Refuel:


Bring Sleep Into YourNight


by Ashley Koff, RD and Kathy Kaehler


in sleep medicine are currently revolutionizing how we think about the value sleep brings to our lives. For many moms we interviewed, sleep ranked high on the list


W


of priorities. Chaka Khan calls sleep “the key to a great energy balance” and Julia Roberts admits that any extra sleep she can get helps counterbalance the “mom struggle” that naturally accompa- nies having time thieves running around her house. Most of us just don’t get the sleep we need. Sleep deprivation is epidemic. Moms in particular are starved for sleep, evidenced by the Na-


tional Sleep Foundation’s annual poll. The average woman aged 30 to 60 sleeps only six hours and forty-one minutes per night during the workweek (less than the optimal eight to nine hours for health and wellness). On average, we get an hour less sleep per day than we did 40 years ago, and roughly two-thirds of us complain that sleep deprivation cuts into our life and well-being. In fact, sleep may have a greater influence on your ability to enjoy your day than household income and even marital status. One study found that an extra hour of sleep had more of an impact on how a group of women felt throughout the day than earning more money per year. Without adequate sleep, not only does your entire body reel


from its repercussions, but one system in particular—the endo- crine, the center of gravity for a woman’s energy levels—starts to malfunction.


Cutting-edge science now shows how critical sleep is to our


HAT YOUR BODY DOES from the time it slips into bed to the time it wakes has more to do with your en- ergy metabolism than you might realize. New findings


ability to stay focused, able to learn new things and remember old things, lose fat and keep excess weight off, and generally lower the risks for a slew of health problems such as heart disease, obe- sity, and cerebrovascular disease. It also recharges us (duh!). But moms everywhere are burning the candle at both ends and leaving sleep last on their list. What’s more, millions of moms struggle with chronic pain, high anxiety, or depression, and many become addicted to pain-soothers such as alcohol or prescription pills, all of which further drain energy—including the energy required to get well. It’s a myth that there’s a magic number of hours the body re-


quires to sleep. Everyone has a different sleep need. The eight-hour rule is general, but not necessarily the ideal number for you. Most people need seven to nine hours, and chances are you know what your number is. Poor sleep catches up to most of us, and it’s practi- cally impossible to make up a sleep loss because life keeps moving forward and demanding more of us. Not surprisingly, stress and staying up too late are the two


big culprits to poor sleep. Sometimes our sleep troubles are hid- ing more profound problems which surface late at night, stirring insomnia. Let’s call it negative energy, and this can entail any number of loaded guns—body image issues, feeling inadequate as a mother or wife, health concerns, failures in your relationships, disappointments at work, worries about money and financial strife, struggles with juggling your parents’ health and raising your own children, etc. We all have our lists. And they can be long. Don’t think for a minute that these matters don’t play into our


energy equation. They will pull down any bit of good energy and sabotage it into a very dark and negative place. And our bodies hear it, immediately downshifting to preserve precious energy. When you do find yourself churning awful thoughts, turn it


around and say something positive about yourself and your com- mitment to make positive change. For every one thing you say negative about yourself and any “predicament” you might find yourself in, say three things positive. I hate my legs. I love my elbows. I love my chin. I love my hair. I hate my job. I love my children. I love my courage. I love my strength. Self-esteem and self-confidence are very powerful. They are also very energizing. (Note: This excerpt was taken with authors' permission from the book Mom Energy: A Simple Plan to Live Fully Charged.)


18


WLiving hole


journal www.WholeLivingJournal.com


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31