If you’re in a space where you’re saying I’m just sick of being tired, sick of being fatigued, I want to make changes in my life that will improve my sleep and improve my health, my energy, then these are things you can think about, if it works for you.
Dr. Danielle Hron
Introducing…
Dr. Danielle Hron
We brought on our first doctor to talk about one of our favorite topics this week- sleep! Dr. Danielle Hron is an M.D. of Internal Medicine at the University of Minnesota with a passion for sleep. While going through med school, Danielle decided to pursue another dream of hers and competed in Miss USA and Miss America. Everyone around her would ask, “how do you do it? You must never sleep.” Her response, “thee exact opposite actually”.
Find Danielle on
- Instagram – @daniellethedoctor
Episode Highlights –
Dr. Danielle Hron’s secret to success- sleep. After spending almost 12 weeks completing a sleep rotation during med school and her residency, she fell in love with learning the science behind sleep and the sleep hacks no one talks about.
We started out by asking Danielle why sleep is so important. She explained that sleep reduces inflammation in body, repairs blood vessels, lowers your blood pressure and reduces the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Sleeping also consolidates learning, memory, and cognitive function. Chronic sleep deprivation is also linked to an increase risk of dementia. When you sleep, your body detoxes a protein called tau and patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s report having higher levels of tau in their brain.
Poor sleep is also associated with weight gain and diabetes. If you are sleep deprived, you are more likely to have insulin resistance which causes weight gain and type 2 diabetes. If you get good sleep your body is managing insulin better, Danielle explained. She further broke it down by saying, “when you don’t get good sleep, your body conserves energy and uses it for only the most vital tasks”. She went on to explain that your lizard brain (the survival part of the brain that says I need to eat and sleep) kicks on. The frontal cortex of the brain is where all our higher level thinking and regulation comes from. I know that I’m hungry and I will get food. It is our reasoning/adult brain. When you’re sleep deprived your frontal cortex takes so much energy, so that part of your brain doesn’t function like it should. You’ll notice when you’re sleep deprived, you’re not as good at remembering things and you’re much more impulsive, this is due to the lizard brain taking over. You’re higher level brain isn’t telling you, “I know you have these needs and we’ll get to it.”
According to an article in the Journal of Sleep Medicine, people who get good quality sleep, live longer. Also women with stress are more likely to develop sleep problems. Sleep problems lead to health issues and increase rate of mortality. Studies also show that individuals who get quality sleep report being happier in their relationship and fight less with their significant other.
So how does sleep work?
There are 4 different stages of sleep. One full sleep cycle = 90 minutes .
Stage 1 = lighter sleep
Stage 2 = still light but we start to see brain waves
Stages 1 & 2 are about 20-30 minutes – the reason behind 20-30 power naps.
Stage 3 & 4 = deep restorative sleep / REM sleep (rapid eye movement). In REM your body is paralyzed (this prevents us from acting out our dreams).
If you ever wake up feeling groggy, it’s because you woke up during this deep restorative stage. “Your brain’s number one priority is to finish that sleep cycle. It feels like it left a super important thing undone,” explained Danielle.
The key to naps – aim for 20-30 minutes so you aren’t hitting stages two and three and entering that deep cycle, or aim for 90 minutes so you can complete a full sleep cycle.
Ever hear of a caffeine nap? Danielle swore by these in medical school and let us in on her secret –
Drink a cup of caffeine, take a 20 minute power nap. How caffeine works is it blocks a chemical in the brain called adenosine and it takes about 20 minutes to do so. Adenosine tells our brain we’re tired. When you sleep your body gets rid of adenosine, so when you take a nap you have less adenosine to block, making your caffeine more effective and it’ll hit right when you wake up.
Looking to start optimizing your sleep? Dr. Danielle recommends the following –
- Plan your night of sleep around 90 minute chunks
- Learn the number of hours you need (get in tune with your circadian rhythm)
- Plan backwards – say your body feels best at 8 hours, figure out when you have to wake up and when you need to be in bed by
- Establish a ritual before bed that tells your brain it’s time to wind down
Bedtime Routines –
Danielle explained that about 2-3 hours before bed a chemical called melatonin is released and tells our brain it’s time to start getting sleepy. Melatonin is secreted when it’s dark out or there’s a lack of light, especially blue light. Before screens were around we got a lot more sleep because we didn’t have blue light blocking our melatonin production. Danielle recommends getting a pair of blue light glasses if avoiding screens 2-3 hours before bed isn’t realistic for you. Most devices have nighttime mode for their screens, so she recommends looking into that as well.
It’s important to use that 2-3 hours range before bed to wind down and establish a routine. Danielle went on to explain, “when you think about your daily habits and what you do before bed, a lot of people are doing a lot productive/energy heavy things… If you want to optimize sleep that should be a wind down time doing something that isn’t super stimulating/doesn’t take a lot of mental /physical energy…Sleep is such a complex psychological and biological process that we need to prepare for it.”
The consequence of not getting the 2-3 hours before bed is what some are calling revenge insomnia. You spend all day working, taking care of others and the only time you have to fit in your “you” time, is the time that you ideally should have to wind down. For parents, our kids have a bedtime routine, what do we do for ourselves? There’s a reason we make our kids follow a bedtime routine. “How you take care of everyone else should be how you’re taking care of yourself,” Danielle believes.
In addition to your nighttime routine, make sure your environment is setting you up for success. Danielle recommends, “creating a space for yourself where sleep is really the only thing associated with the bedroom.”
- Noise machine
- Get your TV out of bedroom
- Get your phone and laptop out of the room
- Make sure your bed is comfortable
- Room temp is low
- Don’t let pets sleep in your bed- they cause micro awakenings throughout the night and interrupt your sleep cycles
Danielle also explained that a morning routine is just as important if not more for setting your circadian rhythm. Light is an important signal to telling our brain it’s time to wake up. However a lot of us wake up before the sun. If you struggle waking up, Danielle recommends investing in a SAD light. This light mimics the sun (10,000 lux) and helps tell your brain it’s time to wake up. Consistency is key when it comes to training the autopilot part of our brain.
Struggle to get back to sleep?
It’s normal to have light awakenings up to 10 times a night. Every 90 minutes when we complete a sleep cycle we experience micro awakenings, Danielle explained. People just don’t remember it. If you wake up and aren’t able to fall back asleep however, here are some things Danielle recommends to help –
- Notice that it’s normal- telling yourself this is normal will help put your mind to rest.
- Leave your bedroom and go do something that’s boring until you feel sleepy- by staying in bed you are telling your brain that this is what we do. Remember your brain wants to put things in autopilot. You do not want to associate being awake and stressed out with being in the bedroom
- When you leave your bedroom, don’t do anything rewarding – you’ll get a hit of dopamine. Your brain will say “hey I like that reward and will wake you up every morning at that time because it wants that reward.”
Sleep Disorders –
One of the most common sleep disorders is sleep apnea. This affects your breathing, so you don’t get enough oxygen and your brain wakes you up so you start to breathe. The main symptom of sleep apnea is snoring. Treatment looks like positive pressure oxygenation – CPAP mask or machine that pushes air into your nose and mouth and keeps air tubes open so you can sleep throughout the night. Alternatives to a mask or machine- dental implant that thrusts your jaw forward to keep airway clear or surgery. Danielle recommends working with your doctor to find a mask that works and is comfortable for you. If you have sleep apnea you are shaving off days and weeks off your life.
Danielle explained that with night terrors, you act out dreams because your brain is failing to paralyze your body during the REM stage, Danielle explained. She went on to explain that if you’re sleep deprived (REM rebound) more of your sleep cycles are devoted to REM. Due to spending more time in REM then you normally would if you weren’t deprived, there are more chances for you body to fail at being paralyzed.
Coffee-
According to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine, caffeine and coffee help you live longer and function better cognitively. Danielle went on to explain that a few hours before we wake up, the chemical cortisol is released to tell our body to bring blood pressure ad heart rate back up. So if you roll out of bed and immediately drink coffee, it wont affect you as much because your cortisol level is high. Danielle let us in on another hack sharing that the best time to drink coffee is when you have cortisol lows. So this would be mid morning (about 2-3 hours after you wake up) and mid afternoon 2-3pm
When it comes to making sure caffeine doesn’t affect your sleep, Danielle explained that it stays in your system for 4-6 hours, but genetic variations with metabolism, so pay attention to what yours is. For some people it’s okay to drink it during the afternoon low and for some people it’s not. If you’re having a hard time sleeping or sleep quality isn’t great, see if you can go without afternoon coffee and see what happens, she recommends.
A gold standard to aim for – no caffeine 2-3 hours before you go to bed. And when it comes to caffeine withdrawal, Danielle recommends giving yourself 2 weeks before you say this isn’t working.
Unfortunately there is no such thing as catching up on sleep. In order to catch up you need a disciplined sleep schedule for weeks to months, explained Danielle. All you can do is focus on getting quality sleep and over time your body will no longer be sleep deprived. Consistency is key when it comes to training the autopilot part of our brain to help optimize your sleep rhythm and routine.
Disclaimer- this information should not be taken as medical advice. The content is for informational purposes only and because each person is so unique, please consult your healthcare professional for any medical questions.
IVY UNLEASHED
Behind-the-Scenes Video
3 Gold Stars
1. Incorporate a leisure or relaxation activity before bed.
2. Create a bedtime routine that helps you wind down (beauty, meditation, reading, etc.).
3. Track your sleep this week to see where it falls based on the 90 minute sleep cycles.
Ivy Reflections
- If you were on an island and had no where to be and no alarm clock to set, what time would you naturally fall asleep and what time would you wake up?
- What can you incorporate into your night routine to help you wind down and get your brain ready for sleep?
- What can you incorporate into your morning routine to help you ease into your day and set you up for success?
Piece of Gold
We tend to wear our ability to get by on little sleep as some sort of badge of honor that validates our work ethic but what it is is a profound failure of self respect and of priorities.
MARIA POPOVA
Healing Food of the Week-
Where are all the coffee lovers at? Check out these interesting facts and recipes to add more of our favorite healing food into your mix!
Coffee contains riboflavin, pantothenic acid, manganese, potassium, magnesium and niacin.
Healing Properties: Coffee contains antioxidants which reduce your risk of many diseases and conditions such as cancer, strokes, depression, cirrhosis, and type 2 diabetes.
Fun Facts: Several studies show that caffeine increases fat burning and boosts your metabolic rate. Coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease, which is a leading cause of dementia worldwide, and Parkinson’s Disease. Brain functions are improved with coffee consumption such as: memory, mood, energy levels, reaction times and general mental function.
Recipes You Need to Try!
Coffee Granola
https://www.veggieinspired.com/coffee-granola/
@veggie_inspired
Raspberry Lemon Coffee Cake
https://therealfoodrds.com/raspberry-lemon-coffee-cake/
@therealfoodrds
Resources
SAD Lights – https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sad+lights+10%2C000&i=garden&ref=nb_sb_noss
Healing food source- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee
We thank you for joining us in the fearless pursuit of self-discovery and growth and hope that you transform our lessons into your gold.
Listen to your truth and go chase your gold.
– Gold Ivy Health Co.
Stay connected!
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