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Got Sleep?

I struggled with sleep multiple times in my life; including when my dad and then my mom were sick with cancer. Obviously stress and fear played a great role in my insomnia. Whenever I experience a heavy heart or deep loss, sleep seems to be elusive.

 

Can you relate?

 

Sleep is a divine right for each and every one of us. No one is more special than anyone else and deserves it more. It takes a keen eye to look at your habits and lifestyle and really observe what could be standing in the way of getting good sleep.

 

Be honest with yourself and look at what you can change…and start to make changes.

 

Now, let’s talk about the history of sleep and some hard facts so you understand where you are today and how you rate on good sleep hygiene.

 

Sleep Facts

  • Between 1910-1960 “normal” average sleep duration was 9 hours.
  • Current average is 7 hours.
  • 1/3 of the population sleeps 6 hours or less.
  • 70% of Americans are sleep deprived.
  • Insufficient sleep leads to imbalance between melatonin and growth hormone, leading to stunted growth, repair and slower healing.
  • Sleep deficiency leads to:
    • Performance loss
    • Slow reaction time
    • Impaired memory
    • Decreased motivation
  • Brain uptake of glucose drops as much as 7% with sleep deprivation.
  • One sleepless night can induce insulin resistance in healthy people.

Sleep Deprivation Causes

  • Impairment in the endocrine, cardiovascular and immune systems
  • Glucose tolerance is decreased during sleep debt
  • Sleep deprivation disrupts normal pattern of growth hormone surge during the first 3
    hours of sleep.

 

Sleep Benefits

  • Fortifies your immune system
  • Balances your hormones
  • Boosts your metabolism
  • Increases your physical energy
  • Improves the function of your brain
  • Enhances learning, memory and creativity
  • Improves insulin sensitivity
  • Enhances serotonin
  • Fat burning reduces cortisol and increases leptin (hormone tells your brain when you are full)

 

Research shows that just after 24 hours of sleep deprivation there is an overall reduction of 6% in glucose reaching the brain.

 

You become lethargic and may crave candy, chips, doughnuts and other starchy sugary things when you’re sleep deprived. Your body is trying to compel you to get that glucose back to the brain as soon as possible. Now doesn’t that make sense of your inability to say no at times?


Now let’s talk about Serotonin.
1. Almost 95% of our body’s serotonin is produced in the gut. It is the building block for the sleep hormone melatonin. Serotonin is the hormone that helps you feel good during the day; it’s the happy hormone. These two go hand in hand!
2. Serotonin and the health of your digestion can impact your brain and sleep more powerfully than almost anything.
3. Healthy gut = increased quality of sleep.

 

The Sleep-Weight Connection
1. Less than 7 to 9 hours of sleep can affect the hormones that impact your appetite.

a. Leptin- The hormone that tells you when you’re full.
b. Ghrelin- The hormone that tells you when you’re hungry.
2. If you are struggling to lose weight and you are exercising and eating foods that are not inflammatory, you may want to look at your sleep habits. You just can’t lose weight without proper sleep hygiene.

 

Here’s your takeaway:
Take your sleep just as serious as your fitness, your spirituality, your personal hygiene and your diet. Quality of sleep is as important as any of these other facets of health!

 

Take a peek here at my Good Sleep Hygiene Checklist to see how you rate with your sleep and where you can make some changes to sleep like a queen.

 

Hundreds of my clients have taken charge of their health and gone from restless nights to sleeping like a queen and so can you!

 

If you or someone you know is struggling to get sleep, please reach out for help. Sleep deprivation is not sustainable as your body cannot function, heal, repair, or renew without consistent quality sleep. Email me here for help today.

 

Love to hear your thoughts below…

How to thrive and SOAR during flu and head cold season

Winter is an easy time to get back in the gym and rediscover a fun class – A class that you may have forgotten how good it made you feel and give you great results at the same time.

 

I just rediscovered Bodyjam, a hip-hop dance class by Les Mills, available at many gyms all around the world. It was a dream of mine to become a Bodyjam instructor at 40, which I did, and the work involved in delivering that program was one of the hardest classes to deliver…ever!

 

But I am so happy to be in an area with Bodyjam classes, my cardio routines are happening weekly and my immune system is rocking and rolling like a well oiled machine.

 

It’s also high time for germ season, especially if you are hitting the gym!

 

I have been around friends and family and everywhere I turn they are suffering with their health, sinus drainage, coughing, and energy is running low.

 

It’s the flu and head cold season and I have seen my clients and loved ones in bed for days.

 

What can we do? I have a powerful winter tool kit I want to share with you.

 

Because quite honestly, I can feel that my system has been getting tested as well and my tried and true protocol worked again!

 

This is what I want for you too…so read below to learn more about what keeps you thriving in the winter months and let me know how it works for you.

 

Tools to beat the flu and head cold season every year:

 

  1. Organic Bone broth in the morning: Add kelp flakes for healthy iron and blood cell rejuvenation and a dash of sea salt. Fire and Kettle has soups with bone broth that are fantastic. You can use bone broth to heat up leftovers to maximize your daily intake.
  2. Warm bath with Epsom salts every night: 1 cup of salts, soak for at least 20 minutes, and watch something pleasurable like Matt Kahn’s video Soul Contracts and Twin Flames for some self love tips and laughter.
  3. Omega 3’s: I recommend plant-based because of the toxicity in our oceans.
  4. Hot beverages: Afternoon hot tea or a second cup of bone broth (not another cup of coffee). This warms your core temperature and allows your body to spend less energy on doing that and more energy on building your immunity.
  5. Wear a hat: Cover your head when you go outside…no really, your mom was right!
  6. Avoid top inflammatory foods: Stay away from gluten and sugar; sugar feeds inflammation, which feeds infection. If you need a snack, try popcorn with kelp flakes.
  7. Stay away from dairy: Dairy is highly inflammatory to our sinuses and creates mucus, which you are trying to eliminate. Ditch it until you are on the other side.
  8. Move your body daily: a 15 min walk may be all you need if you are fighting something but you can build resilience by having a regular routine. Also recognize when your body needs to rest and recover and when exercise would be beneficial.

 

I have saved the most powerful tip and tool for last…

 

A tool that I have been using for over 18 years to build my immune system from the inside out so that I can feel confident when I am around germs and trust that I can overcome.

 

I just realized how much I lean on this tool and how little I talk about it. In 18 years, I have never written a blog about it. WHAT WHAT?

 

It’s because some people have a negative reaction to any kind of network marketing, ok including myself, as I am approached almost everyday when folks find out I am a health coach.

 

But results are results, regardless of how a product is delivered.

 

25 years of research and billions of testimonies and hundreds of doctors will echo what I am about to share…and that’s that “it works”!

 

Think about it, if your immune system is compromised, you want to eat more whole foods right?

 

When you feel a cold coming on, you want to eat as many fruits and veggies as you can, free of pesticides and herbicides, and pack a punch of antioxidants to the body to fight off whatever is in the system causing inflammation.

 

And that’s what I have done…over and over on a daily basis for 18 years by taking a whole food supplement.

 

It’s not vitamins and minerals, its simply food in a capsule and I am a woman on the go and appreciate that!

 

I started taking Juice Plus+ at 28 years old when I discovered I had chronic fatigue and found I didn’t have the energy to even walk up a hill, much less climb a mountain, which was my passion. I was devastated.

 

I also grew up on processed foods and was addicted sugar and found myself on antibiotics 2-3 times per year for strep throat or bronchitis. I lived on Benadryl because I was allergic to everything from dust, rabbits, dogs, cats, dust, pollen, and ragweed.

 

I had over 52 tests on my body and I was allergic to everything and advised I would be taking allergy medications the rest of my life and that’s just the way it would be.

 

Well, that is just not the case. I am thriving, no antibiotics or allergy medication in 18 years! And gosh, I just realized I may not have ever shared this with you.

 

Now I don’t believe in a miracle pill that will “fix it all”. I have done a lot of work cleaning up my diet, balancing my hormones, finding a good chiropractor, managing my stress, and developing a spiritual practice that are all at play in our total well-being.

 

BUT, when it comes to fighting the flu, head colds, or stomach bugs…I simply double up on my regular dose of Juice Plus+ and follow my simple protocol above, and I slay the nasty infection dragons.

 

I don’t buy cough drops, syrups, Echinacea, or anything else. Juice Plus+ is already on hand, and I fly with it AND drive with it, in case I need it. And who doesn’t want something when you are on a plane surrounded by coughing and sneezing close neighbors.

 

I hope that you hear my passion about it, as my intention is to always support you with becoming the healthiest and happiest version of yourself.

 

I have had three new Juice Plus+ testimonies from clients in the last two weeks. Results such as having regular bowel movements after years of irregularity, sustained energy and mental clarity, and reduced cravings. One client with asthma finds himself on antibiotics every year at this time. His body got physically tested, he got tired, wore out, and he felt it coming.

 

But…he doubled up, and he had been taking it for a year, rebuilding his system on a cellular level. And he is now celebrating beating two sinus infections back to back over the last two winters. Now that’s results I want to share with you!

 

And this is what I want for you too.

 

So if you are struggling…check it out here. I only share because I care.

 

Love to hear your thoughts, please share any comments below.

 

Shannon Lee