Pursuit of Wellness - The Secret To Better Sleep: Tips To Optimize Your Routine w/ Todd Anderson

Episode Date: May 6, 2024

Ep. #96 On today’s episode of Pursuit of Wellness, I am joined by Todd Anderson, a former NFL conditioning coach and sleep optimization expert, as he shares his insights on how proper sleep can enha...nce hormone balance and overall health. We discuss his career evolution and fitness journey, as well as the  founding of Dream Recovery, which explores the vital relationship between sleep stages and daily vitality. We’ll delve into the psychological aspects of weight loss and learn about lesser-known sleep practices that can transform your night, like sauna sessions and mouth taping. Sleep is such an important part of our health, so let’s jump in and learn how to optimize our sleep! Leave Me a Message - click here! For Mari’s Instagram click here! For Pursuit of Wellness Podcast’s Instagram click here! For Mari’s Newsletter click here! For Todd Anderson’s Instagram click here! For Dream Recovery’s Instagram click here! Sponsored By: Bite is offering our listeners 20% off your first order. Go to trybite.com/POW or use code POW at checkout to claim this deal. Right now, my listeners can receive 40% off Earth Breeze just by going to earthbreeze.com/pow. Go to Hungryroot.com/POW to get 40% off your first delivery and get your free veggies. Show links:  Mouth Tape Eye Mask Silk Pillow Case Dreamrecovery.io Eight Sleep Pad  Topics Discussed 02:20 - Todd’s athletic background  05:52 - Quality vs. quantity of sleep 08:26 - Front loading hydration and optimal meal times 14:33 - Implications of quality sleep 16:11 - Todd’s weight loss story 25:02 - Alcohol’s effect on sleep quality 29:13 - Heart rate variability 33:58 - Benefits of sauna and cold plunge 39:18- Cryotherapy 40:00- Optimal bedroom temperature  42:05- Mouth taping and mouth breathing 46:42 - Eye masks 49:07 - Nose strips 51:11 - TV and phones before bed 53:51 - Sleep apnea 54:23 - Melatonin 55:14 - CBD and weed before bed 56:14 - Differences in men and women’s sleep needs 56:54- WiFi and bluetooth effects on sleep 57:35- Tips for shift workers

Transcript
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Starting point is 00:00:00 If you really want to make someone feel better and impact the quality of their life, sleep is the most impactful thing you can do. This is the Pursuit of Wellness podcast and I'm your host, Mari Llewellyn. Hello guys, welcome back to the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. I am so excited today we have our first deep dive episode with a sleep expert, Todd Anderson.
Starting point is 00:00:28 Todd is an NFL conditioning coach and sleep optimization expert. He gave us so much advice on proper sleep routines and how it can really enhance hormone balance and overall health. It really is so important and I think people are just starting to realize that. And I was really excited to pick Todd's brain today. We talked about so many different things, quality versus quantity of sleep, how hydration can affect sleep and optimal meal times, alcohol's effect on sleep quality, heart rate variability, what it means and how you can improve it, the benefits of the sauna and cold plunge on sleep, optimal bedroom temperature, mouth taping and mouth breathing, eye masks, nose strips, TV and phones before bed, sleep apnea, melatonin,
Starting point is 00:01:14 is it good or bad, CBD and weed before sleep, the differences in men and women's sleep needs, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and tips for shift workers. This was the first time that we've ever had a sleep expert on the show, and it was so, so interesting. I cannot wait to honestly keep talking about it more because I really think sleep quality is one of the biggest and most important parts of a health routine when it comes to weight loss, clearing skin, balancing hormones, energy levels. Anything that you may be struggling with will be improved by an optimal sleep routine. So highly recommend getting a pen and paper for this one. It was so interesting. And on top of it, Todd also had a weight loss journey. So we discussed weight loss and what that's like.
Starting point is 00:01:59 Without further ado, let's hop into this episode with Todd. Todd, welcome to the show. Excited to be here. Very excited to have you. I actually have not done a dedicated sleep episode. And when I posted you on my story, everyone freaked out. Everyone has questions. I love that. We have a lot to discuss. So let's get started by hearing about how you personally became interested in sleep and optimizing performance. Yeah, I mean, really, my interest sparked college. Like, so I walked out of Michigan
Starting point is 00:02:29 State, meaning I wasn't good enough to be recruited. And I always had this kind of chip on my shoulder mentality of, I had to wring out every ounce of ability to even compete with the guys I was around. So, you know, I started digging into research and I was a kinesiology exercise science major at the end of my career. And at the time, this was like 2010, sleep kept popping up with relation to hormone levels and testosterone. And I would kind of make sure I prioritize sleep a little bit, as much as you can in college, because I was still a normal college
Starting point is 00:03:05 kid. But I would make sure before big workouts or competitions, we wouldn't be going out and doing dumb stuff. And I started to realize the importance, because I'm thinking in my head, okay, if getting five hours of sleep affects my testosterone levels that much, it's probably systemically affecting a lot of other things. Fast forward, I played in the NFL for a little bit, but after that ended, I started training people in the strength conditioning world and more and more information started coming out in sleep. And at the same time, I got to spend a lot of time and learn from Dr. Jennifer Martin out at UCLA. And she's a top sleep psychologist, which I love because psychology of sleep is far more important than the physiology
Starting point is 00:03:42 of sleep as far as changing your behavior and actually improving your sleep. And so what I realized as more and more data came out, it's like if you really want to make someone feel better and impact the quality of their life, sleep is the most impactful thing you can do. And it's also something that people enjoy. It's easy to implement different behaviors. It's really this silver bullet of health and wellness that at the time, this was like 2015, everyone was overlooking. Nobody's talking about sleep back then. And so I went all in and took courses and learned as much as I could. And I started speaking on sleep about seven, six years ago, mostly in New York to different corporations, law firms, the New York Bar Association, which was, that was a wild.
Starting point is 00:04:26 I feel like those guys aren't sleeping. None. Just drinks and no sleep. Full street vibes. Yeah. And just hearing the feedback of how much when people change their sleep, it changed their life in a positive way. It was so motivating. So I just kind of dug my heels in and, you know, I started Dream Recovery because I would go and speak and kind of spread the word about sleep
Starting point is 00:04:45 and I could ask questions about what products to implement and use and I never had a great answer. So about a year ago, I was like, well, there's clearly a need. I don't feel great about recommending anything and let's do it ourselves. Were you guys one of the first brands to do the mouth tape? We were. Yeah, definitely. We were in the first Um, but that came from just none of the brands I've tried. All of them, none of them were great. It was like, you know,
Starting point is 00:05:10 there was maybe they were using a sketchy adhesive, which is not something people often think about, you know, it's on your face for eight hours a night. So people are so aware of what's in their, their lotions and their oils and their treatments. But yet think about if you're going to use mouth tape, it's on your face longer. It doesn't even evaporate. So adhesives, materials, the production. So we just thought we could do it better. And it was really self-serving.
Starting point is 00:05:34 I was like, I don't have anything that I enjoy or works well for me. So let's make the best of the best. That's how the best businesses start, I feel like. Yeah, it's almost refinement as opposed to coming up with something completely new. So I want to talk about that in a bit about the benefits of mouth tape. But let's start kind of broad for people listening. What is the difference between quality, sleep and quantity? Like which is more important? On the clinical level or just in general, there's a lot more
Starting point is 00:06:01 data on quantity. And that's really the best place to start. Because I would assume most people listening to this are probably relatively healthy. They don't have any crazy clinical sleep issues going on. So- You should have seen the DMs. Well, I would say that we'll go with the majority. But if you're getting the optimal quantity of sleep
Starting point is 00:06:21 and you feel good, chances are the quality of your sleep is pretty high. What would you say that is, eight hours? Yeah, for most people, it's right on eight hours, anywhere from seven to nine hours. And oftentimes, it's probably more than people think. So on average, based on the data, about 90 minutes, people are about 90 minutes underslept on average. So whatever you're sleeping now, based on statistics, you need about 90 minutes more of sleep across the United States. And why is quality sleep so important? Like what is it impacting? Yeah. So you have to think about sleep is, I think often we think about sleep is
Starting point is 00:06:55 just like being awake or being asleep, but you know, we have the different sleep stages and they all play different roles in our physiology. And it's important. It's not about one type of sleep being better than the other, right? You have your slow wave sleep, your deep sleep, you'll see on your trackers and your REM sleep and your stage one and two. And it's not like, oh, how can I get the most REM sleep? It's more about the proportions. I always compare it to like a band. It's like, it's not about having the most guitar. It's about how does the guitar blend in with the bass and the vocals. And you can't make up for less bass with more guitar.
Starting point is 00:07:30 That's not how it works. Same with REM sleep and deep sleep. Like you need these proportions of the different sleep cycles in order to optimize your function, especially your brain. So the only way to do that is give yourself optimal time
Starting point is 00:07:42 and allow yourself to flow through these stages of sleep. But if things are disrupted and things are breaking your sleep up, you kind of start back at one. You have to progress through these stages as the night goes on and it chops those up. So a lot of times, because our deep sleep takes longer to get into,
Starting point is 00:08:00 that's what is affected the most, right? You kind of go stage one, two, three, which is like your deep sleep and then your REM cycle, and then you start over again. So if you're waking up in your stage two of sleep, you just keep starting over and over and you don't get into those deeper parts of sleep. So getting up to pee, you start back from the beginning. Yeah. And that's honestly one of the main things people mess up is hydration and being intentional. I use the word intentional with sleep a lot because the first thing people talk about with hydration is how much water you're drinking. But really they should be thinking about how much water are you drinking and when are you drinking it?
Starting point is 00:08:37 Because front-loading your hydration the first half of the day is extremely impactful to eliminating how many times you get up in the middle of the night. Yeah. I still run into that issue all the time and I'm pretty intentional with my sleep, but the hydration is hard. It's hard. It's hard to get enough water in general, I would say, especially if you're busy. But it's totally normal to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom. If you're out there and that's normal one or two times, but if you're waking up four times to go to the bathroom, I think you need to be more strategic with your hydration. And a lot of times it has to do with your timing of your meals because people tend to have more fluid around a meal. And that's also a good tool is just moving that last meal up a little bit.
Starting point is 00:09:17 Yeah. When would you say is the optimal time to have dinner? Yeah. So rule of thumb is three hours. If you can give yourself a three-hour gap, that's a pretty good window. A lot of people feel significantly better just from a digestion perspective in the morning, which I'm one of those people. If you pair that up with like a light walk post-dinner, you can feel really good. But a couple of reasons. When you give yourself that gap, that first sleep cycle of the night is oftentimes when you have the biggest
Starting point is 00:09:45 spike in growth hormone, which can be great for longevity and keeping you feeling healthy and performing at a high level. So that's your biggest spike. When you have a meal really close to bed, your body doesn't go into that growth hormone spike. It doesn't produce it the same way it would. And you just kind of miss out on it. It doesn't produce that spike the following sleep cycle. You just kind of miss out on it that night and you move on. So allowing your body to digest and then also giving enough time to have your blood sugar stabilize and basically let your body calm down. Three hours is a pretty good rule of thumb. And that's also a good thing to do when you're traveling. Having a consistent gap there is another way to trigger your body basically to say, hey,
Starting point is 00:10:29 we're getting ready to go to bed. And if you're traveling time zones, you can use that as a tool to reset yourself when you move time zones. I'm sure you deal with that a lot. Love that. I'm a big fan of the 5 p.m. dinner reservation. I'm not sure why people don't do that. So I lived in Miami for three years and people are like, let's go to dinner at 9 p.m. And not to mention everyone in Miami is 30 minutes late to everything. So it's wild. Miami is not for me. No, if you value sleep, that is not the place to be.
Starting point is 00:10:53 The nightclubs open at midnight. I think of like Spain, they have dinner at like 10. I can't do that. I can't do that either. But they're so healthy. It confuses me. I mean, Europe in general, some of that stuff is very contradicting. It's wild. But I think their stress levels are low. And I think that the lifestyle in the United States is fast and furious
Starting point is 00:11:15 for better for worse. But chronic stress, that'll tear you apart over time no matter what. And we talk about these things that take away from our health and longevity, alcohol, which Spain tends to, you know, utilize a lot in their life. But in general, you know, things like that, stress will out, the chronic stress will outweigh all the substances. And most of the time it wrecks havoc on our body. And I don't think we realize,
Starting point is 00:11:40 I think because our baseline is a little bit skewed here, we don't realize what our baseline of stress levels are. I feel like toothpaste is one of those daily products that we're all taking a look at and really checking out the ingredients. And many people are finding that their commercial toothpastes are filled with harsh chemicals, artificial flavors, and preservatives. checking out the ingredients. And many people are finding that their commercial toothpastes are filled with harsh chemicals, artificial flavors, and preservatives. And that's why I use Bite.
Starting point is 00:12:11 We swallow about five to 7% of our toothpaste every single time we brush. And Bite makes dry toothpaste tablets that are made with clean ingredients that are sulfate-free, palm oil-free, and glycerin-free. They're so convenient. You just pop a bit in your mouth, chew it up, and start brushing. There's no plastic tube or messy paste, but once you start chewing it, it will turn into the paste that you're used to. It also comes in a refillable glass jar, and they send refills in compostable pouches, so it's better for our bodies and the earth. I personally love traveling with my Bite toothpaste. You just throw it in your carry-on and you're good to go.
Starting point is 00:12:47 And you have fresh breath when you arrive anywhere. Bite is offering our listeners 20% off your first order. Go to trybite.com slash pow or use code pow at checkout to claim this deal. That's t-r-y-b-i-T-E.com slash pow. You guys are always asking me for good alternatives when it comes to clean laundry products. And I'm obsessed with EarthBreeze EcoSheets. They look like dryer sheets, but it's actually ultra concentrated,
Starting point is 00:13:18 liquidless laundry detergent. It's the best of all the worlds. EarthBreeze is tough on stains and odors, but it's also kind to the planet and your skin. You guys know I have super sensitive skin, so I have to be so careful. Earth Breeze Eco Sheets are dermatologist tested, hypoallergenic and free of bleach, dyes and parabens.
Starting point is 00:13:36 There's also a fragrance-free option. Earth Breeze got rid of unnecessary chemicals for a formula that is so kind to sensitive skin of all ages, including babies. It's also just so much more convenient. There's no heavy lifting of a massive jug of detergent. It's just one sheet and it's a lightweight cardboard packaging. It takes up a fraction of the space and they offer flexible subscriptions and they will be delivered right to your door. They really reduce plastic waste as well,
Starting point is 00:14:05 which is fantastic and has a positive impact on the world. Right now, my listeners can receive a 40% off EarthBreeze just by going to earthbreeze.com slash pow. That's earthbreeze.com slash pow to cut out single-use plastic in your laundry room and claim 40% off your subscription, earthbreeze.com slash pow. Quality sleep, other than impacting our energy levels, which is like obviously the obvious benefit,
Starting point is 00:14:40 what else is it impacting? Like hormones, fat loss, muscle? Yeah, top to bottom. I think with fat loss specifically, people overlook sleep and it really should be the first thing you think about. So if anyone comes to me and they have a weight loss goal, the first thing I would look at is their sleep schedule, which is a little bit counterintuitive
Starting point is 00:14:58 because I think people think about calorie burn, energy expenditure, energy balance. And it does come down to energy balance. But when we sleep, that's when we optimize our hunger hormones. And on average, if someone is only sleeping five hours compared to like eight hours, you consume about 300 to 400 more calories when you're underslept. And it's not because you're awake longer. They've done plenty of studies to figure out why that's happening.
Starting point is 00:15:25 And that's happening because you crave high fat, high sodium foods that are more calorically dense and you crave food more. Like your hunger hormones are all thrown off. So it's about like, when you have a weight loss goal, we already know the stats on weight loss outcomes. It's not very good. A lot of people don't follow through.
Starting point is 00:15:43 So I think it's about how do I set myself up for the highest chances of success? Not how do I attack this with the most aggressive plan? How do I make it happen the fastest? It's like, let's get these behaviors in place that's gonna increase my chances the highest as opposed to what's the most effective plan because that's gonna be a much better long-term outcome.
Starting point is 00:16:03 So just by sleeping the optimal amount, you're going to reduce your caloric intake by about 300 to 400 calories because you're not going to crave food as much. So you have a weight loss story. I do. Kind of like me. What was your situation? Yeah. I mean, I always slept well. That's the one thing I did always prioritize. So I can't say that that contributed to it as much. But yeah, when I got done playing football, I was a big guy. I had a ton of muscle on me from football. It's just what you had to do.
Starting point is 00:16:33 But about five years after, I found myself just not having great purpose in what I was doing. And trying to find myself in the business world, took a couple of chances and it was around people that just like, yeah, I just didn't feel inspired. Didn't work out, started drinking a lot.
Starting point is 00:16:51 I gained about 50 pounds in five months, and I felt so bad. drawn to setting your plan up to have the highest chances of success is because until you've been in that situation where you're not feeling great about yourself, maybe you're depressed, maybe you're probably going through other things beyond just your physical appearance and how you feel. It feels like you're moving a mountain to start that journey. And that's why I always come back to like, how do we increase these chances? Because it's hard to get that ball rolling. And I think it's also hard for people to even put themselves in those shoes.
Starting point is 00:17:32 People don't realize how incredibly difficult it is to even get to the gym when you feel like that about yourself. Not only just from your self-conscious, but also energy and mood and it's nearly impossible. So anything you can do to optimize your mental health and your motivation, I think is a great start. But it was a battle. And I remember distinctly, I was in Chicago. I went on a boat, picture got taken, got posted to Facebook the same day I had a physical and i got on the scale i was like 296 pounds which is four pounds away from 300 and i texted my wife and i was like like this
Starting point is 00:18:11 is rock bottom like i i don't know how i let it get to this point like this doesn't even reflect what i value as a person like i love health wellness longevity i was in the space like how did this happen but But it happens fast. And if, you know, if you're not around people that are inspiring you, if you don't feel like you're doing something with purpose, it can happen. And you don't even realize you're losing that perspective. So luckily, you know, a lot of times like weight loss goals happen gradually and you have a long-term plan, but that was almost that moment
Starting point is 00:18:47 that just like sparked a fire. And I went on like a nine month tear and really got things back in order. And, you know, I've had a pretty good balance ever since. I was probably a little too aggressive, but I could not stand like what that picture represented. And it wasn't even just the physical, it was just about like what I saw.
Starting point is 00:19:05 When I saw the picture, it was about like what reflected back at me and knowing my mindset that I had at one time, even my relationship with food, probably like how I treated people around me. I wasn't the same, I didn't have the same energy. I wasn't as uplifting and optimistic and I just knew that wasn't me.
Starting point is 00:19:22 So I was willing to do anything to get back to where I was at one point. I relate in so many ways that even the nine month span, like mine was a full nine month span, but I was probably a little too aggressive. And I sometimes get nervous to say that because girls are like, how did you do it? And I wish I could say, I think I was lucky because I had my husband who's a bodybuilder and I came from the approach of wanting muscle and it wasn't, many women go into it being like, I want to be smaller and smaller and smaller, but I always wanted muscle and I prioritized protein,
Starting point is 00:19:55 but I was pretty aggressive about the way I went about it. And similar to you, it was not so much about the way I looked, but more so like, who am I? I was lacking discipline, purpose, didn't have anyone around me who was like, inspiring me to be better. And it really was a full life change. So I completely relate. Yeah, well, make no mistake. I also I think it's what it was about how I look too. You know, it's like, I think you're lying to yourself. Everybody wants to feel good about how they look. And it's okay to say that. I think it's okay to have aesthetic goals
Starting point is 00:20:31 as long as they're in line and healthy. But I also think though, even the psychology behind nutrition and change, like obviously the longer it takes you to lose weight, the better long-term outcomes. But I also think there's something to be said. Like when you have like a burning motivation and you have this you to lose weight, the better long-term outcomes. But I also think there's something to be said, like when you have like a burning motivation and you have this desire to make change,
Starting point is 00:20:50 if you can ride that wave and implement changes, but at the same time, educate yourself and set up this lifestyle for sustainability, I think that can be really useful. Like my mentality, I'm an all in or all out kind of guy. And so I think that was the only thing that would have worked for me. And like you said, it's like, I think if all in or all out kind of guy. And so I think that was the only thing that would have worked for me. And like you said, it's like,
Starting point is 00:21:07 I think if you, on the other side, you set things up to make sure it's sustainable, I think it can be okay. But I think the biggest thing with weight loss, it's like you have to think of yourself as a different person. Because oftentimes, and I've done this in smaller, on a smaller scale, it's like,
Starting point is 00:21:23 you think I'm gonna get to this goal and then I can relax. And It's like, you think I'm gonna get to this goal and then I can relax. And it's like, and then I'm good. And then that's when it all comes back. But it's like, you literally have to think of yourself as a different human being and where you are gonna live a different life. And there's never gonna be a point
Starting point is 00:21:37 where you necessarily can relax. You just have to change the way that you exist. And at first that's really terrifying and hard to wrap your brain around it. But then that's exactly what happens. And it becomes sustainable because you don't ever feel like you want to get back to that point where you were. You just look at things differently. You have a different outlook on how you approach things. And if anything, you kind of figure out who you really are. Like that's how I've always thought about it. It really showed me what my true potential is. Yeah. Have you heard that quote where it's like, if you start running, tell yourself you are a runner, not that you are
Starting point is 00:22:09 running. That makes sense. Now I haven't heard that quote, but I love that. But I kind of did that. I need to start doing that because I've been running a lot and I still am like, I'm running. I'm not a runner. You are a runner, like you are. And even when I started working out, even when I was still heavier and not fully there yet, I considered myself a weightlifter. And even when I was like in my daily life, I wore my weightlifting clothes 24 seven. Cause I was like, this is who I am. Like, this is my life. I love that. And now I'm a bit more fluid with the way I identify myself, but like, it is such a big part of my life and has become more and more comfortable for me. I mean, my life now, I can't imagine not
Starting point is 00:22:46 working out or not eating the way I eat. Right. And that becomes part of you. And it's difficult to imagine that at the beginning. I think it's in the beginning, it's slightly terrifying. Yeah. Because you do. Well, I think it's also like you realize how good you could feel and everything that surrounds that. And you value that more than those things that you used to. Like I used to value binging on pizza and having beers and going out to the bar. Well, then I feel how it feels to be healthy and fit
Starting point is 00:23:12 and have a sustainable life. And I'm like, I would not trade that for this. And it becomes a relatively easy decision. But until you feel that, you'll never think you'll give up those things. 100%. But it's, man, it was a journey, emotional rollercoaster for sure.
Starting point is 00:23:28 But kind of a blessing, I always say to experience rock bottom because a lot of people don't have that. Yeah, no, I agree. And I also, I get frustrated sometimes in this space because just how you feel at that rock bottom when I see people who haven't been there giving advice about,
Starting point is 00:23:46 just start moving and changing your diet and all this stuff, so much easier said than done. If you could just feel what it feels like, you wouldn't be saying it with the tone that you're saying. I promise you that. And you got to meet people where they are. And I think everyone has a different thing that gets them going and you kind of have to find that and it's very individualized, but there's not a lot of
Starting point is 00:24:09 empathy there. So if anyone's out there on that journey and just getting to the gym is incredible, especially with everything going on in people's life, moms. And I mean, it's pretty incredible. I talked about before, it's way harder for a mom to get to the gym for the first time of the year that doesn't feel good about going than a pro athlete going to an off-season workout. It could be the hardest workout ever, but overcoming those like emotional barriers and just being self-conscious, like there's nothing worse. Like going back to that is, I can't even get myself there. And, you know, knowing how much better it feels now, it's like, but you just have to know it's gonna be worth it. I know.
Starting point is 00:24:48 Shout out to the people listening who are just showing up because that's all you can do. Just show up every day. Even if it's not a good workout, you got there. Check the box. Back to sleep. Yeah. We went on a whole tangent.
Starting point is 00:25:00 We had to though, we had to. You said you were tracking your sleep back when you were less healthy and you still track now, seven years later. What have you seen improve over time? Funny enough, my sleep was pretty good. But like when I was drinking, it's insane how much alcohol affects your sleep. I mean, it's unbelievable. What is that? Why? There's a lot of reasons. You know, alcohol, and actually like some of the reasons are actually a little up in the air still. It's a lot has to do with like just the chemicals that are produced from the breakdown of the alcohol. But alcohol is sedating, which is not the same as sleeping. So it does make
Starting point is 00:25:43 you fall asleep faster. And what happens is it really segments your sleep. You wake up much more often. And because of that, you don't get into your REM cycles. It really suppresses your REM sleep. And your REM sleep is what really helps with your emotional regulation and your mood stability. So when you think about alcohol and what drives people to alcohol, it kind of creates this cycle, this negative cycle, because that type of sleep is exactly what you need probably to set you on the right course. So alcohol, you bounce around these lighter stages of sleep, but what happens is you're waking up a lot, but you don't remember you're waking up a lot. It's very brief and it's segmented. So when you wake up, you feel like you slept really
Starting point is 00:26:27 well because what happens is your brain, you don't get any of this REM sleep the entire night because of the alcohol. You metabolize the alcohol, it gets out of your system. And then the last couple hours of the night, your brain is deprived of this REM sleep. So it's like, I need to make up for it. You go into these deep REM cycles. And when you wake up, you're like, I was sleeping like a rock. You don't realize you're waking up a million times throughout the night. And then also it feels like you're coming out of this super deep sleep
Starting point is 00:26:52 because your brain was deprived of this REM sleep the entire night. And so you have the illusion that you fell asleep because you wake up from a deep sleep and also you fell asleep faster because of the sedating effects of the alcohol. So people get in the habit, I'll have a glass of wine and two glasses of wine at night
Starting point is 00:27:08 to help me sleep. But in reality, like you're saying, you might be getting the quantity, but you're definitely not getting the quality of sleep, which at that point, when the quality of sleep is that poor, the quantity doesn't really matter as much. so i have been eating gluten-free and dairy-free for a while now because of my skin and i'm always looking for great alternatives for grocery shopping meal prepping and that's where i found hungry root hungry root is the easiest way to eat healthy they send you fresh high quality groceries simple recipes and essential supplements it's like your personal assistant for healthy living i have received such fun awesome products through hungry root one of my favorite products they send
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Starting point is 00:28:49 40% off your first delivery and free veggies for life. Just go to hungryroot.com slash pow to get 40% off your first delivery and get your free veggies. That's hungryroot.com slash pow. Don't forget to use our link so they know we sent you. I was telling you prior to our conversation, my HRV is usually close to 200, if not over 200. Which is incredible. Which I don't understand and we need to talk about it. And my followers are like, how. Which I don't understand and we need to talk about it and my followers are like, how?
Starting point is 00:29:25 And I don't know. But when I have one alcoholic beverage, it's generally like 100 or less. Yeah. Like half of what it normally is. Yeah. People don't realize how much, like just one drink can affect your sleep.
Starting point is 00:29:39 There's been studies that like, even, you know, two drinks in the early afternoon, they can see in, you know in some of these brain activity readings that it's affecting your sleep. So it's just how much, it's just a balance. And I do have drinks. I was about to ask you, do you drink?
Starting point is 00:29:54 People don't think I do. I do drink, I'll have drinks. I enjoy wine. I enjoy a couple of glasses of wine, but I think it's about being intentional. And it's like, if you're gonna go out to dinner, at the end of the day, the number one longevity tool
Starting point is 00:30:06 is the depth of your social connections. When you have real meaningful relationships and it's predictable, it's not just, this is not just a theory. There's studies to back this up. If you have great meaningful relationships, you will live longer and healthier. So I think it's about,
Starting point is 00:30:21 and it's a fact that in our society, alcohol is deeply intertwined in the social world. So if you're gonna go out and it's worth it and you're around people, you know, and it's a fact that in our society, alcohol is deeply intertwined in the social world. So if you're going to go out and it's worth it and you're around people that you love, you're going to have a great time and you're strategic about what time you're going to have the drinks and what you have the next day, it can be fine. It can be a useful tool.
Starting point is 00:30:38 And I don't necessarily tell people they shouldn't drink, but it's just when it becomes habitual, you know, when you're having drinks every single night or you're having four or five, six drinks, like that can be pretty detrimental. But there, you know, there's things you can do to combat that, but just be intentional. And I said, make sure it's worth it. Make sure you're not just having drinks to have drinks. So what is HRV? Yeah. So HRV just stands for heart rate variability. And it's a little counterintuitive to what you'd think.
Starting point is 00:31:06 So basically, the more relaxed your nervous system is, it's a nervous system reading, the more relaxed your nervous system is, right? So the more you're in your parasympathetic state nervous system, the bigger variance between your heartbeats. Okay, so the slower your heartbeats. So it's almost like irregular. So that measurement
Starting point is 00:31:25 is just how big of variants there are. So how big of differences there are between your heartbeats. Okay. But you would think it'd be the opposite. You think it'd be like super regular, like on pattern, but you actually want there to be more variants. And the more variants we're finding, the more prepared your body is for one, to take on stress, like activity levels. And then two, what type of stress state your body is in from a recovery perspective. So if you go do a crazy workout or you have alcohol, your heartbeat gets more and more regular. So it's just basically that measurement and average throughout the night, for example, in a sleep tracker. So is it considered healthier to have a higher HRV?
Starting point is 00:32:04 Yes. Yeah. So you want a higher HRV, similar to like you want a lower resting heart rate. The one thing with HRV is it's more individualized than a heart rate. Across the population, it's more predictable, like what a good resting heart rate is, where HRV, it's more dependent on your baseline. So HRV is also affected by a lot of things, medications, all sorts of different medications. So it's more about looking at your baseline and trying to improve that
Starting point is 00:32:32 as opposed to like looking at your crazy HRV of 200 and some and trying to get there. It's not a metric that you should compare to other people as opposed to see where you're at and then try to improve upon it. Like when all these trackers, like a whoop, for example, or a ring, they take your HRV and they normalize what your norm is. And then they based your recovery score based on what percentile you're in based on your average, not like the population's average. Okay. Because whenever I post it,
Starting point is 00:32:59 people get really upset. Yeah. It's not something to compare yourself to. Everyone's different. Some people just have a unique ability to have really high HRV. Now, there is a higher... If someone's in ridiculously good cardiovascular condition, endurance athletes oftentimes have really high HRVs. I don't think that's me. Maybe it is. I don't know. I'm not a runner.
Starting point is 00:33:20 You got to tell yourself you are a runner. You're not running. You're an HRVer. I'm happy it's high, you gotta tell yourself you are a runner you're not running you're hrv-er i'm i'm happy it's high but i also don't know i i said to you before when i saw on a cold plunge the the night before the day before i sleep it's way higher um but i i don't know why mine is so astronomically high i'm not. But people get really upset. Also, from what I've seen, women tend to have a higher HRV. Oh, interesting.
Starting point is 00:33:50 Mine's higher than my husband's and it's like my flex. That's pretty common. Yeah. Is your resting heart rate lower? That's pretty common too. Yeah. Why does sauna cold plunge help so much? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:34:01 So I mean, it is, well, it depends. It depends on what the mechanism is. So do you do it at night or do you do? Yes, usually at night. Yeah. So sauna is great for, I'm just curious what your protocol is. Okay. Well, it's not as good as yours. I promise you. You don't even know what mine is. Yeah. You go in and out, right? Well, it depends if you get a spray tan. Oh yeah. Well, spray, thank you for recognizing the spray tan. Yes. It's important.
Starting point is 00:34:26 It looks great. Thank you. But I do it quite frequently leading up to the spray tan because it gets it off. But I will basically sit in the sauna until I'm dying. So 15 to 20 minutes. How hot, do you know? Greg gets, he hacks the thermometer
Starting point is 00:34:42 and it gets up to like 230, I think. Wow. Is that crazy? 230, I think. Wow. Is that crazy? That's pretty hot. Yeah. We do the water on the coals. So I basically go till I'm dying and I want to get in the cold plunge. Get in the cold plunge quick, get back in the sauna, probably another 10, end on cold.
Starting point is 00:34:58 How long do you do cold? Not long, like maybe a minute or two. Yeah. So I would guess the reason that affects your affects your HRV so much is just your sleep and you're probably more relaxed. So heat before bed is great. Any heat, it could be a shower, it can be a hot tub, it can be a sauna. Sauna is amazing for health and longevity in general for a few reasons,
Starting point is 00:35:22 but I'm just going to talk about sleep. So what happens is when you heat yourself up, it basically expands your blood vessels and your veins and everything. It's a vasodilator. So, and your extremities especially, everything expands and the blood rushes from like your trunk, your torso to your extremities.
Starting point is 00:35:42 And in order to sleep well, the reason why a cold bedroom is really important is it allows you to cool your core body temperature down. And you need to drop your core body temperature about a degree or two in order to get into that first sleep cycle, and especially deep sleep cycles. So one, you have a cool bedroom, it's really useful.
Starting point is 00:35:58 But two, when you heat yourself up before bed, your blood is rushed to your extremities because dilates all your blood vessels. And then it cools your torso down, to your extremities because, you know, dilates all your blood vessels and then it cools your torso down. Like your core body temperature much faster. So I think what's probably happening is the sauna is doing that. You're replying the heat before bed, you go into a cool bedroom probably, and then you're able to fall asleep really quickly. And it really relaxes your nervous system. And you're able to basically be in the most relaxed state, which increases your
Starting point is 00:36:25 variability of your heart rate. That's basically just saying how relaxed is my body, how relaxed is my nervous system. The higher that number gets, the more relaxed you are. What is your sauna protocol? Mine is similar. It depends. So I've been playing around with this because I like to experiment. And you're in that every night. Yeah, we also have a lot of people over. So if people come over, it's a little different experience because people kind of want to push the limits. But if it's just me
Starting point is 00:36:52 and I'm trying to like maximize my biometrics, there is actually some data that too hot is a stressor and it can actually have some detrimental effects as far as like dementia, Alzheimer's, like all the positive effects of sauna, like eliminating those long-term diseases. If it's too hot and it's really stressful, it can have a negative effect.
Starting point is 00:37:14 So I've been actually going a little lower with the temperature, like 180. I have a Sisu sauna and they're awesome because it's just on an app and I can set the temperature. Oh, that's nice. From inside. I can be on the way home from dinner and start the sauna. Yeah, we don't have that.
Starting point is 00:37:26 Yeah, it's amazing. That's nice. Yours is traditional, not red. Yeah, because all the data on saunas is on traditional saunas. I agree with you. Why is everyone getting red? Well, the infrareds are conceptually, I understand why it's trendy because it penetrates.
Starting point is 00:37:44 It's just a different heating mechanism so it penetrates the skin deeper and essentially they'll tell you it heats from the inside out but it you know it it heats through vibrating the molecules inside of our body as opposed to just the air outside of it but you have 40 year studies coming out of Europe that are amazing studies all using traditional saunas and all these unbelievable outcomes. As soon as you change one variable of what type of sauna it is, you have to kind of throw that study out of the window.
Starting point is 00:38:11 So why not use the exact same heating mechanism that all these great studies are using? That's my opinion. I also think it's a better experience. The other thing with infrared, it's a cheaper option and you can usually plug it into a regular outlet as opposed to like a hard wire. So it's just easier for most people. That's honestly- It's kind of option and you can usually plug it into a regular outlet as opposed to a hard wire. So it's just easier for most people.
Starting point is 00:38:27 It's kind of wild installing it. It's not great. Do you have it inside or outside? Inside right now. We used to have one outside. Yeah, that's hard. It's not easy, but worth it. Sorry, tell me your protocol.
Starting point is 00:38:44 I've been going actually like 180 degrees for like 25 minutes. I'll go dip in the cold like 10 seconds because I don't want to get too cold and I want to keep dilated all my blood vessels. Keep dilated and then I go back in for about 10, dip and then I'll actually end with the hot tub. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:39:03 Okay. The hot tub, you know, water is similar to the cold plunge. Water transfers heat so well that it tends to be really relaxing. And, you know, it just makes me sleepy. And that's why a cold plunge is so much more effective than cryotherapy. Yeah. It's because it transfers heat so well. Are we all done with cryotherapy now?
Starting point is 00:39:20 I think I'm ready to, you know. I'm ready to get rid of it. I mean, I was ready to get rid of it before. I think it's BS now. Yeah, well, so it's just, it's really one that's, the price is wild a lot of times. But yeah, so like air, so if you measure your skin temperature,
Starting point is 00:39:33 it takes like the full three minutes to get your skin temperature to like 37 degrees. Whereas in a cold plunge, you instantly get that down to 37 and you get three minutes at that really low temperature. So like the air temperature is very misleading as far as its effectiveness because you got to look at the skin temperature.
Starting point is 00:39:52 And so you're really getting, the entire time you're in the cryotherapy, it's just cooling itself down. It's not actually getting the outcomes that you would instantly in a cold plunge. What is the optimal temperature to have the bedroom? 68? That's on the higher
Starting point is 00:40:05 side, surprisingly, like 65 to 68 is pretty standard, but it's okay to be warm. And the other thing that actually is a useful tool is having warm feet. So there's studies showing like if you wear socks, it helps you fall asleep faster. Or if you just have like a double, a good tip is to have like a double blanket on your feet because again, you want the blood to flow to your extremities. So the colder your feet are, the less it's going to want to go. So you want to increase the blood flow to your feet and that'll allow you to cool your core body temperature down faster and you'll fall asleep faster.
Starting point is 00:40:37 Okay. And then obviously there's tools you can add like the Eight Sleep Pad. Eight Sleep, yeah. I love the Eight Sleep Pad. Yeah. I work with them and it's uh it's pretty incredible so my dad has this um this this you know he was born with it i'm not exactly sure the name of it he can't he sweats when it's cold and he has really hard time
Starting point is 00:40:58 regulating his temperature and my mom is going through menopause and she's so hot and so they can like control their temperature separate on the sides of bed. So that's going to be their Christmas present. They don't know. I don't know if they're going to listen to this, but just be surprised if they listen to it. I'm only child. So they listen.
Starting point is 00:41:12 Oh, you're the main character. Yeah, they listen to quite a few things. My parents have never once listened to my show. Really? Not once. Oh man. Thank God. My parents will listen.
Starting point is 00:41:22 Hi mom and dad. Yeah. Thanks for listening. Todd's doing great. Yeah. Yeah. My parents are all in. Does Katie, your wife, like the eight sleep too?
Starting point is 00:41:30 Does she use her side? Yes. But my wife can sleep through a hurricane. Like she is out. Really? She's a big mouth taper. She was hard no in the beginning. Wow.
Starting point is 00:41:40 We were like, to the point, like we were selling it. The company was launched and I'm like, can you just please try this? Like, I mean, just for me, you know, and she tried it one the company was launched, and I'm like, can you just please try this? Just for me. And she tried it one night, 10 minutes, took it off. She was a little freaked out about it, which is totally normal. But now she cannot go back. And she was a mouth breather. Was she?
Starting point is 00:41:55 Yeah, she'd probably kill me if she still knew I had the pictures. But I would take pictures of her with her mouth on and be like, see, I'm telling you, you need this. Okay, wait, let's dive into mouth tape because I think I'm still a little bit unsure of it. Tell us the benefits of mouth tape. So it's a weird concept for sure, no doubt. And I get why people are kind of freaked out. My husband does it. And it's also pretty handy because he wants to stop talking to me. So he'll just...
Starting point is 00:42:23 Well, first off, it's great for if you're in an argument, boom, argument's over. And honestly, you know what's crazy? I joke about this all the time, but like if you're ever really mad and then you just sleep and you wake up, you feel like... True. It kind of puts everything in perspective. True. You're like, what were we even talking about?
Starting point is 00:42:38 Yeah, you're like, what are we doing? Because I think naturally, the human brain builds anxiety through the day. So it resets and your REM sleep helps reduce anxiety. So it makes sense. But really what you're doing is harnessing the power of nasal breathing. And over the last five or so years, we've really started to understand how powerful breathing through your nose is. And basically our nose is meant to breathe.
Starting point is 00:43:03 Our mouth is meant to eat and talk. And you're really only supposed to breathe out of your mouth at really high levels of exertion. And we didn't evolve breathing out of our mouth at night. But now about 60% of the population breathes out of their mouth when they're sleeping. A lot of different reasons, like our stress levels have definitely changed.
Starting point is 00:43:22 Orthodontics have changed, like the way that they can create the structure in the teeth and the airway, a lot of different things. But in general, like so many positive things come from breathing through your nose. And your nose, think of your nose as the steering wheel of your nervous system. So when you change your breath
Starting point is 00:43:38 from mouth breathing to nasal breathing, you instantly down-regulate and relax your nervous system. So when you're breathing out of your mouth throughout the entire night, it's kind of like chronic low level of stress the entire night. And that's why you'll see your HRV go up when you breathe through your nose the entire night, which could be why you have really- I think I just had an epiphany. Could be. I'm a nose breather. Could be it. That could be it. And it will, I mean, if you were an HRV monitor, like when you're
Starting point is 00:44:02 awake and you start doing nasal breathing, you'll see your HRV jump up instantly. So just imagine the entire night. So that happens. The other thing that happens is in your nose, you produce nitric oxide, which is a vasodilator. So it allows you breathe it down into your lungs and expands your airways, allows you to breathe in more oxygen. And again, it just reduces the amount of stress. The amount of, basically the thing about about it as reducing the amount of effort your body has to use to maintain its homeostasis
Starting point is 00:44:29 and just exist. The other thing it does is it makes you more tolerant to carbon dioxide, which seems like a bad thing. When you're breathing out of your mouth, you can actually over-breathe and you're expelling all this carbon dioxide, but it's more the balance of carbon dioxide and oxygen that allows your body to utilize the oxygen. At the cellular level, when you have more carbon dioxide, you actually are able to use more of the oxygen that's in your blood, which makes sense. Like if you're having a hard time to breathe, your body, like think of it as releasing this oxygen into your system. So it's this balance and it enables you to get used to that. And then I guess the two
Starting point is 00:45:05 other benefits would be one like oral hygiene and dentists are starting to love mouth tape because when your mouth is open, it becomes very acidic. And so like, you know, on a pH level, water's around seven, that's like neutral. Your mouth, once your pH drops below five and a half, your teeth start breaking down pretty fast and a lot higher chances of cavities and things like neutral. Your mouth, once your pH drops below five and a half, your teeth start breaking down pretty fast and a lot higher chances of cavities and things like that. When your mouth is open, it usually gets to about three and a half. So your mouth becomes very acidic,
Starting point is 00:45:33 you have bad breath and your teeth break down. And a lot of reasons why people have cavities isn't necessarily because they don't have good oral hygiene, it's because their mouth is open the entire night. And then jaw structure. So we see this, especially in kids, your jaw will take the shape of whatever position it's in. You know, our body is very adaptable.
Starting point is 00:45:51 So if your mouth is open the entire night, it starts to take that shape and adjust. And likewise- Less defined. Yeah, so if your mouth is closed the entire time, it takes the shape of the position it's in, which looks more defined. So over time, your body adapts either way.
Starting point is 00:46:06 Wow. Especially in kids. It's also pretty incredible some of the studies coming out with kids and learning disabilities and mouth breathing because mouth breathing is also, it's depriving your brain of oxygen in short bursts. So when you think about that,
Starting point is 00:46:20 like over time and the development of the brain, it can be pretty impactful. Some wild stuff coming out. I also think think about animals like when you look at dogs that are mouth breathers like pugs or french bulldogs they always have health problems and you think about sleeping you never see an animal sleeping with their mouth open right it's so interesting how it just changes the facial structure and then you're also a fan of eye masks. Love eye masks. How come? It's more about the psychology because it's incredible how smart our brain is on the subconscious level of attaching different behaviors and environments with sleep and
Starting point is 00:47:01 awakefulness and restfulness. And so an eye mask is an example of something that if you have totally blackout shades, it's not necessarily about the blackout. For me, it's about the trigger of, I'm putting this eye mask on, it's time to go to sleep. And my brain, my body knows, boom, it's bedtime and I fall asleep almost instantly. Where before I'd kind of roll around,
Starting point is 00:47:21 there wasn't that trigger. And the other thing people need to be aware of is like just how much your body associates either restfulness or being awake with your bed in your bedroom. Like if you wake up and you're rolling around trying to fall asleep and you're in your bed for 40 minutes,
Starting point is 00:47:36 your brain is gonna start to associate your bed with being awake and being stressed about not being able to sleep. So people should not just be in their bed, not being able to sleep. If you can't sleep for like 15 minutes, like get up, take your mind off it, go read a book, change your environment, get out of the space that's meant for sleeping and go somewhere else. Because that subconscious interaction is very powerful. And I think the sleep mask is a way to kind of bring that to a smaller scale. And also you're able to take it
Starting point is 00:48:03 with you anywhere you go. So for athletes especially like when you're traveling you never know the situation in the hotel room but now you can control the light and still have that psychological trigger to actually go to sleep my husband is the king of eye masks i mean the second he puts it on his face he's out i'm i'm excited for him to try ours ours is like i'm, I'm a big fan of ours. I'm going to try it too. So it's the highest quality silk, same with our pillowcases, and especially for females with skincare and their hair. So silk is like on a zero to 30, it's a Mame scale. So it's like 24 karat gold is pure gold, 30 Mame silk is pure silk.
Starting point is 00:48:40 So ours are all 30. Wow. Intentionally, because that allows you to keep all the moisture and oils on your skin and hair, which makes you feel much cooler throughout the night. So that's like the most important thing. I didn't know that. Yeah. So like I said, temperature regulation is one of the main reasons people can't sleep in a pillowcase and using a silk pillowcase and silk sleep mask is a way to really keep things cool. If anything says it's a cooling pillowcase, if it's not silk, chances are it's not going to work.
Starting point is 00:49:05 Yeah, it's not going to work that well. Okay, and nose strips. Can I talk about it? Yeah, yeah. So you're releasing nose strips. We are. It'll be a little bit, but we're super excited about it. What's the deal with nose strips?
Starting point is 00:49:17 So that's just making the nasal breathing even easier. People have different septum issues and just trying to expand the volume of the nose and allow you to bring in more air and not have to resort to mouth breathing, even in exercise or in sleep. So it's literally just expanding it. But just with the physics of some nasal strips, we tweak some things and ours are very different than a lot of the ones out there. And they're able to get a lot more dilation and you can feel the difference. So I think it's like, think about like if your threshold to breathe out of your mouth, like you started breathing out of your mouth when you were
Starting point is 00:49:52 exercising at 60%, we're just trying to push that to 75% and just keep your body like a lower stress the entire time. And then again, it allows you to, you know, get used to having a little bit higher levels of carbon dioxide, which is actually a really good thing. Do you know Alex Hormozy? Yes. You know how he always wears the no-strip? Yes.
Starting point is 00:50:11 My husband does too, and it's become like the entrepreneur uniform. Oh, yeah. It's a look. I mean, I'll probably have him on every day, all day. And ours are also setting out to make them look much cooler than the ones out there. I mean, the bar's pretty low. They're not the best looking things out there. It's tough to make them look cute. Yeah, they're not great and they're big.
Starting point is 00:50:31 But if you just wear it with confidence, it kind of is a vibe. Well, I think it's like, you know, now it's like cool to take care of yourself. So it's almost like a badge. It's like, hey, I'm into this. So I biohack. Right. Just so everyone knows. I'm trying to think of something else. It's like the Stanley Cup of biohacking.
Starting point is 00:50:48 Yes, yes. Especially for men. I see men wearing it a lot. Yeah, it's like Stanley doesn't have quite the same vibe. People thought that Greg got a nose job because he was wearing it all day, every day. What color does he wear? Nude.
Starting point is 00:51:00 Oh, that kind of looks like a band-aid. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a full band-aid. Yeah, yeah. He doesn't care. He has a glass jar next to his bed full of them. I can't wait to get him ours. I know.
Starting point is 00:51:08 He's going to love it. I know. I'm so excited. Yeah. Also, question that he wanted me to ask you. So TV, phones before bed. Yeah. So light is obviously energizing to our brain.
Starting point is 00:51:21 We've heard that. So blue light blocking glasses can be great. They're useful. They're useful. They're relaxing. Do they need to be orange? They don't necessarily have to be, but those definitely work better. Those are better, right?
Starting point is 00:51:31 But they just are so extreme. Like are the see-through ones fine too? Yeah, they don't work as well though. Okay. We're developing some. So I've been testing a lot of them. You can feel a substantial difference. I don't have any data on the
Starting point is 00:51:45 difference necessarily. I really don't know study wise but I feel a substantial difference from the orange. I do too. I've done both. I've actually worn the orange at the airport before. Do you have normal looking ones or do you have the big old... Ben Greenfield wears them. I do that
Starting point is 00:52:01 sometimes. It works. I've actually the the last month, I've really looked into this and it seems to me, I would bet that I think people are really into the light and how light impacts their sleep. I actually think the content and what you're consuming is more impactful. So if something's in the background and you're not really into it, and let's say like you're relaxed by having the background and the lights there, I would venture to say that's less impactful than if you had a smaller amount of light, but you were super engaged. So I think that there's more to learn there. And in general, I think it's about being
Starting point is 00:52:39 conscious of how engaged you are with something, what type of mood it puts you in, what type of feelings you have surrounding it. And just be aware of like, protect your sleep, be aware of your sleep. And you want to go to bed in a low stress state. So be aware of the type of stuff you're consuming surrounding sleep. I think that's actually going to be a shift
Starting point is 00:53:00 over the next couple of years or so. There's a lot of like high stress content out there. Like i always think of that show the bear the chef one did you ever see that i've seen now i haven't seen i haven't watched it but it moves so i'm in suits right now did you watch oh no i never did i didn't but then you know kind of made like a resurgence you should watch it it's it's great we just finished gentlemen the gentleman okay i haven't seen but the bear is so high stress and all the scenes like overlap and everyone's talking over each other.
Starting point is 00:53:29 And I was like, I don't- That was like Ozark. Yeah. Like I was like, you know- Can't do that. I'm just stressed the whole time. No, that's probably not- People's heads are getting chopped off.
Starting point is 00:53:36 Right. And I feel like I'm Marty. So it's like, I couldn't do this. Yeah, yeah. And so then you hear a noise outside and you're all freaked out. Yeah, so- I'm high strung like that anyway. Yeah, yeah. And so then you hear a noise outside and you're all freaked out. Yeah, so- I'm high strung like that anyway.
Starting point is 00:53:46 So, okay. Do you mind if we do a little rapid fire from the listeners? They had some questions. Is sleep apnea reversible? Yes, for sure. Oftentimes weight loss is a really great tool, but there's so many interventions
Starting point is 00:54:00 like the nasal strips, even dietary stuff, sleeping positions. There's a lot of things you can do. Always work with your doctor if you're going with a doctor, but always, there's a lot of things you can do. And the one thing I'll say is sleep apnea is absolutely not something to be ignored. The long-term health outcomes from sleep apnea are not good. So if it's any suspicion, which is snoring is a pretty good sign, do a sleep study. Feelings on melatonin?
Starting point is 00:54:26 Mixed, I only utilize it when I'm traveling and trying to get in different time zone. It's a hormone. Most people, if you control the light, it's produced from an absence of light. So if you control your light, which is really where most people run into issues, you can produce a lot of melatonin.
Starting point is 00:54:44 It should gradually be produced throughout the evening. So start dimming your lights when the sun goes down and you'll gradually get sleepier and sleepier that melatonin is produced. The problem is when you take it, a lot of times it's taken and your levels go to a super physiological amount. And when they actually measure
Starting point is 00:55:00 people's melatonin levels in the morning, they're way higher than most people's even at night still. So there's people feel groggy. Like, you know, it's not that natural flow of hormones. And there's so many behavior, holistic interventions you can do before something like that. Is it okay to take CBD every night or smoke weed every night? Well, those are very different. So CBD mix more information needed, definitely not, doesn't seem bad, but I don't know if it's necessarily a huge plus. THC on the other hand though,
Starting point is 00:55:31 THC is a similar effect of alcohol, totally different substances, but it also minimizes the amount of REM sleep you get. So a lot of times you'll hear people say they don't dream when they use THC. And when they stop, they have like crazy vivid dreams. That's because it's doing the same thing. It's suppressing your REM sleep you get. So a lot of times you'll hear people say they don't dream when they use THC. And when they stop, they have like crazy vivid dreams. That's because it's doing the same thing. It's suppressing your REM sleep, which is super impactful for your emotional stability, your mood regulation, really, really important things. It's a very important stage of sleep.
Starting point is 00:55:57 REM and your deep sleep, those two are the ones that get all the attention. So you're not getting nearly as much and it stays in your system for a long time. So the only thing it does is help you fall asleep faster. It's sedating, but long-term outcomes from chronic usage is not good. Would you say men or women need more sleep or even amount? Women actually need slightly more sleep. And women actually get slightly more REM sleep. They are naturally just prone to a little bit more anxiety. And women actually get slightly more REM sleep. They are naturally just prone to a little bit more anxiety. And what's funny is when we have more anxiety, our brain will actually put us into more REM sleep to combat that. Because like I said, it helps with your emotional stability. So our brain is very adaptive and you'll see that happen, which could be a reason
Starting point is 00:56:40 why women get slightly more. But it's not a ton. We're talking 15 minutes on average. Okay. But it's a good excuse. Like if you're ever like, I need to sleep in, it's like, it's not me. I do sleep a little bit later than Greg. I mean, he's up at 5 a.m. So does wifi or Bluetooth in the room interfere with sleep?
Starting point is 00:56:58 That's interesting. I would say TBD, more information needed. There's also just so many, well, a lot of times too, it's like when they do in sleep studies, there's a lot of electromagnetic waves and energy. So I actually, I don't have a definitive answer on that, but I think all that stuff probably has more of an impact than we realize.
Starting point is 00:57:22 And so I would recommend, if you can take your Wi-Fi routers out of your bedroom, get your phone away, even some of the blocking sleeves can be useful for some of the electromagnetic radiation. And do you have any tips for shift workers? Shift workers, just know like it's an uphill battle and you have to be very intentional because it can be really, really tough on your health. And so I think with that is consistency is the most important thing.
Starting point is 00:57:54 The worst thing you can do as a shift worker is do two days at night. And let's say you have a weekend day where you don't have to work and then you try to go back into like normal society schedule and then jump back into like your shift schedule. That can be super hard on the body
Starting point is 00:58:08 and the brain and your sleep schedule. So consistency is key. And then the best thing you can do besides being consistent is really try to control the light in your timing. But I feel for those people, it's hard. It's very hard. And you have to have a really good plan.
Starting point is 00:58:23 I think people don't realize like over the course of maybe 10 years, they're like, I'm just going to do this for a little while. Just how much of an impact it can have later in your life, not sleeping that much. So it's worth investing in things like a sleep mask, a blackout shades. And as much as I know people probably want their day off to be up during the day, if you can keep it regular, it's not worth the long-term outcomes to like go back and forth.
Starting point is 00:58:50 It's brutal on your body. Todd, thank you so much. I have a million questions for you. We'll have to do a part two at some point. I'll have to come on your potential show. Yeah, that'd be great. Oh, I don't know if we'll be able to ask many questions. You might be too sweaty.
Starting point is 00:59:01 It'll be in the sauna, guys. Where can everyone find you online? Where can they find Dream Recovery? Yeah, I mean, so dreamrecovery.io and then we're just dreamrecovery on Instagram. And I do most of my stuff on Instagram. And honestly, with sleep questions, I love helping people. So if you shoot me a DM, I try to get back to as many people as possible because that motivates me. That's why I'm here. Awesome. Thank you so much. Thanks for joining us on the Pursuit of Wellness podcast. To support this show,
Starting point is 00:59:28 please rate and review and share with your loved ones. If you want to be reminded of new episodes, click the subscribe button on your preferred podcast or video player. You can sign up for my newsletter to receive my favorites at marilowelland.com. It will be linked in the show notes. This is a Wellness
Starting point is 00:59:45 Out Loud production produced by Drake Peterson, Fiona Attucks, and Kelly Kyle. This show is edited by Mike Fry and our video is recorded by Louise Vargas. You can also watch the full video of each episode on our YouTube channel at Mari Fitness. Love you, Power Girls and Power Boys. See you next time. The content of this show is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for individual medical and mental health advice and does not constitute a provider patient relationship. As always, talk to your doctor or health team.

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