Lesson 5: Fight Age Related Losses in Deep Sleep for Better Physical and Mental Health.
Sleep is your secret weapon for fighting aging and boosting brain function. One of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we can do just fine on 5 or 6 hours of sleep. This couldn't be further from the truth!
One of the reasons that we think we can function fine on less sleep is because research shows that people are unable to recognize decreases in performance and brain power due to inadequate sleep.
When you are not getting enough sleep, you are walking around like the emperor in the fairy tale The Emperor's New Clothes. You think everything is fine, but everyone else can see that it isn't.
Are you ready to take your sleep seriously?
Good.
Here are the two areas that we need to tackle when it comes to getting enough sleep.
Behavior Related Sleep Deprivation
A lot of the sleep issues that plague Americans are self-inflicted. Below we will talk about negative changes that happen with age that make getting quality sleep more difficult. But a lot of the sleep problems people face can be corrected by changes to routines, habits, and behaviors.
This is good news!
There is a lot that you can do, at any age, to improve your sleep. When it comes to behavior-related sleep deprivation, we will go about solving the problem by making sleep a priority and creating an environment in your bedroom that makes quality, restful sleep easy.
Age Related Sleep Loss
One of the biggest changes that happens as we get older is changes in our sleep. For example, we get less deep sleep. Deep sleep is physically restorative sleep. It is also when memories are optimized and stored away as long-term memories. While science hasn't uncovered the root cause of these age-related changes, I have some simple steps that you can take to start optimizing your sleep for better health at any age...
I have a 5 step plan to help you get started....
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Sleep in a Dark Room - Lights in your bedroom inhibit the natural processes that need to occur in order to have a quality, restful night's sleep. Lights in your bedroom can block the release of melatonin, a hormone released by your brain for proper sleep.
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Relax - A large part of insomnia is mental. Increased anxiety or worry about not falling asleep, not falling asleep fast enough, or waking up in the middle of the night will inhibit your ability to fall asleep or fall back to sleep. Research published in the Journal of Sleep Research shows that 5-30 minutes is a normal/healthy amount of time for you to take to fall asleep, and that waking up 1-2 times during the night (or 1-3 times if you are over 65) is considered normal and healthy. If you find that you are having trouble relaxing prior to sleeping, I recommend that you try the body scan technique. It has been shown in preliminary research to reduce the amount of time that it takes for someone to fall asleep. (click here to a free audio from UCLA Health).
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Avoid Alcohol -Sometimes people will have a nightcap before bed to help them fall asleep. Don't do this! Alcohol is a relaxant, and research shows that it can help reduce the amount of time that it takes for you to fall asleep at night. However, alcohol disrupts your sleep cycles. Specifically, it inhibits your body from getting deep restorative sleep. The benefits of falling asleep a little faster do not outweigh the detrimental effects of inhibiting deep sleep. If you are going to have a cocktail, beer, or glass of wine, do so early enough in the evening so that your body will have time to process the alcohol before you go to sleep.
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Avoid Eating Close to Bedtime -As we discussed in Lesson 2, eating late at night is not ideal if you are looking to optimize and sync up your circadian rhythm. The ideal meal pattern is to eat your largest meals earlier in the day and then smaller meals as the day goes on. Being a little hungry at bed is fine and maybe even beneficial, as your body's only hunger hormone, ghrelin, can help stimulate other hormones needed for proper, restful sleep.
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Supplement with Calcium/Magnesium Close to Bedtime - Calcium and magnesium are two minerals needed to optimize sleep. A study published in the journal European Neurology found that deficiencies in calcium were associated with disruptions in deep sleep, but when blood calcium levels were restored to normal, so was deep sleep. Magnesium is a relaxant that has also been shown to be associated with deeper, uninterrupted sleep.
Optimizing your sleep is a HUGE step in in the right direction when it comes to supercharging your mental function!
Antioxidant Packed Coffee
Coffee has been shown to be the #1 source of antioxidants in the American diet, and Neuro Coffee takes that to the next level!
How?
Neuro Coffee is artisan roasted coffee that is further enhanced with a patented blend of antioxidants from the coffee fruit. These are not just any antioxidants, but antioxidants that have been shown in multiple human clinical studies to increase BDNF in the body. BDNF has been called "Miracle-Gro" for the brain due to its ability to help the body grow and repair neurons.
If you are looking to increase the antioxidant punch in your diet to help protect telomeres in your cells, or if you are looking to support your body's natural abilities to grow and repair neurons, the smart choice is to reach for a cup of Neuro Coffee.
Now, some of you might think that this is just coffee with a clever name - It isn't. This is a brain supplement delivered via coffee. It's delicious. I drink 2 cups every day. The key to living a long healthy life is consistently taking daily steps to nourish your body. Neuro Coffee makes supporting your brain health simple - just drink coffee - no behavior change required!
