Four Tips for Your Best Night of Sleep Yet

Four Tips for Your Best Night of Sleep Yet

by | Jul 5, 2021 | Guides

Patti McCoy

Get Better Sleep

I’m sure you know that sleep is important, but did you know that sleep is therapeutic? Proper rest is as important to our health as eating, drinking, and breathing1. In this article we’re going to discuss four tips for better sleep, but let’s begin with what makes sleep therapeutic.

When you sleep, your body undergoes a series of changes that enable the rest that is vital to your overall health. Sleep allows the brain and body to slow down and engage in processes of recovery, promoting better physical and mental performance the next day and over the long term2.

When you don’t get enough (or proper) sleep these fundamental processes are short circuited, affecting thinking, concentration, energy levels, and mood. As a result, getting the sleep you need — seven to nine hours for adults and even more for children and teens — is crucial3.

While each person will differ in the exact amount of sleep needed for replenishment, eight hours being average, it is crucial to get a sufficient amount and adequate quality of sleep on a regular schedule. Sleep heals the body, clears the mind, and restores the soul4.

Sleep Better without caffeine

Now that you understand how vital sleep is for overall health and well-being, let’s explore the four tips to improve your ability to rest, repair, and restore.

Tip #1 Limit caffeine for better sleep.

If you’re struggling to sleep, removing caffeine entirely from your diet may be the “hack” needed to allow your body to relax and settle into slumber. For others who enjoy caffeine without feeling jittery or “off”, simply limit caffeine to mornings or avoid anything caffeinated after 3 pm (including coffee, green and black tea, soda, energy drinks, and chocolate).

Tip # 2 Avoid blue light 1 hour before bed.

Don’t shoot the messenger, but tip number two for improving sleep is to avoid all electronic screens 1 hour before bedtime (think TV, computer, tablet, and phone). Here’s why: blue-wavelength light stimulates sensors in your eyes to send signals to your brain’s internal clock which inhibits the production of melatonin. Essentially the blue light from your electronic screens is making your body think it’s wake time, not sleep time. Thus, avoiding all screens at least 1 hour before bedtime will help your body fall into a deeper sleep, faster.

Tip #3 Take a calcium and magnesium supplement before you hit the pillow.

From a nutritional perspective, the minerals calcium and magnesium can help you both fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night. James F. Balch, MD and author of

Prescription for Nutritional Healing, writes, “A lack of the nutrients calcium and magnesium will cause you to wake up after a few hours and not be able to return to sleep.” And there’s been an array of studies that explain why. In one such study, published by the Journal of Sleep Research5, researchers found that insufficient calcium is related not only to trouble falling sleep, but also to trouble getting truly restful sleep.

Meanwhile, low magnesium has been clearly correlated with insomnia, poor sleep quality, and even depression and anxiety. Magnesium helps both your body and your brain to relax, preparing you for a good night’s rest. As a note, calcium and magnesium are best taken together, as a balanced ratio is important to overall health.

Tip #4 Set your bedroom up for sleep.

This category includes both quick fixes and longer-term investments. Quick fixes that will set your bedroom up for therapeutic sleep include diffusing lavender essential oil (or even dabbing the oil lightly on your pillow), ensuring your bedroom is clean and clutter-free and getting fresh air when the weather permits. Additionally, turning your cell phone on airplane mode, or removing your phone entirely from the bedroom, will protect your brain and body from EMFs that may hinder deep, therapeutic sleep.

Lastly, some longer-term investments include purchasing high-quality, non-toxic bedding like a mattress, pillows, sheets, blankets, and so on. For obvious reasons, you should be comfortable for your nightly slumber, but also, avoiding the toxic off-gassing of chemicals in conventional bedding is incredibly important.

Sleep Better
Times of high stress require deep restorative sleep that provides our bodies with the opportunity to repair and rebuild. Support your physical and mental health by getting 8 hours of sleep or more per night. If you’re a parent who is unable to achieve 8 consecutive hours of sleep at the moment, nap or rest when you can, and be sure to nourish your body in other ways that feel good.

SOURCES

Top 5 Questions About Paleo

Top 5 Questions About Paleo

by | Mar 5, 2021 | Small Bites

Patti McCoy

I have been living the paleo lifestyle for seven years now. It truly changed my life and I want to share some of the common questions I have gotten over the years about my transition. Check them out!

1. What is Paleo?

Often referred to as the Caveman diet, paleo is short for Paleolithic when humans ate what was foraged, and moved many distances to find food. The concept of consuming a diet based on what Paleolithic humans ate was first promoted by Walter L. Voegtlin in his 1975 book The Stone Age Diet. He suggested that there’d been little genetic change in human digestion since the Paleolithic era and yet large changes in human diet, much to the detriment of human health (Dictionary.com, 2021). The man responsible for the more recent popularity of the paleo diet, however, is Loren Cordain. His 2002 book The Paleo Diet popularized the diet’s most common name and helped it become the nutritional phenomenon it is today. Essentially, Paleo is a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet that focuses on quality proteins and fats with a large variety of vegetables.

2. What can you eat?

This is the most common question, although what it really means is, “What CAN’T I eat?”. The truth is you can eat all the amazing food your body needs to function at its best. That does translate to removing refined/processed foods, grains, dairy, legumes, and most things in a box or bag. Sure, there are great options out there for grain-free and dairy-free foods, but the key is to check the ingredients before you buy anything. Marketers like to use buzz words (organic, natural, healthy, etc.) to get you interested. Then you flip over the product and you can’t read half the ingredient list or the first ingredient is some sort of sugar derivative.

Please enjoy: quality meats, seafood, and eggs; all the vegetables, lots of fruits, edible fungi; nuts and seeds, healthy fats; herbs and spices, probiotic, and fermented foods. See! Not so bad!

3. What are the benefits?

While there is no one-size-fits-all diet for anyone, the Paleo diet does have some amazing benefits that most people experience after transitioning. Once you remove known allergens such as, grains and dairy, you will start to feel the effects. Your digestive system will begin to improve as you are feeding it nutritious foods, like reduced bloating and nausea. Another benefit is reduced inflammation by eliminating those allergens and a supported immune system as you start absorbing essential nutrients. Blood sugar regulation is a major benefit to those that are battling with pre-diabetic or diabetic symptoms, such as, high blood pressure and cardiac dysfunction. Once you get your digestive system functioning more optimally, you will start to see a change in your bowel movements and perspiration levels. This means your body is being supported for detoxification appropriately. An unintended benefit of transitioning to Paleo is weight loss. I am sure you have heard of or experienced weight loss from simply cutting out soda. Imagine what could happen if you cut out all the other SAD foods?

4. Are there any negative effects?

While there are some unpleasant effects in the first couple of weeks, they are temporary and the benefits far outweigh them. In the first week, some people have experienced headaches, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms (known as carb-flu). Our bodies react to changes in diet three ways: digestive, allergic, and healing. A digestive reaction occurs within minutes to 12 hours, when the body is not equipped to handle the change, and examples include: diarrhea, cramping, heartburn. An allergic reaction occurs within minutes to days, when the immune system reacts to a specific food or substance, and examples include: rashes, swelling, rapid heart rate, congestion. A healing reaction looks like the symptoms you are trying to support, occurs within minutes to weeks, when the byproducts of pathogens die-off, and examples include: flu-like symptoms, nausea, diarrhea (NTA, 2019, p.72). If you make small changes over time, you can mitigate the body’s reaction to those changes.

5. What makes Paleo better than other diets?

It’s not better, it’s comprehensive and easy to maintain over a long period of time. If anything, eating a nutrient-dense, whole foods diet is what is better. Call it whatever you want! Transitioning to Paleo doesn’t require a strict diet or counting anything (calories, macros, your sanity level), like some of the others. I wouldn’t even call Paleo a diet because it is a lifestyle change not a short-term diet. With that said, there are some programs out there that can be beneficial for some people as a jump-start. Keto has gained a lot of traction for its weight loss benefits and blood sugar regulation(great for diabetics); however, over the long-term this way of eating can become overwhelming and plateau at a certain point. I would only recommend keto for someone that needs significant blood sugar support as it reduces carb intake and increases protein and nutrient-dense vegetables.

The main point to transitioning to Paleo and why it is beneficial is that it is not so much a diet as a lifestyle. When you change the way you eat your body changes: you gain more energy, you lose weight, you lose the bloat, you feel more alert, you gain confidence, and you tend to want to have fun learning who the new “You” is. I would love to be the person that helps you discover who that is. Keep a lookout for my 5-day Kitchen Detox Challenge later this month. If you participate you can get my Everything You Need to Know About Transitioning to Paleo Guide for FREE! Drop me a line and let’s talk!

BibliographyDictionary.com. (2021, 03 02). Paleo Diet. dictionary.

Macri, I. (2021, 02 03). Paleo Diet Benefits. irenamacri.com.

NTA. (2019). Immune System. Student Guide, 1(1). NTA.

7 Nutrients to Help Lower Your Stress Levels

7 Nutrients to Help Lower Your Stress Levels

by | Oct 9, 2020 | Guides

Patti McCoy

Lower Stress Levels

Stress is a natural physical and mental reaction to life experiences. Stress can be caused by average daily tasks like being stuck in traffic or arguing with a friend, or serious life events like an automobile accident or cancer diagnosis. Our bodies respond to this stress by releasing hormones that increase your heart and breathing rates and shunts blood to your muscles to help you escape from that stressful event. While this is a phenomenal mechanism we possess, problems arise when our hours and days are filled with these stressful events and our bodies aren’t given the opportunity to restore and rebalance. Over time, continued strain on your body from stress may contribute to serious health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses1.

In this article, we’re going to share 7 ways to lower stress levels through nutrition by providing examples of foods and nutrients that are key in supporting your body’s functions in maintaining balance, and therefore, health.

Girl drinking water from a water bottle.

Water

It most likely does not come as a surprise that water is essential for life. Water has many roles within our body including flushing toxins, cushioning bones and joints, hydrating our cells, improving oxygen delivery to cells, and transporting nutrients. Staying properly hydrated is vitally important to maintaining balance and supporting the body through stressful events. As a general rule, the goal is to drink half your body weight in fluid ounces. For example, if you’re a person that weighs 200 pounds you should consume roughly 100 fluid ounces of water per day. Keep in mind, fresh fruits and vegetables also are hydrating, but should not replace drinking hydrating beverages such as water, coconut water, or bone broth.

Protein

It is impossible to find a system in the body that does not rely on protein for healthy functioning, as all of our cells require proteins to exist. Hormones, nervous system messaging molecules (neurotransmitters), digestive enzymes, and energy-producing enzymes all depend on protein. Incorporating this macronutrient in your diet is key to supporting your body through stress as it will fuel your system from a cellar level, ensuring your body will return to balance.

Choline

The role of choline in the body is complex and is required for a wide range of critical functions2. Choline has been shown to play an important role in brain health and may protect against stress3. Egg yolks are the most concentrated source of choline in the American diet. Other very good sources of choline include shrimp, scallops, cod, collard greens, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, swiss chard, asparagus, and spinach4.

Selenium

Selenium is required for the proper activity of a group of enzymes that play a key role in the body’s detoxification system and protection against oxidative stress5. Studies have found a connection between severe and continued stressful events and higher biomarkers for oxidative stress6. Incorporating selenium-rich foods will protect the body against oxidative stress and ensure proper detoxification. The best source of selenium is brazil nuts, followed by oysters, clams, liver, and kidney.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D may be one of the most fundamentally important building blocks available to us for creating and sustaining vibrant health. Of its many roles, vitamin D regulates immune function, cell growth, and neuromuscular function. Studies suggest that vitamin D status plays an important role in supporting our bodies through acute stress7. The very best source of vitamin D is the sun, followed by nutrient-dense whole foods like salmon, eggs, and sardines.

Lower stress levels with turmeric

Turmeric

Turmeric has been used for centuries in Ayurvedic and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Prized for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, recent studies have shown the spice plays an active role in treating various central nervous system disorders as well as offering a protective action against stress8. Turmeric can be utilized either fresh or dried and is easily incorporated into many types of cuisines. A great beverage option that utilizes turmeric is Golden Milk!

Chamomile

Chamomile is one of the most ancient medicinal herbs known to mankind. Chamomile is best known for its wonderful calming action and is used to ease tension and stress, emotional upset, nervousness, and insomnia9. Purchasing the dried, organic flowers in bulk is an easy and affordable way to always have chamomile on hand to be utilized as a tea, compress or a lovely addition to your bath.

Sources

  1. “5 Things You Should Know About Stress.” National Institute of Mental Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  2. Zeisel, Steven H, and Kerry-Ann da Costa. “Choline: an Essential Nutrient for Public Health.” Nutrition Reviews, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2009.
  3. Glenn, Melissa J, et al. “Supplemental Dietary Choline during Development Exerts Antidepressant-like Effects in Adult Female Rats.” Brain Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 14 Mar. 2012.
  4. “Choline.” The World’s Healthiest Foods.
  5. “Selenium.” The World’s Healthiest Foods.
  6. Schiavone, Stefania, et al. “Severe Life Stress and Oxidative Stress in the Brain: from Animal Models to Human Pathology.” Antioxidants & Redox Signaling, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., 20 Apr. 2013.
  7. Quraishi, Sadeq A, and Carlos A Camargo. “Vitamin D in Acute Stress and Critical Illness.” Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Nov. 2012.
  8. Kulkarni, S K, and A Dhir. “An Overview of Curcumin in Neurological Disorders.” Indian Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Medknow Publications, Mar. 2010.
  9. Justis, Posted ByAngela. “A Family Herb: Chamomile Flower.” Herbal Academy, 25 Jan. 2018.