gonna get up and you, you're and all, or whatever you have going on, you're like, you know, that you have the faith that you're gonna, you know, deal with with it, and it's gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be okay. So that would be, um, you know, an indicator obviously if, um, you know, you're interrupting your, um, not only your work life, but also, you know, let's, you know your play life. You know, you gotta have time for yourself, time to do fun things, um, you know, time to do your hobbies and not feel like, you know, you're not enjoying it. So there are

Speaker 1: 13:15

Ways I'm gonna, I'm gonna interject with, uh, and I'm just going to channel what I believe the average adult would be thinking right now, Lisa. Seven to nine hour hours a night, I'm supposed to sleep that. Yeah. So,

Speaker 2: 13:32

Um, yeah. Yeah, that's like, that's the average. Um, keep in mind, um, it is, uh, I talk about bioindividuality, which is every, every person that come that I talk with is different. Okay? Like, I just, I'd give you an example about the woman I know who goes to bed at one 30 at night, and she's up at five 30 and she has a smile on her face every day. Um, that's, so she's getting five hour sleep, four hour sleep, and she is content with that. It works for her. But I see on the weekends she might be a little bit, you know, a little bit more sluggish, and she's okay with that, which is, uh, you know, she's not getting extra colds. She's eating, um, you know, a balanced meal. She exercises. So it's, it's, there are individual cases where, yeah, that, okay, that's gonna work for your lifestyle and you're happy with it. Um, but if you are not, um, if you're getting a lot, if you're getting sick more often, if you're not, if you're cranky, if you're, um, you know, a little brain fog might be going on little slower, um, you know, getting processing information, um, you're just not feeling yourself well, uh, that's an indication that you may not be getting your ideal sleep that you need for yourself. Everyone's different. I'm more on the, I I'm more on the eight, eight hour sleep range, um, than the lower range<laugh>, but I've always been like that too. I'm, I'm one, um, I love my sleep<laugh>,

Speaker 1: 15:10

You know, on that duration. And I'm so glad that you were saying that because, um, I have noticed, um, in my own life and then in my patients, friends and family, that it does seem that people can run on different amounts of sleep. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Um, me personally, I'm probably more of a six to seven hour sleeper. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Um, I'm an early riser, but I definitely am done by the end of the day. What I've noticed with my patients, some of them will tell me, Well, I don't require much sleep. The only thing I can kind of mm-hmm.<affirmative> have to tell'em, unfortunately, Well, if I'm treating your blood pressure and I'm treating your diabetes with medication, if we're we're treating things, um, are we sure you don't need more sleep? Yeah. Are we really sure. So, you know, like you were saying with the, you know, someone that can maybe run on less but seems to be optimized, maybe Okay. But, you know, well, they also, Yeah.

Speaker 2: 16:07

Yeah. They also could be, are they lying down for the last four hours? I mean, are they, are they watching TV in their bed for four hours? Um, does that count? Or two hours? Is that counting? It's, they're not, maybe not, they're not sleeping, but yet they're still horizontal. Um, That, um, that resting is also important because what do we do when we sick? What do you do? You'll lie down. So if you are horizontal, it does help. Um, so those people who are getting less sleep, I, I, I'd have to see what they're doing all, you know, what they're doing all day long. But I do have some tips that will help if someone feels that, Oh, boy, this is me. I need to sleep more. I'm not feeling my best. I'm not, I'm not eating like I could eat. Um, I don't have time. I don't, I don't th you know, if you're feeling like, um, you're not your best self, basically. Um, I do have some tips to help out that have worked with people I've worked with and myself.<laugh>,

Speaker 1: 17:17

Yes, please share your tips

Speaker 2: 17:19

With us. Okay. Some are obvious and some may not be, but sometimes you have to hear it, even if it's obvious, it's good to hear it again. Um, just to, you know, just see, just, you know, kind of tease it out and see if that's something that, you know, you want to, um, you know, uh, just see if that would work for you or, or not. So let's, I mean, obviously caffeine, caffeine, I mean, that's obvious. We all know that caffeine, but keep in mind, caffeine is not just coffee. It's, um, your green and black teas, which are very good few. Um, as far as antioxidants, however, they do carry a lot of caffeine, um, along with cola drinks. So, um, you really, um, have to be mindful of that. Uh, I try to, I, I try to keep to one cup myself of, uh, coffee. I know that if I have two cups, um, it, it throws me off and it changes. Like when I was younger, I probably could have done, uh, two cups with a problem, but you've gotta, you know, kind of recheck these things because as your body changes, So two cups, yeah, I'll get to sleep, but then I'm gonna wake up three hours later, and then I've noticed that, and it's pretty consistent. So my second, if I do have a second cup, it has to be a, um, caffeine free, which is different than decaf. Caffeine free means just that caffeine free, but decaf still has some caffeine. And even that little bit can throw you absolutely. So we can look at, you know, your caffeine. And keep in mind it changes. It changes, Um, it changes throughout your lifetime. So what you did once, it may not work now. And I know people who can have a cup and go right to bed. So, like, again, bioindividuality, it may, what works for one person may not work for another, and we just have to keep that, you know, be mindful of that. Another one obvious I would say would be, um, I don't wanna say, uh, limit alcohol. I don't wanna say like, you know, at the right time and place. Yeah, I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, but, um, too much, um, will cause your sleep to be interrupted. So, um, again, being mindful, knowing what you, knowing what your limits are. If you want a good night's sleep, if you're just, you know, you're celebrating, you're at a wedding and you're not driving and you having a good old time, and you know what you can do and still be responsible, you know, then that night, you know, you know you're gonna be up longer and whatnot. But on the average, you know, your daily, um, life and you know what it's expected, um, you know, just be mindful that, yeah, you may have, uh, a drink that will initially make you fall asleep, makes you tired, but what's gonna happen if it's not, um, if it's not working for you, is that you're gonna wake up a couple hours later. So, alcohol definitely is a factor for, uh, interrupting sleep. Another one, I would say the third tip would be, um, exercise. Now, when I say exercise, and I also wrote this in my book, I don't even like sometimes the word exercise anymore. Cause I feel like it's tiresome and I feel I'm not excited for it. I like, um, movement moving. I mean, you could be cleaning your house and your whole house that's you're doing exercise. You could be outside gardening and you're pulling weeds, or you're constantly like, you know, bending and getting up. You're, you're exercising, you're moving. So, um, find something that you, um, you know, can do more frequently and consistently. But definitely getting out and moving is going to relax your body at night. It definitely, every

Speaker 1: 21:10

Since we at Lisa, I call it movement for myself too, ever since we've met, I, I don't actually say exercise anymore. I say movement after reading your book, and yeah. And it's just like way kinder and nicer Yeah.

Speaker 2: 21:25

To say, Yeah, you're gentler on yourself, right? Mm-hmm.<affirmative>, right? Yep. And then if you wanna, you know, and all, all the power to you, if you are, you know, gonna exercise and go to the gym, great. That's fantastic too. Um, but just know that you'd be surprised what exercise you can get by just, by just being conscious of, Oh, I'm gonna take the stairs. I'm gonna walk the three flight or stairs today instead of taking the elevator. I'm gonna do that every day. You know, that's movement and just, um, you know, keeping that going. Be conscious, Okay? Don't park your car next to, right next to the door. If you get a park in space that's further away so you can walk more and move your body, um, go for it. Yep. So, you know, moving, definitely, um, you know, not only because it's gonna make you more tired, obviously, but also keep in mind, uh, a good walk, half hour work will, um, also reduce stress. And this is coming up with clients of mine too. That's a big interrupter of going to, getting to staying to sleep is stress. Ah, yes. So exercise will greatly help that exercise. Oh, use that word. Some of you exercise, some movement. Just get that. Yeah, just get that, get just not staying idle, we'll say, Okay. Yep. So that moves us onto, kind of into the de-stressing that, as I said earlier, big factor would be the fourth tip I would give. Um, and I use this myself, and this is working like a chum, I'd now do this. I've learned the hard way just basically to stay calm. And what I mean by this is I, um, I, I don't read or I don't watch, I limit myself to the news anyway, but I don't watch or read, um, anything that's going to be emotionally distressing to me at night. Um, even, um, phone calls, um, or texting. Now that's what we, that's how we communicate or answering emails. I do not do that. I'm probably even kind to myself now, probably two hours before I go to bed. I mean, I had a limit, um, before, which was one hour. I, I would, I would not, um, go near, you know, anything negative, anything that's gonna get my, anything that's gonna like, get me emotionally distressed. Okay? So not bef at least one hour before you go to bed. So turn off, like watch something that doesn't have a lot of violence. Um, a TV show or, um, or like I said, the news. Yeah, that's all, that's, it's heavy. You, you wanna be feel really light, um, at night. You don't, you wanna stay calm. Um, if you are, I know some of you, like, we're all into our series, um, you know, on Netflix, that's very common. Um, just if one, you have choices, You have choices. Some are definitely heavier than others. And if you want, if you really want to, um, get that good night's sleep cuz you wanna feel good in the morning, um, just see, just see if that, um, you know, something that's happening when you're watching. Um, something that's unpleasant on tv, if it's, you know, on your mind when you wake up on your mind so that you can't go to bed. And that's kind of an indication that, yeah, let's, let's select something that's a little bit more, um, light and airy

Speaker 1: 25:11

Sometimes.

Speaker 2: 25:11

And even with females feel

Speaker 1: 25:13

Pressured to stay informed. And we feel maybe it's our civic duty to stay informed. So maybe with, with like keeping up with the news and, and then we might mm-hmm.<affirmative>. So we might be thinking, Well, I don't wanna miss the news. What if they tell me something important about the pandemic or important about, but mm-hmm.<affirmative>, you're saying that

Speaker 2: 25:31

Do it, do

Speaker 1: 25:31

It earlier, but yeah.

Speaker 2: 25:33

Yeah. We don't just

Speaker 1: 25:33

Do it earlier, right before

Speaker 2: 25:34

Bed, right? Just don't do it before bed because those are your last thoughts. And if it really goes against your thinking, um, it's gonna be on your mind. And you don't want that ruminating while you're trying to sleep because now you're gonna overthink it. Same thing with getting into a conversation, Getting on, um, maybe getting into a conversation with someone you might have a, you know, different opinion with yet do that before eight o'clock<laugh>. So maybe you have, because again, you're, this is about you, this is about your quality of sleep and you want to go to bed, you know, a little bit more carefree. Yes. Um, I understand there are things going on and yes, you may be worried about a friend, a family member, worried about the next day at work, but really get if once you start, um, this habit of going to bed lighter and there are things you can do because that's, I'm gonna enter into my, um, next step. Um, you will find it easier and easier to do. And that's gonna go into my fifth step, which is a nightly routine. This also, um, this is kind of the fun. I like that. This is fun because it's all about you,<laugh>. Um, now this is gonna look different, but I'm gonna give you a, a buffet of ideas of what you can do for your nightly routine. Again, you're winding down before you go to bed and you can, um, I know it works for a lot of clients and myself, and this would obviously be more on the warmer, uh, cooler months would be, um, taking a hot bath and you can make it. Um, you know, you can really like, do that up, meaning like, um, you can, you know, nice smelling candles around the bath or even a shower works too. But you can really spoil yourself. And, you know, even put like a do not disturb sign. You can mom or wife or auntie, even for your animals. Cuz I know, know,<laugh>, my dog likes to interrupt me, you know, when I'm taking a bath too. So, you know, this is your time, right? I can you relate to that choice. Yeah. Cause animals, they're just

Speaker 1: 27:48

Children. Is anyone that's seen some of my earlier shows that there's a, the pod, my second podcast producer is a cat and she loves to interfere. Yes.

Speaker 2: 27:56

Yeah. And I, Yes, yes. And if it's, you know, if she kind of just winds in to your time, fine. But if she's demanding to be pet or something, um, that's a different story, right? Cause this is about you. This is all your time. So you can set that up any which way you like, but that really helps you wind down and you're establishing a routine. So now it's, it is something that it's expected. It's, it's your body is saying, Hmm, it's my time to wind down. Um, and that's what you know you're gonna do. Which means your, your, your body, your physical and, and mental. Okay. Um, so we talked about a bath. Um, some people love, uh, uh, to write, um, the great, um, they have journal, several journals. Um, I have a client who does that also. Um, I haven't tried this, but puzzles, um, that's relaxing for some people. And, um, meditating obviously. Um, I'm a morning meditator, but I have, um, listened to some meditations at night and for it's magic, I can listen to the same one in the morning at night, same exact meditation. Cuz I like to listen to gutted meditations. And one puts me to sleep at night, it'll put me to sleep. And in the morning it, it kind of gets me ready for my day, feel more empowered. So it's interesting. I'd have to look more into that. But, um, I know that works. I'm not consistent with that. But I know for me it's worked too. And there are some, um, you know, there is a came, uh, camomile tea that's, um, some tea that's called so-called like sleepy time. I think I've seen, um, that, I don't know if it's just because the act of sipping tea is just, um, uh, very calming and soothing. Um, or, or, or you, it's what's in it, the ingredients. But it, I feel it really, um, it really helps to wind down to get ready to sleep. So that's the, you know, and you can set that routine up. Any, you know, stretching. Some people like to stretch. It's, it's, you can set that up any way you like. Now, of course, you're tempted attempt attempted, no tempted, sorry to reach for your phone because we wanna see what's on Instagram or whatever. But even with that, um, keep it light and airy. Keep it something inspirational. Um,

Speaker 1: 30:23

This is a, a place I can plug. Um, the practice of Reiki is wonderful at bedtime. That's actually what I usually

Speaker 2: 30:30

Do.

Speaker 1: 30:31

Oh yeah. Yeah. I perform reiki on myself. Um, so, and I know you listeners some of that, that's a new topic. Um, and I'll, I've always provide ways you can learn about that. But you can do what's called mental emotional healing at bedtime. Simple practice of reiki, uh, similar to your meditation. Very similar mm-hmm.<affirmative> or just performing reiki on the heart. That's, uh, a lot of the, um, that's usually how I put myself to sleep.

Speaker 2: 30:55

Oh. So we can add that to our buffet of what we can choose from for mm-hmm.<affirmative>, uh, for a nightly routine. Fantastic. And this, yeah. That's great. I love hearing different ideas. Yes. Wonderful. Wonderful. Um, I was beginning to talk about how your body gets used to, um, that quiet time. Well, that lends me into, um, a sixth, the sixth step. Uh, this is what I learned through my education would, and I didn't know anything about this beforehand, and it really makes sense, is the, it's paying attention to your circadian rhythm. And I'm like, what is that? Okay, well that is a natural sleep wake cycle that your body has. I love all these natural things. I just, you know, I just never knew about which means, I mean, this is, you know, an where mammals animals have this cycle. When the sun goes down, they go to bed. When the sun comes up, you wake up. Now I know there's certain jobs that, um, you know, people, some people are working third shift and it's, there are, you know, definitely different instances where this might be a little different for some people. But basically you're getting, and this is why we're so thrown off, what the seasons change, uh, full moon. Um, I know some places we have daylight savings times we have to turn back our clock, turn five our clock. Sometimes you're, you know, you're off for a few days. Jet lag. This is all part of this, you know, so Katie and rhythm, meaning your sleep wake patterns are off. Cause once you get in a pattern, you know, just like, you know, um, just like you would when you were a baby, right? You have, you know, you go to, you have a bedtime, right? Eight o'clock bedtime so that your body knows, okay, at eight o'clock, um, I'm, I'm getting tired. I know that this is the time I go to bed if it's, you know, this consistency. So I've, um, I've had people even, uh, use an alarm. Just say, Okay, it's time for your nightly routine, or it's time to go to bed. Because if not, they're into, you know, you're into a program and if it's really good, which some of these programs on TV are really good<laugh>, and you, and you want, you know, you just wanna see what's gonna happen next. And now all of a sudden, now it's 11 o'clock at night and you're like, Oh, oops, I, you know, and then it was great. It was fun. And every once in a while, you know, yeah, this is gonna happen. You're enjoying yourself. I, I mean enjoyment is, is such a high level of frequency that you wanna enjoy. So great. You know, every once in a while, Yes. Sure. But I'm talking about nightly. You know, you, you really wanna feel refreshed in, in the morning. So, um, so how you're like, Okay, Lisa, what are you gonna do? Now you talking about the sleep wake cycle One is, you know, setting to when you're getting into it at first, setting that alarm sometimes to, um, if it would work for you to know, okay, yeah, I gotta get into my nightly routine. Um, or you know, so I can get in that habit. Cuz you won't need that forever. That habit of going to bed a little earlier and also getting out. It's, this is an important one too, getting out. This is probably why I want to, I talked about this earlier, getting outside in sunlight cuz that sunlight will also, um, help you, um, with, not to mention you getting your vitamin D, but also help you with your, um, that, that circadian rhythm because your body know oh, um, and get that sunlight in the morning. You know, just going outside if you walk a dog or just take a walk or just, you know, just sip a cup of coffee in your window. Um, just gets your body to realize, oh, okay, yep. Up during the day, sleeping at night. Um, and establishing that. And then all, and then you're gonna get in a regular routine. Yep. So that piece, um, I found quite interesting cause I didn't really know about it before.

Speaker 1: 34:46

Um, a lot of us don't realize that, um, in that circadian rhythm, um, what Lisa's giving us advice on is that we're actually influencing a hormone production right there. Mm-hmm.<affirmative>. And it's so subtle we don't think about it. But what you were just saying, Lisa, that getting that daylight when if, if we have the luxury of we can get the daylight in us when our bodies want it, it actually helps us to make melatonin at night. This is a hormone you're producing and you produce it based, well your, your pine gland's going to produce it, but the amount of it you produce does depend on the daylight you got. And then an appropriate shutoff of the light by a certain time, which Lisa has been guiding us on. How we start reducing some of that so that we can increase our melatonin and hopefully get drowsy naturally.

Speaker 2: 35:44

Hmm. So this melatonin. Yes. Um, so you're saying this without like, not the supplement, you're saying the actual getting the actual nutrient your own Oh,

Speaker 1: 35:53

Making your own. Yep. That's what you trying and that's exactly what you, I love you just advised us mm-hmm.<affirmative>. Yes. Yes. So I just wanted to plug that in cause it's, Oh yeah, yeah. When you're saying that's like you're gonna make your own melatonin by Yeah. Observing your circadian rhythm.

Speaker 2: 36:08

That's awesome. Yep. And it's fun. I mean, it just, it's, it's doesn't take a lot of work, just takes planning. Right, Right. So we have, um, well, well this is another, we have two more tips. This is one that's, well you probably could figure it out. Two, most people can figure this out. Um, but just be aware of this, just, um, just if you are eating dinner at night, naturally we do. And it's a heavier dinner, um, in our culture, that's what we do, right? So I would do that. Make sure it's three hours before you go to sleep. Nice. I know some cultures and some people's work schedules interfere with that somewhat. But, um, just keep mindful of you will sleep better. Uh, not a total empty stomach, meaning like, you don't wanna be like really hungry gonna bed because then you won't go to bed because you're really hungry. But if you stomach is really full and you had a heavy meal meets pastas, something like that, um, you're gonna have trouble staying asleep. So just be mindful of, um, having that time in between to allow your body to digest. So I say typically three hours, um, completion of meal before you go to bed. And if you did have something light and you really are hungry and it's work, just if you need a little snack, just keep it really light and nutritious at night just so you don't have a full stomach going to bed because that will definitely, um, wake you up. Yep. And lastly, looking at your, um, your environment in which you're sleeping in. You want your bedroom to be where you're sleeping. You want that to be cooler. If you can get it cool than, you know, your hou all the rooms in your house, that's, if you have that availability, that works. But a cool, um, dark room can definitely make a difference. Just, um, everyone asked me what type of, you know, what's cool? Well, you know, what works for you? It's like, again, it's, it's, you know, a little individual bio individuality. Um, but I, um, cuz you will heat up at night, you know, you go to bed even like if it's initially cold, your, your body is working. Your body is, um, you are lose, you are, um, burning, um, calories at night too. And you are, um, you know, you're, you're working so you body will heat up. And I know it's so obvious, but I<laugh> I was turning and tossing like in July. It was like, what's going on? I can't sleep all night. I'm like, Oh my God, I'm hot. I, and I was fighting it. Yeah, I often do this. I was fighting the obvious. I'm like, Oh my God, we had to turn this. We have to, uh, uh, turn, turn it to make the, we have to make the room cooler. And sure enough, it helped. So sometimes you have to re-look at, uh, what you're, you know, what you're doing. Even if you, you know, you um, you know that it's true. But, uh, just re-look at it and see if that is the culprit that's, you know, keeping you up. And what I mean by, uh, light. Now this, we can also go back and forth about, uh, the, you know, the blue light from television, from like the smartphones. Um, if people are very, if you're sensitive to that blue light that may keep you up, that's going to keep you up. So there are some, I've never used them. There are glasses, you know, that you can use to, um, soften that light that may help you. I've no, I've heard it helps some people. So it just depends, um, on, on, uh, who you, you know, how it affects you, the blue light. But um, I know even like a night light will bother me cuz I even in your eyes closed, I can see at the corner of my eye. So I have to, there's a particular night light that<laugh>, I don't know, I, it threw me, it just threw my sleep. I, I'm, I guess I'm a good sleeper, but I'm a picky sleeper now that, now that I'm talking to you<laugh> I guess I have to have everything right. And some people can like, you know, sleep in the daylight with noise going on. But, um, no, that's, that's not my case. So, um, so that would be, you know, there's more things you can, you know, look at. Um, I would say if you are, um, if you are waking up, if you find yourself going to sleep, you're doing all, you know, you, you're, you're, I kind of call this your sleep hygiene. If you're sleep hygiene is, um, is good and you're satisfied and you're, and you're sleeping and, and you just constantly get up at two o'clock, three o'clock in the morning and you're always, you know, it seems like this is going on for a couple of weeks, I would, hmm. I would begin to say, Hmm, what's going on in your life that is causing you to get up at that time? There's something, I mean, if there's something going on, meaning, um, I'm gonna, you know, look at this little in, in, in a, from the spirituality, um, perspective, there could be like your higher self, whatever you wanna call it, um, kind of getting your attention, saying something. So I would, I would pay attention and say, Hmm, what, um, when you're waking up at that time, what are you thinking about? What's going on? And I would, you know, pay attention to that because oftentimes if you, if this is, you know, a part of your belief or if not, if you wanna just listen to an interest in what I'm saying, um, it's gonna, it's gonna, your hire yourself connects with you when you're not, when you're at that time when you are, you know, early in the morning sleeping, um, it's gonna connect with you because it wants, you know, how yourself and what you believe in wants the best for you. So maybe you're finding yourself, um, getting up every morning at three o'clock and you're thinking, um, hmm, work, work is not really, you're not really aligned to your work right now. So maybe you wanna just look at different avenues of what you can do to change. Maybe you need to change something within your career. It doesn't mean to like hop jobs. It could be maybe just a small change or just to change. Maybe you're working too many hours, you have to cut your hours, you wanna, maybe you're balance, it's not balanced. Maybe you do have to change or maybe you might to change departments. Um, maybe someone who you can confided in. Maybe you need to break off and, um, meet different people at work. Or it could be, you know, you will have the answers. Um, if you just give it time, but don't dismiss it. I wouldn't dismiss it if it's the same time you waking up every day and if, um, you're having a hard time. Journaling often gets the an, you know, you can journal, um, and you'll see, uh, the sometimes a solution popping up there. Uh, you can talk to a good friend if you can find, you know, you have someone that you really can, can confide in and, um, that may work it through or also, um, coaches help. Um, and if it's more involved, a therapist, certainly, but my advice would be don't ignore it. It's, it's, it's all for the good and it's trying to get your attention. So I wanted to end it with that because that's often what's going on too.

Speaker 1: 43:36

So Lisa has just shared with us her eight tips for a better night's sleep. And um, Lisa, she's a gracious guest whenever she comes on. She never just goes, she always leaves behind something. So can you tell us some about your gift, Lisa, and, and how our listeners can get their copy of eight tips for a better night's sleep?

Speaker 2: 43:59

Yes, sure. Um, this, yeah, what I just said, I just put it in a, a pdf form so you didn't have to take notes. It probably could have told you that before, but simply, you know, eight tips that you can go over and, uh, that can be, that's provided for you. Um, I can leave it on my website too that you have and I can, you know, put it on my website, um, so that they can easily access that. Um, or I believe I had given it to you Charli, so we can put it below.

Speaker 1: 44:32

Absolutely. So, yeah, so for listeners, um, what you'll wanna do is you'll wanna check your show notes. Um, so mm-hmm.<affirmative>, Okay. Whatever app you're listening on, you should see a written script below that, uh, gives you some, So I'll put the link there for that freebie, Lisa. So I'll take care of that. And then we'll also make sure that, um, the listeners have a way they can shine up to get my weekly email. Cuz every time I do one of episodes, I send out an email. I let everybody know what we just talked about. So we'll make sure you all can get that free beam. Um, Lisa, it is just always wonderful having you here. I just feel like you bring so much to this show. This is, and, and Liz is, are Mike, she's been on the show several times, and every time she's here, I learn some, it changes my health, phrasing it, it changes the way I see health. Um, can you remind us the free vow, Make sure they have, can you remind us of your book that they can find on Amazon as well? Oh,

Speaker 2: 45:29

Sure. Okay. The book is simply called, I just lost 20 Pounds. And, and my name. It's, I, I'm using Lisa Earhart, a i r h a r t. It is on Amazon and you can find it as an ebook, which it, Or a hard cover. No, I'm sorry. Soft cover book.

Speaker 1: 45:52

Perfect. Perfect. Well, listeners, um, as always, thank you so much for being a listener for the Art of Healing Podcast. Again, check your show notes for all those details and we will be getting back together soon. If you enjoyed this show, please leave a comment or a rating on whatever listening avenue you've chosen. Also, feel free to share this show with your friends and family if you found it was helpful. Thank you so much for joining us.

Speaker 2: 46:21

Thank you, Shelly.<affirmative>.