The Dx2 Podcast

Sleep Is Not Optional: Why Rest Is the Foundation of Your Health

• Denise and Debra • Episode 22

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0:00 | 43:20

Getting Sick And Rapid Recovery

Debra

Welcome to the D Times 2 podcast, hosted by Sisters Denise and Debra. We are all about finding balance in the various parts of life. Using the Wheel of Life as our guide, we explore how to keep each spoke rolling smoothly. We discuss health and wellness, education and spirituality, as well as mental and emotional growth. Join us for real conversations, practical tips, and a few laughs as we share stories, insights, and strategies to help you create a life that feels balanced, purposeful, and designed by you. Hey Deborah. Hi Denise. It's good to see you today. You too. What's been happening with your life? What's been happening? Do I look like I'm alive? You do. Good, because I did not for a couple of days last week. Sound very well either. No, I'm gonna say I do a lot of stuff to stay healthy. More than your average Joe. You sure do? For sure. But I'm still human and I still sit across from people all the time who are sick. So every once in a while I succumb. And there's been something pretty gnarly going around, and it knocked me down hard for two days.

Denise

I know. Mom and dad were searching for you. They were texting me. Have you heard from Debra? It's like, no, she's probably asleep. I was asleep. My phone was on airplane mode.

Debra

I was asleep. It was a work day. I had had to, you know, cancel clients and everything. But I was down hard. And it started, I'm gonna say Wednesday evening, I felt the turn in my body. And by Thursday morning, I was like, oh, I'm sick. I'm sick. And I don't like to even say that because I feel like it reinforces it in my body. But I acknowledged I needed to reschedule my day and get some extra sleep and you know take care of myself. And then Friday, same thing. But by Friday night, I felt the turn again. I felt like I had officially turned the corner and was doing better. Good. So two full days, I was down for the count. By Saturday morning, I thought I feel pretty good. I was not 100%, but I felt pretty darn good. And I was on one hand disappointed I got hit knocked down as hard as I did. But on the other hand, very pleased with my body and my efforts to stay healthy because everyone else I've talked to who had this, it knocked them completely down for six full days. Oh geez. Yeah, I cut it into a third.

Denise

So you still got sick, but not as bad.

Immune Support Staples And Hydration

Debra

Yeah, I got sick. Like today, I still would be in that six days, and I'm not. I'm normal. I'm good. Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine. Back to normal, y'all. So I am gonna say I want to just share a couple of the things that I do all the all the time, especially during quote cold and flu season, which we're in the heart of right now. One of them is I take the exposure protection pack every day from Optimal Health Systems. We always have like our our link and code, discount code and everything for Optimal Health Systems is in our show notes every time. And we say down in the our show notes what some of our favorite products are. But this is one of my favorites that I take every day from about November 1st until the beginning of March at least, when people are sick and they're sitting across from me. I give it to my clients who work in schools or they're around a lot of germ carriers. They need the extra protection. So one of those, and then I take defense every day. Um, generally I take two or three a day. While I was sick, I took extra because it builds up your body's defenses. It increases your white blood cell count. So I really was focused in on doing those things while I was sick and taking whole C, which is another of the like those three things all come from optimal health systems. That whole C, it's the very best on the market. They're chewable to chewable wafers. And every time I felt like I needed a cough drop or something like that, I just took some whole C and it did the trick. Nice. And then of course I stayed hydrated and got lots of sleep. Like I did the things I tell my people to do. You practice what you preach. And you guys are my people. So yeah, I practice what I preach, but I'm convinced it made a world of difference.

Denise

Well, for sure. If no if everybody else is six days and you were sick for two, that's really, really good.

Pivot To Sleep As A Power Tool

Debra

Yeah. Ain't nobody got time for that. That's what I said. Like I just I don't have time. I didn't it's a bit like it's yeah, I don't have time. Yeah. Well, good. But if you do get sick, take the time to recover. For sure. Take care of yourself. Don't try to just push through. That makes it last longer and be worse than it would be. So honor your body's needs. That's what's been up with me. I've been in sickness recovery mode. Oh my gosh. Well, I'm sorry and way to go both. Yes, thank you. So, what are we talking about today? Sleep. Yep. You snore way better than I do. I don't think I snore at all. But let's talk about sleep. Okay. It is heavy on my mind because I got my fair share of it the last little while. It's one of our biggest tools that we have that we can access, and it is free. Free. True. Just lay down and take a nap.

Denise

Go to sleep. Go to sleep.

Speaker

Yes.

Denise

But it's a lot, but it's something that people, the majority of people, struggle with.

Why Sleep Is Non‑Negotiable For Health

Debra

Like there are so many sleep aids on the market. Yes. It's a big deal. So it is one of the biggest things I hear from people that they struggle with is lack of sleep. Sleep. Getting to sleep or staying asleep or waking up feeling refreshed. It's elusive to most people. Yeah. But let's talk about why sleep is important. Because I was listening to a podcast last week and they were talking about sleep. And how most people think that sleep is optional. It is not. It is for sure not. As humans, we need sleep. A lot of things happen biologically, psychologically, in our body while we sleep. Yes. So what are some of the reasons we well? I just, as you said, that the optional, it's not optional. I learned when I was in college, I heard a line for the first time and it about floored me. This guy I knew, he said, I'll sleep when I'm dead. And all I could think was, if you don't sleep, you are dead. Like you're gonna be dead. You must sleep. Yes, yeah.

Denise

Your brain, like physiologically, you have to have sleep.

Debra

That's when your brain clears the slate, resets, restores, repairs all of it. Yeah. When you're asleep. If you don't sleep, you will have brain problems. You'll have brain problems, you'll have weight problems, you'll have digestive problems, you'll psychological disorders.

Denise

I mean, there is a lot going on.

Debra

If you guys could see us right now, you would laugh at our faces because our faces are so intent, our eyebrows are raised out to our hairlines, we are speaking like we mean it. We do. Yes, we totally mean it. It's it is so underrated, yes, and misunderstood. Like we think, oh, I can sleep, and oh, it doesn't matter when I sleep or how long I sleep, but it all matters. So it fixes the brain. Yes. It also helps, I'm gonna say, boost your immune system in your body. Repair and recovery and regeneration to your actual body and to your immune system happen while you're sleeping. Yes. As I say to my clients, when you're busy resting, that's when your body's hard at work repairing. If you never stop and get the rest and the sleep, your body never makes that shift from go do be to rest, repair, recover. Healing happens then. Hormones. Hormones are all the rage these days. They've been all the rage and they are running the show. Yes, they are. Whether we're talking about them or not. Yes.

Denise

But a lot of attention has been brought to how important it is to have balanced hormones.

Hormones, Metabolism, And Sleep

Debra

Well, you want balanced hormones, get some sleep. Yep. It helps. There are literal hormonal triggers that happen when sleep is dialed in properly. And we'll talk, we'll get to that about how to dial it in properly. But whether it's a sex hormone, which is what people think about when they think about hormones, like they think about testosterone and estrogen and all of that, or if it's a hunger hormone, like leptin and ghrelin, or if it's cortisol or insulin, like all human growth hormone, they all are affected by your sleep.

Denise

And your entire body is regulated by hormones.

Debra

Yes. So if you are feeling off, maybe look at your sleep. So insulin. You were telling me something about insulin before we started this. I well, oh yes, I was. So one of the things, like I I see a lot of people and like a lot of people struggle these days with insulin resistance or pre-diabetes or diabetes, which in turn, like, or or people are really struggling with their weight and they don't realize that they are in that insulin resistant category. One night of poor sleep or short sleep makes you more insulin resistant for the next four days.

Denise

Do you want to know why she said that? Because I told her that I slept like crap last night. I said, oh dang, I'm messed up for the next four days. But I know some things to mitigate that.

Debra

Yeah, so what does it matter? Like, what does insulin resistant even mean? Do you know? You know.

unknown

I do know.

Debra

It means that your your body is not we receptive to the influence of insulin in your body. Okay, so now to a fifth grader. What should you do or not do? For well, first of all, get a good night's sleep. Yes. Yes. The second is to eat well. Yeah. So really especially limit your carbs, your sweet or starchy carbs, your refined, practiced, packaged, processed carbs because those uh require insulin to be processed in your body. And if your body is resisting the insulin, all of that carbslash sugar hits you harder. Yes, it gets stored in your liver, it gets stored as fat, it messes up your it just messes up your body. Keeps those hormones fluctuating. Yeah. But also because you didn't sleep well, your body is looking for easy energy. And carbs are the easiest energy. So it almost sets up a vicious cycle that's all detrimental to your body. So what I need to do over the next four days is limit my carb intake and increase my protein and fat intake, and that will mitigate my bad night's sleep. Correct. 100% correct. Yes.

Denise

So the most important part of that whole part of that conversation is get a good night's sleep. Get a good night's sleep. Yes.

Insulin Resistance After One Bad Night

Debra

And if you don't, then there are some things you can do to help. Yeah, we'll get there. I want to talk to you about my ice cream I have almost every night for dessert. I started making it about six months ago with some of my very favorite protein powder. It's from Equip Foods Prime Protein, and it's one of the safest, cleanest, doctor-formulated protein powders that helps to build muscle and shred fat that won't leave you gassy or bloated. That's one of the problems I have with other kinds of proteins. Anyway, it's 100% grass-fed and finished. I make my protein out of their chocolate and their peanut butter. So it's my amazing peanut butter chocolate protein ice cream. It helps me meet my protein goals and taste amazing. To get a nice discount, go to equipfoods.com slash dx2 to get 30% off of a subscription order or a nice 15% discount off of a one-time order. You'll love it.

Denise

What are some things that keep us from getting a good night's sleep?

Debra

For me, I have a husband that likes to watch movies in bed at night on his iPad. So there's extra light flashing in my room.

Denise

That makes it hard for me.

Debra

Yeah. I yes. I get in trouble with that kind of thing because, like, if there is a light in my room, I don't care if it's the little red light coming from the switch on a power strip. She blocks it out. I will see it. Or the little day glow green light that's on your smoke detector. Like I will see them. And my husband says, just close your eyes. And I say it, but I can see it through my eyelids. I can I'm fully aware it's there. I black out everything I can. She sure does. Yeah. But we were talking about some of the things that will make you not be able to sleep. So that those flashing lights, yes, for one. Like I'm a big believer of no TV in the bedroom, but now you cannot have a TV and still there's a phone or an iPad, right? Yes. Yeah. Or a laptop or something. Um, but also like I talk to people on their regular who they want to spend quality time with their teenagers before the teenagers are grown and gone. And the teenagers like to stay up late. So they stay up late with them to have time together instead of all of them just going to bed. So some of it can be, I will say well-intentioned. Well-intentioned familial needs. Some people have little children and they just like that me time after the kids go to bed, and so they drag it out.

Denise

For sure.

Evening Habits That Break Sleep

Debra

Yep. Some people are lonely and they watch TV or go on Facebook and chat with people to feel like they're with other people and connected. So some of it is being like trying to be connected at the wrong times of the day. But but that's because that's when the loneliness is hitting.

Speaker

You're looking at other things. Yeah. Yeah. Like keep going. Well, they're it's not heavy. It's just yeah.

Denise

Well, connection is important, but getting connection during not during sleep time is more important. Yes. Yeah.

Debra

And you can find time to spend with people outside of sleeping time. Yes. Even teenagers, they should be asleep as well.

Denise

They are growing, they are growing. They need sleep. Some other things that can keep us from getting sleep are excess caffeine.

Debra

Yes.

Denise

Which is a big deal. Energy drinks are rampant. And if you're gonna have them, have them in the morning. Don't drink caffeine after three o'clock.

Debra

So there are some sources that say no caffeine after 11 a.m. Oh wow. Some say 2 p.m. at the latest. I think it has a lot to do with individual physiologies. I personally have found that I do better with no caffeine. Imagine that. Yeah. Well, it drives anxiety in me. I it took me a little while to put it together, but if I have caffeine, I am more anxious and more easily startled. Like it just drives anxiety in me. It drives the adrenaline in my body, basically.

Denise

Yeah, it it drives it does drive your adrenaline.

Debra

And if you're drinking, if you're pounding an energy drink and sitting at a desk, your body has all of this energy and doesn't use and it it messes a lot of things up. So, anyways, caffeine too late in the day is something we to be avoided. What's something else that can keep us from getting quality sleep? Can we talk about hormones again? Yes.

unknown

Okay.

Debra

Because they rule. They do. One of the things that I hear most frequently from people is I wake up at two or three in the morning and can't get back to sleep. And that is a classic sign of I'm going to say some of your sex hormones being out of balance, specifically progesterone, usually progesterone being too low. And I don't care if you are a young woman, young mom, or an old lady like me, not old, but I don't care where you are, progesterone plays a role. And it needs to be at the right ratio with estrogen.

Denise

So that's you've talked about women, but what about men?

Debra

So a lot of times with men, they also have sex hormones. They have testosterone, but they also have estrogen. Those ratios need to be in balance.

Denise

So for them, more it's the testosterone estrogen balance and not the progesterone estrogen balance of women.

Late Eating And Human Growth Hormone

Debra

But also for men, a lot of times it has to do with frequent urination. They have to get up to P. And a lot of times for men, at least with those that I have worked with clinically, okay, most of them can get right back to sleep. They're not like the women who are awake for two hours because of the low progesterone.

Denise

And your mind just goes on its own little roller coaster that goes around and around and around and doesn't stop.

Debra

Yeah. And then sometimes you finally fall asleep at five o'clock and then your alarm goes off, and you're like, oh crap, I still need three more hours. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, some other things that inhibit sleep. Temperature. So for me, if a room is too hot or too cold, man, too hot. That's a hard one. I am Goldilocks. I need it just right.

Denise

Well, a too hot room, you can't escape. Like a fan, maybe can help, but we've been down in Mexico before and it's gets too hot and it's really hard to sleep. It's really hard to sleep when it's too hot.

Debra

So when it's too cold, you can do something about it. Here's one more. Eating too late at night. Snacking after eight o'clock can keep you awake and or make it so you do not sleep well. Yes. So I was gonna save that for later because it comes into like a good sleep routine. Yeah, we'll talk about sleep routines in a minute, but that one can keep you up. It can. And do you want you do you know why? Because your b your body is not meant to be digesting food. It's meant to be sleeping, regenerating, and restoring. So it doesn't want to be digesting food. You need to stop eating like four hours before you go to bed so your body can actually rest. Yes. Yeah. Anything to add to that? I mean, there's lots I could add, but that's the gist of it. And um like when you're digesting, your metabolism is turned on. That means the furnace is turned up.

Denise

Yeah.

Dark Rooms, Noise, And Cool Temps

Debra

We need the furnace turned down and for you to be cool to sleep. It's shut down time. Yeah. But if you eat, your body's still working. Things it should be doing while you're awake. Yeah. It literally should I I want to talk about I'm gonna just talk about it. Okay. So when you eat within three hours of when you go to bed, one of the things that doesn't happen when you sleep is human growth hormone never turns on. Normally it will turn on within 30 minutes of when you go to sleep. And human growth hormone is what repairs and regenerates and keeps you young and you, you know, just gives you all the things you need to recover. If you have eaten within three hours of going to bed, it does not turn on. So you wake up tired and exhausted and breaking down because of a failure to recover during the night because you ate too close to bedtime.

Denise

So if you feel snacky at bedtime, have a drink of water. Or we're gonna talk about some of this later, but some things that will help you get to sleep.

Debra

Yeah. That will make you feel like maybe you had a treat, but it will help you sleep. That your body doesn't see as food. Yeah. Yeah. Well, let's let's move on to that part. I know we keep teasing right now. Yeah. Enough teasing, here we go. So how do we get good sleep? One of the things we talked about that Deborah does not like is any light in the room at all.

Denise

And my husband watches shows on his iPad while he's going to sleep, and there's flashing lights in the room.

Debra

So I invested in a sleep mask, and it's one of the best things I ever did for my sleep because he can do his thing and I can do mine and go right to sleep. I have like four of them. So one of them lives in my suitcase because you always need one in a hotel room every time. Yeah.

Denise

Anyway, so a dark room.

Debra

If you if you can't get it dark, the sleep masks are like 10 bucks invest in one. It will change how you sleep. Yeah. What's another one? But you can do blackout curtains. Like oh yeah. There are ways you can get it very dark. But if you live anywhere in the city, there is ambient light that's coming in from outside, or there are things plugged in around your house that are are emitting light, and it needs to just be off or dark, like dark. Just like you're in a cave. Cave like absence of light altogether. Yes. So the next one is any like block out any ambient noise. So outside noises, cars driving by, kids laughing or crying, or animals barking, or refrigerator humming in the other room, whatever the noises may be, it's always good to have like a fan going that will be noise that will overshadow that and be a constant for your brain. A lot of people use white noise machines machines.

Denise

There's actually been some studies done with on children that the white noise machine constantly all night actually affects their development.

Debra

Yeah, it causes almost static in the brain. So the brain is in chaos rather than in recovery. So white noise isn't the best, but you can do like there's apps and there's different sound machines that are like a waterfall or ocean waves or a crackling fire, anything like that that's kind of on a constant but not chaotic frequency will work. There are different colors of noise, brown noise and green noise. Those ones are actually calming to your brain. How do you how do you get those?

Denise

Well, there's a there are apps that have the different sounds, different color sounds. But the white noise is chaotic, but brown noise is calming, green noise is calming. So try a different kind of noise if you want noise.

The 3‑2‑1 Sleep Routine

Debra

But yeah, in our room we always have a fan, just like a box fan. Yeah, that's going. My husband also has a little fan right next to like it's on his nightstand, and he aims it at his head. Because it's also more noise close to him because he's a little more hard of hearing, so the other fan isn't quite loud enough, but it's also providing cool air on him. Yeah, he likes that cool during the night. And that's one of the things, too, is the temperature, right?

Denise

Yes, so we want to be warm in our bed and have a nice cool room that will help you sleep.

Debra

Ideally, the proven ideal room temperature is between 60 and 65 degrees during the night. So it's great for your energy, Bill.

Denise

True. Tell you when you're supposed in the morning. No, but the cold at night, it just feels better to your body and it's more I don't know, I think it makes you go deeper into sleep.

Debra

It does. You snuggle more in your bed and stay warm. Yeah. So, but you want to be snug warm in your bed while the room, the atmosphere, is cool. Some people run really hot. Like back to Tom. He runs hot. Like he's got a great metabolism. Bless him. He's got a great metabolism and he just runs hot. So sometimes he's like not under the covers at all. And I would be freezing. So I have the covers and I have another little extra down comforter that goes just over my feet because they need a little extra warm. But just get it right for you so you can be snug in bed, but the at the atmosphere is cool. Some people run hot enough at night that there is something called a chili pad. A chili pad that you put underneath your sheet and you can set the temperature where it keeps you cool enough, but doesn't affect anybody else, so that you can get your good quality sleep.

Denise

That's nice. Sometimes I put a cold pack under my back when I lay down to go to sleep, and that also helps me get to sleep because my like I'm warm in my covers, but I just have that little bit of cool.

Debra

I've done the same thing. So usually I only do it like if I have hurt myself in some way. Every once in a while I'll put it under my upper body area because it stimulates the brown fat to work. So I'll put a an ice pack, a cold pack there, and I'll just fall asleep. I always sleep so much deeper when I do that. Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

Magnesium And The Sleep Stack

Debra

So that's a good one to do. Easy to do. Okay, I have a note here. It says three, two, one, go. Yeah, so one of the best things to do is to follow the three, two, one rule. And we already touched on one of these. Three hours before bed, stop eating. So no heavy meals, no alcohol, so that digestion can be finished and not disrupt your sleep quality when you go to sleep. You said four hours, like between three and five. But like for most people, I just beg them three. Yeah. Because some people just keep snacking and snacking and snacking until they pass out. Yeah. Right. So aim for three hours. Two hours before bed, we want to start doing what's called the mental wind down. So stop doing work or anything that's really mentally stimulating. No email or like planning meetings or computer work that's mentally taxing. Just let your mind start winding down. Okay. And then one hour before bed, this shouldn't be as challenging for people as it is, but it's a real challenge. It's to stop using screens and devices. Switch to relaxing, low stimulation activities like reading or stretching or visiting with your family or like something else. Bedtime routine. Some people call it sleep hygiene. I think that sounds yucky. So I call it sleep choreography because it's like a dance. Yes. But that that three to one pattern helps your body know and recognize the signals and work with like the things on behind the scenes, like the hormones that are running the show. Kicks the melatonin in. Yep.

Denise

So when you calm yourself down, instead of taking melatonin, you could kick it in yourself by following a sleep routine.

Debra

When my kids were little, we had sleep routines so that they would know, okay, we're done playing for the day. We're gonna get your jammies on, go brush your teeth, take a bath. It's the same thing as adults. We think we don't need that, but we definitely do. We definitely do, and we need it more so because we're so busy, we're pulled in so many different directions that our bodies and our brains need that count that consistency, that routine. Did you know that on average people gain 15 pounds between Halloween and New Year's? Oh my gosh. Yeah, it's true. That's why headed into the season, I really recommend that people use the fat reduction package from Optimal Health. It breaks free from the cycles of cravings, stalled progress, and it uses science-backed approaches to weight loss. It targets nutrients that work together to help you feel your best while achieving your goals. Sounds good to me. It also helps control your hunger. It has fermented fiber that supports appetite regulation and makes healthy eating easier, which we need during the holidays. It does, but it also blocks fat storage. So it supplements the body to prevent you from storing fat and helping you shed unwanted pounds naturally.

Denise

Nice. It also helps you boost your metabolism. Lipase, patented chromium, and herbs like berberine. Berberine is all the rage, right? Yep.

Debra

Helps metabolize fat and sugar for sustained energy. So it's a complete balance of pure protein, essential fats, and carbs that simplifies balanced nutrition while supporting weight management. You can get your fat reduction pack at optimalhealthsystems.com and use the code D times2, that's DX2, to get a great discount. What's another one that we can do? What about magnesium? I've heard magnesium helps you sleep. I for sure think it helps me sleep. I ran out of magnesium a little while ago. Like for a week I didn't have any. And I can tell you that my sleep was not as good.

Denise

So magnesium does help.

Debra

Yes, but not just any magnesium. No, there's a lot of different forms, and a lot of people say, Oh, I take magnesium, I get column at Walmart, and it's magnesium oxide or magnesium citrate, and it's just irritating to your system and it doesn't help with sleep. We want it to be magnesium glycinate. Glycinate. Yes. Magnesium glycinate is the one that helps with rest and relaxation and sleep. It also supports your hormones. It also helps you process carbohydrates. So those things that help, like if they're out of dial, you get bad sleep. The magnesium also helps dial them in. So magnesium glycinate, and generally you want between 400 and 800 milligrams. Most people are pretty good around 400, but some people just need a little more. And if you've had Thanksgiving or you've had Christmas and lots of carbs, you need a little more because it will help your body process the carbohydrates. So get your magnesium. So with the magnesium, which almost everyone is deficient in, I will almost recommend that they do, like if they've had trouble sleeping and need to just get their sleep dialed in, do what I call the sleep stack.

Denise

The sleep stack is awesome. Yeah.

Debra

So it includes magnesium and a supplement called calm from Optimal Health, which is different than calm powder that you find in all the stores. It's actually helps with your REM sleep. So it helps you stay asleep. And then the uh the third point in the sleep stack triangle is the sleep gummies. So I I use all the ones from Optimal Health Systems. They're essential magnesium, the calm, and then the sleep gummies. The sleep gummies are mostly melatonin, but they're also a gummy. So it's like a little bedtime snack that doesn't your body doesn't see as food. Yeah. They are magic. They're magic. Yes. Well, not magic, but they do make a huge difference in the quality of your sleep. So that's my other three, two, one. So I take three magnesium, two calm, and one sleep gummy. Oh, there you go. Yeah. Yeah, that's a great sleep stack. So if you don't want to take all that stuff before bed, there's something else that you can take.

Denise

Perk has a drink that's called Perk Chill. Chill. And let me tell you what. That one is awesome. It helps me.

Debra

Like sometimes I just want to take a break from the things that I'm doing and let my body do something else. And that perk chill is fantastic. It does help me sleep really well. Yeah. Just on its own. It's also delicious. Yes, it is. But it also helps people who have like restless leg, that kind of thing. It will help to settle all of that down. I like to usually partner it together with the sleep stack. Like I'll mix that in water and use that to drink down the supplements that are in the sleep stack. Oh, she wants to sleep really well.

Denise

Yeah.

Baths, Gratitude, Breath Holds

Debra

Well, I went through a time where I really struggled, and no matter what I did, I just couldn't sleep. And one of the reasons was progesterone. I it for me, it dropped earlier than it does in most people. And I didn't know because I nobody was testing for it. It was earlier than it should have been. That's also partly why I miscarried was that low progesterone. That's one of the reasons you hear me talk about progesterone. It matters. It does matter. But there's also another, I'm going to say a powder, like the perk chill. It's a powder that I use almost every night. And it's one of the things that I tell people start there. Like do the magnesium, like do those things. But it's from a company called Myoscience. It's called Myo Relax and Calm. And it has some things in it. There's GABA, there's there's just some things in it that help your body actually go into rest and repair mode. Like some of us are just missing some of those ingredients. So that and the magnesium, I never miss.

Denise

So they switch on the things that you need to do that your body needs to do to go to sleep to rest and repair and regenerate.

Debra

Yep. So we'll link that that mile, relax and calm. I we call it sleepy time in my house. I'm gonna go take my sleepy time. Yeah. And sometimes with that, too, there's the perk chill, there's that one, and then another powder that's from just ingredients called nighttime relax. You've taken that one.

Denise

I have. That one's great too. That one and the perk chill are similar, but they're just enough different. Like some people, one works better than the other.

Debra

For me, the perk chill worked better, but the just ingredients nighttime relax was fantastic as well. Yeah. There, and and really it comes down to an individual need because different people are low in different neurotransmitters.

Denise

Yeah, everybody's body is different. Everybody's dealing with different stuff.

Debra

So try one. I would say if you try one of the powders, start with the the sleepy time, the myo relax and calm, and then go from there if needed. So my perfect scenario is I do a scoop of the myo relax and calm and a half a scoop of perk chill. Sometimes I'm out of it and I will use the just ingredients nighttime relax, a half a scoop. I almost never do a whole scoop, and that's magic for me. It's also magic for my husband. He sleeps well, so you can sleep well. Yes. Yeah, that's that's great. Yep. And then I use that to wash down my magnesium and my calm. And then I suck on my sleep gummy, and that's my little bedtime snack.

Denise

So that's your magic sleep stack, plus some drinks. Something else that can help you s wind down and sleep well is a nice hot bath.

Debra

Yep. And in that hot bath, you can put some lavender scental oil, you can put some bath salts, which is actually magnesium. So different form of magnesium. Yeah, different form. But you that will help you also relax and signal your body it's time, it's time to slow down and go to sleep. Yeah. And then so when you get in bed, you're already warm and cozy, and your room can be cool and it doesn't make you too cold to get to sleep. Yeah. Do we have one more, Deb? Well, I want to talk about prayer and meditation. Some sort of, I'm gonna say a spiritually based check-in before bed. Whether it's your nighttime prayer or you're doing some yoga stretching or just a seated or laying down with your legs up the wall, meditation, something like that that kind of harmonizes mind and spirit. Yes, it brings the day to this spiritual realm close. I I do that. I lay in bed and I think of at least five things that I'm grateful for that day, and I picture them and it helps to calm me down, and I find I fall asleep pretty quickly right after that. It just helps. Like a gratitude meditation. Yeah. Without being a fancy sick, fancy meditation. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So prayer or meditation, or like you said, yoga. Something. Something to just calm your spiritual side, because you are a spiritual being.

Denise

So we have the physical part with the hot bath or the supplements or the drink.

Resources, Discounts, And Closing

Debra

We have the turning your phone off that quiets your mental load, and then meditation or prayer or gratitude, something for your spiritual part. Can I throw one more in for extra credit? Bonus. So it's called the breath hold technique. And it's one of those things that you do physically, but it kind of shuts down anything that's unnecessarily happening in your body, whether it be a thought pattern or muscle spasm or anything. So you're laying in bed, you're totally neutral, you take as deep of a breath in as you can, and then you hold it for as long as you possibly can. Like you think you're gonna die and then hold it just a little bit longer. When you think you're gonna die, go a fraction of a second longer because when you get into that true crisis must survive mode is when your body is actively very fast turning off switches of things that don't need to be happening. So then when you do breathe. Your body will already be in a more relaxed state. You can then catch your breath and repeat it one or two more times if you need to. Some people just do it once and then they're out for the count. That one's free, by the way. Yeah. Like there's so many free things you can do. And then some of us need a little extra help that we spend some money on. I'm one of those. Yeah. So there are some ideas for you, some information about why sleep is important and how to prioritize it. And how to get good sleep. We hope that you are sleeping well. We hope that you can dial that in and improve the quality of your life on so very many levels. Yeah, it makes everything better when you get good sleep and you wake up refreshed and ready to go. It's awesome.

Denise

Yeah. So if you learned anything from this podcast that was helpful to you, we would really appreciate a thumbs up. Please like it and share it.

Debra

Share it with somebody who might be having a sleep issue because it's probably somebody you know. I was gonna say everybody knows somebody who's who's struggling or has struggled for a long time, and they would really appreciate it. And we would appreciate your help with getting the word out there, sharing what we're trying to do. Leave us any comments, the what you liked or didn't like or things you want to hear. And then remember that we have resources linked in the show notes. So the sleep stack, all of that stuff that we talked about today are linked below with discount codes and use the resources if you need them. Yep. We have some free printables down there as well. In the meantime, keep your will rolling strong. We'll see you next time. Bye. Thanks for listening to the D Times 2 podcast with Denise and Deborah. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Be sure to subscribe and share it with someone who's ready to roll toward a more balanced life. Your support means the world to us. And just a quick note we're sharing our own experiences and ideas, not professional advice. Always do your own research and talk to a qualified expert before making big decisions. Until next time, keep your wheel rolling strong.