Prioritizing Sleep: Essential Nutrition and Wellness Tips for Women in Midlife Recovery Journeys

Did you know that prioritizing sleep can be as vital to your health as the nutrition you consume? Join host Heather Carey in this enlightening episode of Real Food Stories, where she shares her personal journey of recovery after hip surgery and uncovers the profound connection between sleep, nutrition and wellness. As a culinary nutritionist, Heather emphasizes the critical role that restorative sleep plays in overall health, especially for women navigating midlife and menopause.

Throughout the episode, Heather reflects on her own experiences, illustrating how she learned to listen to her body and prioritize rest during her recovery. She dives deep into the physiological processes of sleep, breaking down the various stages and their significance for healing, including tissue repair, hormone regulation, and cognitive function. With her expertise, Heather connects the dots between sleep deprivation and serious health risks such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, making it clear that sleep is not just a luxury but a necessity.

Listeners will gain valuable insights into how insufficient sleep disrupts hormones related to appetite and metabolism, ultimately leading to weight gain and increased stress. Heather provides evidence-based nutrition advice that empowers women to take charge of their health by focusing on the often-overlooked aspect of sleep. She shares practical tips for improving sleep quality, including establishing a consistent sleep schedule, creating a calming bedtime routine, and limiting screen time and caffeine intake.

This episode is a treasure trove of healthy eating tips and mindful eating practices that align with the seven pillars of abundance for a fulfilling life. Heather’s message resonates deeply: prioritizing sleep is essential for a healthier life, nutrition and wellness, especially for those navigating the complexities of midlife nutrition and women’s health. With her warm and empathetic approach, Heather encourages listeners to make sleep a top health goal, reminding us that our bodies deserve the care and attention they need to thrive.

Whether you’re exploring personal food journeys, grappling with emotional eating, or seeking sustainable eating habits, this episode offers a wealth of insights that marry the worlds of nutrition and wellness. Tune in to Real Food Stories to discover how you can transform your health by embracing the power of sleep and making informed food and lifestyle choices.

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Transcript:

Speaker #0
Well, hello, everybody, and welcome back. And if you are just tuning in with me for the very first time, it’s so nice to meet you. And I’m really glad you’re here with me today. I am your host, Heather Carey, nutritionist, chef, mom, and a woman who has been around the block with food. I want to open up about real food in relation to health, weight, and our bodies so you can make peace with what you eat. Well, hello, everybody. And I am so glad to be back on the podcast. It’s been a couple of weeks. And happy spring. I just love this time of year so much. It’s such a fantastic time to think about making changes. It’s like nature just naturally is going through a rebirth or an awakening. And I think we are as well. And I know for me, I certainly need this. I had hip surgery in February and I was, quote, forced to rest. I forgot how exhausting surgery is. I’ve mentioned in previous episodes that I had had back surgery several years ago, which wasn’t exactly the best experience. My pain was not managed very well. And so this time… I was just filled with a lot of anxiety and fear. But I got through it, and really, it was more my fatigue that caught me off guard this time. And right when I was feeling back to normal, I got sick with something mysterious. It wasn’t COVID, knock wood, but it was maybe RSV or something similar. Where I got it from is a mystery because I have barely left my house while recovering. Anyway, whatever it was. It just felt like a double blow. And nonetheless, I am here and I am back in action and really excited to just be in real time on the podcast. With this surgery, I listened to my body this time. I didn’t fight the tiredness. And when I got sick, I rested more. I mean, I rested a lot. I let my husband cook. I never complained about letting go of the control around my food choices. And. I eased back into things when I felt ready and it felt fitting for winter. Sleep is so very important for recovery. We are naturally programmed to rest more during the darker, colder days anyway. Not to mention all that I know about the importance of deep rest. It is as important as anything else you do for your health. Now, I mean, let’s be real. we are a society that prides itself on overdoing, burning the candles at both ends, whatever you want to call it. But the more I have researched and learned about sleep and rest, the more I am sure that not getting good sleep will only work against you in the long run. If you’re not convinced, I want to share with you five really solid scientifically backed reasons to make sleep one of your greatest priorities. I wanted to bring this up today because sleep has been such a huge focus for me in the past couple of weeks and months. And I really wanted to make a point, this go around, knowing that my body was going to be under a huge amount of physical stress, to make sure that I rested and to see what the outcome was. And I’d say it was, but first I wanted to talk about what sleep even is and what happens in our bodies when we sleep in the hopes that this might sell you on the importance of sleep, because I think that we take for granted our sleep, and many of us might minimize it or just downplay how vital it is to our health. So let’s dive into what sleep is exactly. So sleep is a complex physiological process that involves the interaction of many bodily systems, really almost all of them. During sleep, Our bodies go through several stages, each with its own unique characteristics. It’s really actually quite amazing. But here’s a breakdown of what happens during sleep, which I find to be really pretty fascinating. We go through several stages. So the first stage is the beginning of sleep. This is where our bodies are still slightly awake and we’re transitioning to sleep. It’s a light sleep stage. you can still be very easily woken up during this stage. In the second stage of sleep, during which the body enters a deeper sleep, our body temperatures and heart rates start to decrease and brain waves become even slower. And then stage three, this is the deepest stage. This is called non-rapid eye movement. It’s also known as slow wave sleep. Your brain waves become even slower, and it’s harder to wake someone up when you’re in this stage of sleep. Now, the fourth stage, one of the most important stages, is our REM sleep. We probably all have heard. REM sleep, right? And we’re going to talk about exactly what that is and why it’s so important. After going through the stages of non-rapid eye movement sleep, our bodies then enter REM sleep. And during this stage, the eyes start to move more rapidly. The brain is highly active, similar to when someone is awake. This is when dreams usually occur during this stage, and your body becomes temporarily paralyzed. to prevent acting out our dreams. And through the night, our bodies cycle through each of these stages of sleep, with each cycle lasting around 90 minutes. So the amount of time spent in each stage really varies depending on your age, your lifestyle, and so many other factors that contribute to a really good night’s sleep. Now during sleep, our bodies undergo a huge range of restorative processes, including Tissue repair and growth, immune system function, and the merging of memories. The body also produces hormones during sleep that help to regulate various bodily functions, such as your appetite, your metabolism, and your stress response. So all in all, sleep is such a complex process that involves all of these different stages, each with its own unique characteristics. So obviously, we need sleep. But how much… exactly do we need? Now, when I hear someone say they live on four to five hours of sleep, my body tenses up because it’s simply not enough. Now, here’s what the guidelines tell us. Now, for instance, if you have any experience with a newborn, if you’ve ever had a newborn or an infant, you know that these small little beings need at least 14 it. to 17 hours of sleep a day. And there’s a reason for that. They are in a hyper growth rate right then, right? And then as we get a little older, we need a little less sleep. Toddlers need about 11 to 14 hours of sleep. Teenagers move down to about 8 to 10 hours. As adults, we need about 7 to 9 hours of sleep. And older adults, about 7 to 8. Now, it’s important to note that these Guidelines, these are general guidelines. Some individuals may require more or less sleep. And additionally, the quality of sleep also plays a huge role in overall health and well-being. So you can get eight hours of sleep, but if you’re consistently getting woken up and not going through all those cycles of sleep, then you’re not going to have the restorative rest that you need. Now, like I said, during sleep, Our bodies undergo a range of restorative processes that are essential for our physical and mental health. And I wanted to talk about some of the most important ones so you can really get a good understanding of why we need good quality sleep. So the first one I wanted to mention to you is our physical health. Sleep helps to promote healing and repair of our organs, our skin, our muscles, our bones. and our brain functions, just to name a few. And it also helps with pain management. Now, these were two things that I personally was especially focused on the past couple of weeks after my surgery. So when you deeply sleep, the body produces growth hormone, which is essential for repairing and regenerating the tissues in your body, including your muscles, bones, and organs. And making my sleep my number one priority and not pushing myself to binge watch, for example, one more episode of The Last of Us because I love apocalypse shows so much, really helped me heal faster. And I really believed helped lessen my post-surgery pain. Being rested also helped keep me calm. And I’m sure you can understand what it feels like to be over the edge with fatigue. Being in this state of mind is so stressful and stress and lack of sleep makes everything just feel worse. And speaking of stress, we know now how much sleep plays a crucial role in maintaining your mental health. It helps to regulate moods and emotions. It improves cognitive function and enhances memory and learning. If I’m ever more moody or emotional than usual, the first thing I always check in with is my sleep. It’s not up for debate for me. I need to get a good night’s sleep before I even think about leaning into any irrational thoughts. Now let’s turn to the other extremely important aspects of sleep. And the one I wanted to talk about next was our cardiovascular health. Our lack of sleep has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension, strokes, and heart attacks. One study found that people who slept less than six hours per night you had a 48% increased risk of heart attacks compared to those who slept seven to eight hours per night. And several studies have found that lack of sleep or poor quality sleep is associated with an increased risk of hypertension. Sleep deprivation can lead to an increase in blood pressure, which can put a strain on the heart and increase the risk of heart disease. Now, a couple more studies. There was a huge one you Back in the 2000s, the Nurses’ Health Study, this is a large-scale study. They followed more than 82,000 women over a period of 16 years and found that women who slept five hours or less per night had a 45% increased risk of developing coronary heart disease compared to those who slept seven to eight hours per night. One more study that I’ll mention was the Whitehall study. One more that I’ll mention, the Sleep Heart Health Study back in 2006. This study followed more than 6,000 participants and found that those with sleep apnea were more than twice as likely to develop congestive heart failure compared to those without sleep apnea. The study also found that the severity of sleep apnea was associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Overall, these studies just provide strong evidence of the link between lack of sleep and an increased risk of heart disease. While the exact mechanisms underlying the relationship are still being studied, it’s clear that getting enough quality sleep is an important factor in maintaining heart health. The next thing I wanted to talk about when it comes to the very important aspect of sleep is weight management. Sleep deprivation has been directly associated with weight gain and obesity. Lack of sleep affects hormones that control appetite and metabolism, which lead to overeating and weight gain. Sleep is important for regulating metabolism. Lack of sleep has been linked to an increase of obesity, diabetes, and metabolic disorders. During our sleep, the body produces hormones to help regulate appetite, metabolism, and energy balance. There is a complex interplay between sleep, weight, and our hormones. So let’s talk about some of these hormones that get disrupted when we do not get a good night’s sleep. Now, the first one is called ghrelin. Ghrelin is a hormone that stimulates appetite and is produced mainly in the stomach. Now, studies have found that sleep deprivation can increase ghrelin levels. leading to an increased hunger and cravings for high caloric foods. Now, if you’ve ever had a night where you’ve just gotten a terrible night’s sleep, and the next day you have found that all you want to do is eat sugar and snack on junk, this is probably what is happening. The next hormone is leptin. Now, leptin is the hormone that signals your brain to reduce appetite and increase metabolism. The lack of sleep has… also been shown to decrease leptin levels, which can lead to increased hunger and a slower metabolism. Then we have insulin, which is a hormone that regulates our blood sugar levels and promotes fat storage. Sleep deprivation, once again, has been shown to decrease insulin sensitivity, which can lead to higher insulin levels and increased fat storage. And finally, cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that is released in response to stress. and it helps to regulate our metabolism. Our lack of sleep, once again, can increase cortisol levels, which can lead to increased appetite and food cravings, as well as increased fat storage. So in addition to changes in hormones related to appetite metabolism, lack of sleep can also lead to decreased energy levels and motivation to exercise, which can contribute to weight gain over time. I don’t know about you, but when I am exhausted, the last thing I want to do is even think about exercising or getting up and like doing something energetic. How much sleep someone gets is one of the very first things I ask new clients because it matters that much. And one of the very last things I’ll talk about in relationship to our health and sleep is the relationship between sleep and the increase in type 2 diabetes. Now, when we think about type 2 diabetes, we think about glucose and insulin metabolism. And sleep deprivation is very well known to disrupt glucose metabolism, leading to higher blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is the key factor in the development of type 2 diabetes, as it impairs the body’s ability to use insulin effectively to help blood sugar levels regulate. Another relationship between sleep and diabetes. is inflammation. Lack of sleep can also lead to chronic low-grade inflammation, which is thought to contribute to the development of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. And hormones, as mentioned earlier, sleep deprivation could also affect hormones related to appetite and metabolism, which in turn contribute to weight gain and an increase in the risk of diabetes. Now, several studies have supported the link between this lack of sleep and an increased risk of diabetes. For example, one study found that individuals who slept less than six hours per night had a 70% increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those who slept seven to eight hours per night. Overall, a lack of sleep and good quality sleep is deeply connected to our well-being. It helps to reduce stress. It improves our mood and enhances the overall quality of life when we get a good night’s sleep. Now, I know this might all be easier said than done. You’re busy. I’m busy. We have a lot on our plates and our minds. I totally get it. But knowing now that we need to make sleep a priority, stop scrolling Instagram at midnight and check in with these. facts about our health. Some are obvious, but seriously, it’s pretty well known now that the addictive nature of social media is alive and well. Don’t tell me that you haven’t started looking at Facebook right before you go to sleep and 30 to 45 minutes later, you finally look up. You’ve just lost 30 minutes extra of sleep in lieu of watching puppies on the internet. Now, more important, the quantity of sleep is actually… less important than the quality of sleep, but we need the quantity to get the quality. Our bodies need to cycle through all of those stages of sleep to ensure that we are well rested and our bodies are able to restore and repair themselves. I understand, again, that this is easier said than done. If you’re a young mom, for example, and your baby is waking up a few times a night, you are certainly not going to get good quality sleep. But besides the things that are out of our control, what can we do to help improve our sleep and be in control of this? I have a couple suggestions. The first is to try to stick to a regular sleep schedule. I know that this is not easy sometimes, but we can try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every single day, even on the weekends. This could help regulate your body’s internal clock. and improve the quality of sleep. You cannot make up on the weekends for what you missed out during the week. It doesn’t work like that. Next, we want to create a relaxing bedtime routine so we can wind down before bed. And this can be anything from taking a warm bath or reading a book or practicing a relaxation technique like meditation or yoga or deep breathing exercises. We definitely want to be creating a comfortable sleep environment, making sure your bedroom is cool and quiet and dark. If you saw my bedroom, you might laugh. I have a air filter machine that I crank up all the way. That sounds like the inside of an airplane. I have blackout shades and I keep it really cold. And I love it. It helps me to sleep really well. I would invest in a comfortable mattress and new pillows if you can. And consider all of these when helping to create a really good sleep environment. And then like I mentioned before, limiting screen time before bed is very important. That blue light that emanates from your phone can interfere with your body’s production of the sleep hormone melatonin. So try to avoid using electronic devices for at least an hour before bed. And then finally, limiting our caffeine and alcohol intake. Caffeine is a stimulant and this can interfere with your sleep. So it’s best to just avoid consuming any caffeine for several hours before bed. Now, I have friends who drink coffee right up till the time that they’re going to bed. But I am so sensitive to any caffeine that if I drink it after 12 p.m., I’m almost guaranteed a bad night’s sleep. And let’s talk about alcohol. If you’re using a glass of wine to make you drowsy and help you sleep, I want you to think again. Now, alcohol can definitely make you feel sleepy at the start, and it totally disrupts sleep later in the night. And here’s why. Alcohol totally disrupts your REM sleep, that deep sleep that I spoke about earlier. It suppresses the body’s production of melatonin, which is a hormone that regulates our sleep and wake cycles. This can lead to less time spent in that REM sleep, which is that deep stage of sleep important for memory consolidation and emotional regulation. Alcohol also increases our wakefulness during the night. It can increase the number of awakenings and reduce the time spent in deep sleep. This can lead to a fragmented sleep pattern with more time spent awake during the night. Alcohol definitely worsens sleep apnea and snoring. It relaxes the muscles in your throat, which can worsen sleep apnea and make you snore more. This can lead to more frequent awakenings and your disruptions of sleep. And it also is incredibly dehydrating. Alcohol is a diuretic. which means it increases urine production and can lead to dehydration. The more that you need to go to the bathroom, the more you’re getting up and out of your bed at night, which leads to less good quality sleep. Now, if you want to hear my rant on alcohol and why I gave it up for good, tune into my episode on that. It’s about two episodes ago. I personally cannot imagine now having alcohol get in the way of my sleep. As little as two drinks before bed can kill your sleep. So if you’re going to drink, definitely give yourself some time, sort of like that caffeine, a couple hours before you do go to sleep. And lastly, I wanted to give special mention to something that we all contend with, and that is our stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety can absolutely interfere with sleep. And it’s so important to find ways to manage our stress during the day and let it all go so you can get a really good quality sleep at nighttime. I mean, seriously, who isn’t under a lot of stress these days? We are all victim to that. And we really need to try to manage our stress and bring down the triggers that contribute. So let’s talk about what stress does and how it relates to our sleep. Stress increases our body’s fight or flight response, which can increase arousal and make it difficult to relax and even fall asleep. That’s where that cortisol boost comes in. That is our stress hormone. Keeps us awake and alert. Stress heightens our anxiety. can increase those. feelings of anxiety and worry and tension, which can further disrupt sleep and lead to those racing in the middle of the night thoughts. And stress definitely alters our sleep quality. Stress leads to a lighter, more fragmented sleep with more awakenings during the night. It can also cause a reduction in the amount of that deep REM sleep again, which is so important for our mental and physical restoration. And finally, stress causes so many physical symptoms or so much relationship to our health and stress. It also leads to muscle tension, headache, digestive problems, all again can interfere with our sleep. And in addition, stress and sleep problems can just create this vicious cycle. Lack of sleep can make stress worse, which in turn can lead to more sleep problems. This cycle can be difficult to break without addressing the underlying causes of stress and implementing effective coping strategies. Okay, so I hope I have convinced you to make your sleep a priority, or I at least got you thinking about the connection between sleep and your well-being. I cannot emphasize this enough, the overall importance of sleep. For me, I know that it is always a work in progress. It’s progress, not perfection. But we definitely want to make this our number one goal. My sleep is not perfect, but I definitely count it as the most important health practice that I have. I wish you all a happy sleep tonight, and I will see you next week. And as always, if you loved this podcast, please consider gifting me with a five-star review. It is so helpful for me to get the word out on real eating, our real bodies, and real food stories. Thank you so much and have a great week. Bye for now.