14: SLEEP – The Four Stages, Benefits, And How To Optimize Sleep

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Welcome to The Nutritional Pearls Podcast! Focusing on topics that include digestion, adrenal fatigue, leaky gut, supplementation, electrolytes, stomach acid, and so much more, “The Nutritional Pearls Podcast” features Christine Moore, NTP and is hosted by Jimmy Moore, host of the longest running nutritional podcast on the Internet.  Sharing nuggets of wisdom from Christine’s training as a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Jimmy’s years of podcasting and authoring international bestselling health and nutrition books, they will feature a new topic of interest and fascination in the world of nutritional health each Monday. Listen in today as Christine and Jimmy talk all about the importance of sleep in Episode 14.

Here’s what Christine and Jimmy talked about in Episode 14:
1. Definition of sleep: a condition of body and mind such as that which typically recurs for several
hours every night, in which the nervous system is relatively inactive, the eyes closed, the postural
muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended.

2. Stages of sleep

A. Awake-resting with eyes closed
B. Stage 1: transitional sleep,

1. Dreamless sleep
2. Light sleep
3. This stage is often what happens when someone takes a power nap. You can be easily
awoken.

C. Stage 2: Typical Sleep

1. This is also light sleep.
2. If taking a power nap, this is the stage you want to wake up from.

D. Stage 3: beginning of deep sleep

1. This is where physical repair happens and the brain filters data from the day.
2. It’s harder to be awoken from this stage.
3. This is when the body repairs muscles and tissues, stimulates growth and development,
boosts immune function, and builds up energy for the next day.

E. Stage 4: R.E.M. or Rapid Eye Movement

1. This is where you dream.
2. Mental and emotional clearing happen during this stage
3. Your brain makes connections emotionally and consolidates information to be stored in your
long term memory.
4. You usually enter REM sleep after you’ve been asleep for 90 minutes.
5. It’s harder to be awoken from this stage.
6. Each REM stage can last up to one hour.
7. An average adult has 5 to 6 R.E.M. cycles a night.
8. The length of R.E.M. cycles increases as the night progresses. This is why there’s a good
chance you’ll awaken from dreaming in the morning.

3. Facts about stages of sleep

A. These different stages last different amounts of time depending on age.
B. Sleep happens cyclically starting with stage 1 going through stage 4 (REM) and back to 1.
C. A complete sleep cycle can take 90 to 110 minutes with each stage lasting from 5-15 minutes
(with the exception of R.E.M).
D. We need 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Some people on a ketogenic lifestyle have reported needed
less sleep.

4. Benefits of sleeping

A. Improves memory-strengthens memories and you can practice skills learned while awake (this is
called consolidation)
B. Helps reduce inflammation-people who get more sleep have less inflammatory proteins
(C-Reactive proteins) floating in their blood than those who get less sleep. These inflammatory
proteins lead to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, arthritis, and other inflammatory conditions

C. Helps weight maintenance or weight loss (helps prevent cravings)

1. Blood sugars tend to be higher if you get less sleep.
2. Cortisol is also higher in those who get less sleep.
3. Insulin, a fat storing hormone, tends to be higher in those who get less sleep.

D. Helps prevent depression

1. Our ability to regulate emotions decreases after a poor night’s sleep.
2. We are in need of social interactions so if you get a poor night’s sleep, you are more likely to
cancel social events because of being tired.
3. The Amygdala, an almond shaped area of the brain, plays an important role in our emotions
and anxiety levels. People with less sleep showed a higher amygdala response, leading to less
control over emotions and greater anxiety levels.

E. Helps with the detoxification process. We are in a parasympathetic state when sleeping and
detoxification is a parasympathetic process. Our bodies detoxify when we sleep.

5. Things we can do to get more sleep

A. Limit exposure to “blue light” at night. Use blue blocker glasses and/or use the “Night Shift” on
devices. You can also get orange or red bulbs to put in your lamps at night.
B. Expose your eyes to sunlight early in the day and turn down house lighting at night. This helps
to establish your circadian rhythm by producing the proper hormones at the right time
(melatonin for sleep, and cortisol for waking up)
C. Don’t eat to soon before going to bed. Eating too close to bedtime can keep you awake at
night. The body has to spend it’s energy on digesting the food you ate rather than detoxifying
so your body doesn’t heal properly. The digestion of food can keep you from getting to sleep.
D. Don’t exercise too soon before going to bed. Exercise increases stress in the body (raises
cortisol) and the elevation of cortisol can keep you from getting to sleep in a timely manner.
E. Take a warm shower or bath using lavender. I have found that taking a warm shower helps me
relax. We all are different, though.
F. Take melatonin or magnesium.

1. If using melatonin, only take it 2 to 3 times a week. If you take
it too much, your body can “forget” how to make it’s own. The liquid form of melatonin is
best. When I take it, I usually take 10mg with the dropper. Everybody’s needs are different.
You may find you don’t need that much.
2. If taking magnesium, take Magnesium Glycinate. Magnesium Citrate can cause diarrhea

G. Limit the amount of scary or action filled tv right before going to bed. This can raise cortisol
which will make it harder for you to get to sleep.

Nutritional Pearl for Episode 14:
Sleep affects so many aspects of how our body functions. It’s important to make sure we are doing all we can to get adequate sleep.

 

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