Health/Fitness

Are you resigned to not sleeping through the night?

Are you feeling exhausted or “running on stress hormones” all day?

Do not fear, I have some great tips (and an amazing recipe) for you!

The science of sleep is fascinating, complicated and growing.

Sleep is something we all do every day and yet we’re just beginning to understand all of the ways it helps us and all of the factors that can affect it.

Lack of sleep affects just about everything in your body and mind.  People who get less sleep tend to be at higher risk for so many health issues like diabetes, heart disease, and certain types of cancer; not to mention effects like slower metabolism, weight gain, hormone imbalance, and inflammation.  And don’t forget the impact lack of sleep can have on moods, memory and decision-making skills.

Do you know that lack of sleep may even negate the health benefits of your exercise program?

What are the three main purposes of sleep?

• To restore our body and mind.  Our bodies repair, grow and even “detoxify” our brains while we sleep.
• To improve our brain’s ability to learn and remember things, technically known as “synaptic plasticity”.
• To conserve some energy so we’re not just actively “out and about” 24-hours a day, every day.

Do you know how much sleep adults need?  It’s less than your growing kids need but you may be surprised that it’s still recommended that all adults get 7 – 8 hours a night.  For real!

Try not to skimp!

(Don’t worry, I have you covered with a bunch of actionable tips below.)

Tips for better sleep:

• The biggest tip is definitely to try to get yourself into a consistent sleep schedule. Make this a priority.  This means turning off your lights 8 hours before your alarm goes off.  Seven. Days. A. Week.  I know weekends can easily throw this off but by making sleep a priority for just two weeks your body and mind will adjust and thank you for it.
• Balance your blood sugar throughout the day.  You know, eat less refined and processed foods and more whole foods (full of blood-sugar-balancing fiber).  In other words, choose the whole orange instead of the juice (or worse orange-flavoured snack or energy powders).  
• During the day get some sunshine and exercise.  These things tell your body it’s daytime; time for being productive, active and alert.  By doing this during the day it will help you wind down more easily in the evening.  If your workspace doesn’t allow for sunshine invest in a natural light lamp, these are not expensive and have proven to be very effective as an aid to normalize your sleep.
• Cut off your caffeine intake and any added sugar after 12pm.  Yes, this includes your beloved chai latte.  Both caffeine and added sugar can keep your mind a bit more active than you want it to be come evening. (HINT: I have a great caffeine-free chai latte recipe for you below!).
• Have a relaxing bedtime routine that starts 1 hour before your “lights out” time (that is 8 – 10 hours before your alarm is set to go off).  This would include dimming your artificial lights, nixing screen time including TV completely and perhaps reading an (actual, not “e”) book or having a bath.

So how many of these tips can you start implementing today?

Recipe (Caffeine-free latte for your afternoon “coffee break”): Rich Caffeine-Free Chai Latte

Serves 1-2

1 bag of rooibos chai tea (rooibos is naturally caffeine-free)
2 cups of boiling water
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon almond butter (creamy is preferred)
2 dates (optional)

Cover the teabag and dates (if using) with 2 cups of boiling water and steep for a few minutes.

Discard the tea bag & place tea, soaked dates, tahini & almond butter into a blender.

Blend until creamy.

Serve and Enjoy!

Tip:  You can try this with other nut or seed butters to see which flavour combination you like the best.  Cashew butter anyone?

References:

Go to Bed: 14 EASY STEPS TO HEALTHIER SLEEP

Hacking Sleep: Engineering a high quality, restful night.

Health/Fitness

Yes, while I am an advocate of getting your nutrients from food first sometimes your nutritional needs need to be supplemented.

Unfortunately, there are just some all-too-common nutrients that I keep confirming we simply don’t get enough of.  And they’re absolutely critical to optimal health and wellness.  Especially as we age.

Here I sifted through the supplementation needs of my clients and what’s available on the market and boiled them down to three.

Supplement #1: Vitamin D

If you live in North America chances are you are low in vitamin D.  It’s the “sunshine vitamin” and we just aren’t able to hang out outside every day of the year (not even for 10-15 minutes per day.)  

Vitamin D is very important for everyone but especially women over 45.  Want to know why?

It helps to protect our bones!

Vitamin D helps our body absorb and keep the calcium we get from our food and drinks.  And we all know that calcium is one of the main things our bones are made of.

Want to know something funny about vitamin D (but it’s true, I swear)?

People who get enough vitamin D tend to fall less frequently.  Especially as we get older.

Seriously!

Vitamin D can help your bones stay strong and help you fall less.  Win-win!

Magnesium

Magnesium is an essential mineral needed for over 300 reactions in your body.

Yes, 300!

As with vitamin D it’s very common for us to simply not get enough.  Not even the 320 mg per day that’s recommended.

Low levels of magnesium have been linked to high blood pressure, diabetes, low bone density, and even migraines.

Magnesium is found in so many healthy whole foods like beans, nuts, seeds and green leafy vegetables.  In fact, the magnesium element is central to a plant’s chlorophyll – it’s actually what causes green plants to be green!  And most of us just don’t get enough green plants into our bodies on a regular basis.  (You know I have a recipe with green leafies for you below, right?).

Omega-3s

We’ve all heard that we need to get more omega-3 essential fatty acids, right?  They’re good for our hearts, brains, and help to reduce inflammation.

These are all good things when it comes to our health and wellness.

But not all of us are ready, willing, and able to eat fish three times per week.

While fish oil supplements contain the “brain healthy” fats called EPA and DHA, those two are not technically the “essential” fats.  The plant omega-3 known as ALA is essential and that is because our bodies can convert ALA into EPA and DHA when necessary.

Omega-3 supplements can be found in forms of flax oil, algae oil, fish oil, or even fish liver oil.

Pro Tip:  Fish liver oil (e.g. cod liver oil) also contains vitamin D so check your labels and add the amounts together to know how much vitamin D you’re actually getting.

Conclusion:

Three supplements to consider now that you’re 45 are: vitamin D, magnesium, and omega-3s.

Always read the supplement labels carefully to see if there are warnings that would make them inappropriate for you.  And, of course if you have any medical conditions or take medications or other supplements speak with your doctor before starting anything new.

Recipe (Vitamin D, Magnesium & Omega-3s): Quinoa Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl

Serves 2

4 cups baby spinach
1 cup of baked sweet potato (cubed)
1 cup quinoa (cook quinoa following the packet instructions)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup diced avocado (about one medium)
½ red onion (diced)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
dash salt and pepper

Split spinach, quinoa, sweet potato, walnuts, avocado, and onion between two bowls.

Mix sesame oil, rice vinegar, and lemon juice together and pour on top of prepared Buddha bowls.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve & Enjoy!

Tip:  When looking for nuts (walnuts) and seeds (quinoa) look for the Organic/Non-GMO label.

References:

11 Natural Ways to Reduce Symptoms of Menopause

Essential Benefits/Effects/Facts & Information about Vitamin D

Magnesium Fact Sheet for Consumers

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Fact Sheet for Consumers