On Air with Ella - podcast episode 292
It's your Q&A! Thanks for the DMs and emails. We're answering these 3 questions:
I'm having trouble sleeping lately, which is new to me. I know the basics, but what else can I do to fall asleep and stay asleep?
What do you actually do when you're in a slump and need to reset?
You used to talk about "the dreaded bloat" a lot. Do you still have that issue and if not, spill it! What worked?
1: RESOURCES TO HELP YOU SLEEP BETTER
START HERE: listen to my episode on sleep hygiene with Shawn Stevenson
Tools You Can Buy
LED Light Blocking Stickers for your bedroom
Mouth tape!! That's right - nasal breathing supports better sleep, more restorative sleep, and can reduce snoring and sleep apnea effects. Why?...
At night, we have eight full hours of these nose breathing benefits:
Nose breathing forces the entire ribcage to breathe. Deep nose breathing engages all 12 ribs to act as levers massaging the heart and lungs, rather than a cage that squeezes the heart and lungs 26,000 breaths per day.
Nose breathing and full ribcage activation act as a pump to pull lymph fluid from the lower parts of the body up into the chest cavity and heart, supporting healthy and active lymph flow.
Nose breathing and full ribcage activation are critical for optimal flexibility and elasticity of the spine, head, neck, and lower back.
Nose breathing lowers heart and breath rate compared to mouth breathing.
Nose breathing increases alpha brain wave activity compared to mouth breathing. Alpha brain waves are produced during relaxation and meditative states. Mouth breathing exercise produces a significant amount of beta brain waves, which are associated with stress response.
Nose breathing exercise demonstrates shorter recovery times and better endurance than mouth breathing exercise.
Those practicing nose breathing exercise report 50% less fight-or-flight stress and 50% more calm parasympathetic activation compared to mouth breathing exercise.
Nose breathing while sleeping can eradicate snoring and help prevent and treat sleep apnea. [SOURCE]
Tools You Can Buy ($$$)
Or, try a hormone panel (blood test)!
How hormones impact sleep:
The sex hormone progesterone not only triggers ovulation but also promotes sleep. It does this by stimulating your brain to produce a neurotransmitter (a chemical that has an effect on your brain) called gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). The more progesterone you have, the more GABA you'll produce.
Estrogens and progesterone have opposite effects on the body and must be balanced for optimum health. Too much estrogen in relation to progesterone, even if progesterone is in the normal range, can have terrible consequences to how a female will feel. READ MORE.
When a woman enters perimenopause, she starts to experience more fluctuations and produces less estrogen and progesterone throughout the month, which may wreak havoc on her sleep. The true correlation between these hormone dips and fluctuations and insomnia needs to be studied more extensively, Minkin and other experts say, and understanding this connection is confused by how a lack of estrogen is associated with hot flashes, which can disrupt sleep. READ MORE.
Things You Can Eat/Drink
Sleep spray - I am going to try the homeopathic BACH sleep spray because it's all-natural some of you swear by it!
Mary Ruth’s Organics Sleep Gummies - Melatonin Free Sleep Gummies or Melatonin Sleep Gummies
Ashwangandha from Banyan Botanicals - this is for cycling a few weeks at a time. If you want to know more about ashwangandha, let me know!
Herbal Tea - look for ingredients like valerian root and lemon balm; lavender and chamomile - or check out this full list here of Teas that Help You Sleep
2: HOW TO GET OUT OF A SLUMP
Positivity is a discipline, and it doesn't always come naturally to me. The act of getting out of a slump has to be an intentional one for me, and it involves making a small choice that gives me the energy to make more positive and energizing choices, and thus fueling a cycle that builds momentum.
What I do:
1. Name it
2. Identify the why(s) behind the slump
3. Act with intention. For example:
Walk before work and after dinner
Get fully dressed, hair, make up, pants with a zipper!
Cast a net - throw out invitations to dinner, to an event, to coffee, game night
Act like a kid - color, rollerblade, fly a kite, ride a bike, climb a tree
Declutter (depression loves a mess!)
DECIDE to treat yourself better than you are feeling, and then take action from there
3: PROBIOTICS THAT HAVE ACTUALLY WORKED (FOR ME)
All bodies are different, so these might not have the same impact for you, but here are
the two probiotics that changed the game for me (and killed the dreaded bloat for real):
1) Mountain Meadow Herbs - soiled based probiotic "Herbal Flora Plus" - does not need to be refrigerated. I alternate taking two of these a day with taking two of these...
2) Oxyceutics "Gut to Glow" - marine-sourced algae based and contains the "super microbe" Lactobacillus reuteri.
Use code ELLA15 - to save 15% in addition to the 20% “subscribe and save” discount here.
What's working for you for better sleep, getting out of a slump or anything else...?
xx Ella
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