You know that feeling when you get up well rested, motivated, energized and positive after a deep and long night’s sleep? Many women don’t remember what a restful sleep feels like anymore. Poor sleep affects 70% of Americans and 80% of the women I work with either can’t fall or stay asleep. Furthermore, sleep can have a profound impact on our hormones, appetite, weight, and mood.
To explore the impact of sleep on our hormonal balance, healthy weight and wellbeing, invited Dr. Michael Breus, the acclaimed Sleep Doctor. Thank you to those who submitted your questions, we only had 20 minutes together and he tried to cover as many as he could. Here is the interview.
Points of interest:
1:50 Sleep and inflammation connection and how to measure it (plus, connection to sleep apnea)
2:27 How to determine how many hours of sleep do you really need? (8 hours is not the answer)
4:35 How to calculate sleep deprivation.
6:00 Sleep and weight gain connection; how sleep deprivation impacts metabolism, cortisol, leptin and gherlin hormones that make you put on weight.
7: 40 Why we crave high carb diets, fats, and coffee when sleep deprived.
8:44 Why do you wake up in the middle of the night?
10:53 How trauma can impact your sleep quality.
11:45 How to design your own “power down hour.”
13:00 Learn the 5-4-7 breathing technique.
17:33 Sleep apnea exploration.
21:52 How to shut your brain off before going to bed.
25:30 Free mobile app to help your sleep.
Really sorry to miss most of this as Im away for most of August,,,,,and i struggle with sleep BIG TIME…….
If our initial try for figuring out the number of hours of sleep we need shows we need more or less, how do we tweek it to get the right number? How do we know if we need more or if we need less?
This was wonderful and so enlightening. Thank you both!
[…] sleep has been shown in research to raise levels of inflammatory markers in the body. Check out my interview with the sleep doctor, Michael Breus, Ph.D., to learn more about the connection between sleep and […]
Good sleep is so important to me. so huge thanks for this video.
We’re glad you found it useful! You might also enjoy Magdalena’s new article “How to Fix Sleep After 45.” https://hormonesbalance.com/articles/how-to-fix-your-sleep-after-45/
– HB Team
Thank you for this interview and for bringing up such important topics as healthy sleep. I’m glad we finally stopped telling everyone that eight hours of sleep is the only healthy option of all. Everyone has their own need for sleep, and with age, it also decreases. As a person who suffers from apnea, I am even more grateful to you for analyzing this topic, since I never thought before that this could really interfere with healthy sleep, and even more so in some way affect our metabolism in the body.
Bestpot