Ep 7: Are you sleeping well?

Sleep is so underestimated but so important. You might be sleeping 8 hours every night but is it quality sleep? Or are you waking up every morning and snoozing the alarm because you are still tired? Understanding your sleep a little more might bring huge benefits. 

About me: 

I'm Emma Bradbury, a personal development coach specialising in NLP and mBIT coaching techniques and a Level 2 Fitness instructor and Level 3 Personal Trainer. 

I'm passionate about about transformation from the inside out, helping my clients to get fitter and stronger both in mind and body.

I work with clients in-person at my training and coaching centre in Poulton-le-Fylde on the Fylde Coast and online. 

You can find me here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100095409783100

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Website: www.emmabradburycoaching.co.uk

Email: emma@emmabradburycoaching.co.uk

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:58

Let's talk sleep. Because very often we focus on diet, we focus on exercise, but actually, how much sleep we get plays a critical role in our energy levels, in our metabolism, in our hunger, ultimately in our fat storage. Not to mention just how we project ourselves on a day-to-day basis. I know that when I'm tired, I can be short-tempered, I can be grumpy, I can be irritable, and then it's a vicious circle because you do all that. I get snappy with my girls, and then I feel bad about it. So then I dwell on that for the rest of the day, wishing that I hadn't been snappy with them and I feel guilty about it. And actually, it links into our resourceful states from the last episode, but also it links into our sleep. So when I say, are you getting enough sleep? I don't just mean hours-wise. I mean what's the quality of your sleep? Do you even know? Because I know that I sleep like a like a baby. I will go to bed and I'm out like a light. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I am asleep. And wake up in the morning when my alarm goes off, and even then, I could snooze it and snooze it and snooze it because I feel so tired. But I'm getting seven, eight hours sleep a night, sometimes nine. So why do I feel so tired? And my husband says to me, You never stop moving all night. He said, You might as well be awake. You literally thrash about all night, like you're not getting any sort of restful sleep. You you've you must be going to bed with something on your mind. And I don't think I do. I've not got anything particularly to worry about. I'm not particularly stressed about anything. So what's going on? And this might be you. You know, if you're waking up every morning and you're getting what you think is enough sleep, but you're still tired, then there might be something else influencing that. And maybe it's time to start doing that deeper digging to try and eliminate whatever it is. So before we kind of go into your sleep, let's just talk about the science of sleep and weight regulation. Because I know for a lot of women, we can be doing everything right. You can be doing the weight loss plan to the letter, 100%, week in, week out. You could be working out four times a week, and the weight isn't shifting, and this could have something to do with it, and not just this, there's loads of other things that we will talk about over you know the next few weeks or months or whatever. But this is a good place to start because this is something that might be a quick fix. So sleep has a lot to do with our hormonal balance. Sleep regulates hormones like ghrelin, which stimulates our appetite, and leptin, which signals when we're full. So poor sleep increases ghrelin and decreases leptin. What that means is you feel hungrier and less satisfied after meals because you've got a bigger appetite, but you're never feeling full. Sleep deprivation also reduces insulin sensitivity, making it harder for your body to manage blood sugar, which can lead to more fat storage, especially around the belly. And a big E, and there's going to be a whole episode on this very soon. Cortisol and stress. Lack of sleep raises cortisol, which is the stress hormone, and high cortisol levels promote fat retention, particularly again around the belly area. And that is rubbish, isn't it? You can be doing everything right, but if you're stressed, that way it ain't going. Sleep also affects our eating habits because sleep-deprived brains do crave high calorie, high sugar foods. Because you're always looking for that lift, you're always looking to up your energy levels. So you do. You have a quick fix, you have a bar of chocolate, but it's a short-term energy high, and then you crash, and then you need something more. And this is partly due to altered brain function in areas that are responsible for decision making and for reward. And people who sleep fewer than six hours also tend to snap more, especially late at night when you have your supper. I remember when I was a kid and there was always a supper at my grandma and granddad's. We used to go there quite often in school holidays, they lived near St Helens, and we'd go there for a whole week, and there was always a supper before bed, drinking a couple of biscuits. I think that's just how it was in those days. But in this case, when you are sleeping less, you're awake longer, gives you more hours to eat in. And also lack of quality sleep leads to a slower metabolism. So poor sleep slows your basal metabolic rate. So your basal metabolic rate is the energy your body burns at rest. So even when you're just sitting, you might be sitting now listening to this podcast, you'll be burning calories. Very, very, very few calories, but the slower your basal metabolic rate, the even more fewer calories that you'll burn. And even small changes in sleep can lead to fewer calories burned throughout the day. But likewise, on the on the flip side, small changes in sleep and getting better sleep can lead to more calories being burned throughout the day. So there is a plus. And tired people are less likely to work out or even move much during the day. Fatigue leads to a sedentary lifestyle, which hampers our weight loss efforts. So let me run through your sleep cycle because it's really interesting. And it doesn't take much of an explanation. So your sleep cycle is a recurring pattern that your brain and your body go through during sleep. And you don't have one sleep cycle per night. You'll have four to six depending on how many hours you sleep. And they typically last around 90 to 120 minutes, so an hour and a half to two hours. And each cycle includes different stages of sleep. So stage one is your light sleep. And this is usually about five minutes at the start of the night or at the start of the cycle. And this is the transition from wakefulness to dropping off to sleep. It's when your brain and your body activity begin to slow down. So if you get eight hours a night, this would be approximately 25 minutes of those eight hours. It's just 5%. Then your cycle moves into light sleep. So this starts with about 10 to 25 minutes in the first sleep cycle and it lengthens with each cycle. And this is when your heart rate drops, your body temperature drops, your brain waves slow down, but you do still have short bursts of activity. And in an eight-hour sleep, this will be about three and a half to four and a half hours of that eight hours. So it's about 45 to 55 percent of your total sleep. Then we get to the important bit, your deep sleep, stage three. So this is slow wave sleep. And this is 20 to 40 minutes per cycle, longer in the earlier cycles and shorter in the later cycles. And this is the most restorative sleep stage. This is the stage of sleep that's really important for physical recovery, for immune function, for memory, for everything. And this should be about one to two hours of an eight-hour sleep, about 15 to 25%. And finally, you have your dream sleep. And this might start at 10 minutes in the earlier cycles and increase to maybe 60 minutes in later cycles. This is when your brain activity becomes more active. It's similar to being awake. This is when your most vivid dreams occur. So you know when you wake up and you're like, oh my god, that dream felt really vivid, it felt like it really happened. And it's because it's at the latter end of your cycle. And it is crucial for emotional regulation for your memory and for learning. And this, similarly to your deep sleep, should be one and a half to two hours of an eight-hour cycle. So about 20 to 25% of your sleep. So those are your four sleep cycles, and you'll go through those maybe four to four to six times in the night. Getting a full seven to nine hours sleep is crucial to ensure that your body completes enough full sleep cycles. So it might be worth if you can, if you've got a watch that tracks your sleep, might be worth having a little look, looking at that feature. You might never have noticed it before, you might not even know it exists. But if you're always feeling tired, it's maybe worth having a little look at that. Instead of one and a half to two hours of dream sleep a night, my dream sleep is usually around four hours. Which explains while I'm why I'm always moving about because I might as well be awake. Also explains why I'm so tired. There are things that can help, though. Sticking to a good routine. So going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, even on the weekends, don't hate me. It strengthens your body's natural sleep wake cycle. Creating a sleep-friendly environment. So a cool, dark, quiet room that helps to regulate your sleep hormone, melatonin. Try to not have any caffeine for six to eight hours before bed. And I know don't hate me. But it's a stimulant and it stays in your system for six to eight hours. So cut off coffee, tea, chocolate, energy drinks after two o'clock in the afternoon. Worth a try. Might not work for you, in which case, crack on. But if it does, then it might have a really positive impact into so many different areas of life. Watch what you eat. Heavy meals before bed can disturb your sleep by causing indigestion. Try and refrain from screen time. Again, there's all sorts of different sciences that say different things. But if it helps, it's worth a little experiment. Try and wind down with a relaxing routine. Reading a book, maybe. Or having a warm bath, doing some breathing exercises. Make sure you've got a comfortable mattress and pillow. Maybe an excuse to go shopping for new bedding. That's always a win for me. And even keep a journal. Might be worth just keeping a journal and just noting down what's happened in your day and then seeing if it correlates to a good sleep or a bad sleep. Seeing what you were doing before you went to bed. Note down when you had your last caffeine drink, or when you ate last, or what you ate. Because it's all going to give you leads, it's all going to give you something to go on to try and fix your sleep, try and get more sleep, better sleep, deeper sleep, quality sleep, which will in turn have such an impact. I want to finish by just really stressing that quality sleep is just as important as diet and exercise when it comes to weight loss. It helps regulate your appetite, manage your blood sugar, lower your stress, and support your energy levels. So sleeping well is not lazy, it's strategic. So sweet dreams until next time.