There are times when topics come up once, and then you hear the same thing again, and again. Lately, I’ve had that experience with different people talking about sleep. And not always that they’ve had a good night of it. Clients who have had issues of late, but also for years. There are people who have never slept well in their lives, and others who go through spells of not sleeping well. I’ve talked before about the drawbacks of a lack of sleep and foods to eat for a good night’s sleep in episode 19, and how the lack of sleep impacts heart health, weight loss, memory, mood, concentration, learning, and your body’s ability to heal, I think that but going deeper is needed. Whether it’s a time of hormonal change like puberty, or meno- or mano-pause, mental health issues of anxiety or depression, or it’s just your sleep pattern wherever you are in life, not being able to sleep is the worst. And you need to know more about what could be affecting it. Crawling into bed and your head hitting the soft pillow needn’t be a time of dread, but a time that’s very much welcome. Digging deeper on this is needed. You need a good night’s sleep for yourself or the person you share your bed with, or your teens in the next room waking you and messing up your night of shut eye. So today on EAT THIS with Lianne – Sleep, how to get more and why you can’t get a good night of it in the first place.
I recall a time, an acutely stressful time (yes, there have been many but this one stands out) and I just could not sleep. I was overcome with stress and anxiety and of course not sleeping made it that much worse. I would wake up at 4am, and because I couldn’t sleep any longer, I’d go for a run. It was like I had to shift the energy that was pent up inside, and just couldn’t lay in bed resting although I was desperate for it. Movement helped, and likely exhausted me, or was the stress moderator that my adrenals and HPA Axis needed – remember in episode 72 when we talked about burn out? Yes, that.
It was a horrible time and what stands out the most when I think back, is how I just could not sleep. I didn’t know how I functioned during the day. Well I didn’t really, I made it through. My memory was shot, my appetite all over the place, and it was like a vicious circle of no sleep, and exhaustion, and it sure took a while to get back to some sort of normal, and not fear the no-sleep cycle. Lately I’ve watched one of my daughters, who has struggled severely over the past year with depression, anxiety, an eating disorder, self emotional dysregulation and again what I see is that she has a terrible time falling asleep. Once she drifts off – after a back rub from mom for a while, she’s good. But the difficulty falling asleep is distrastious. Puberty and the shift in hormones leaves many teens with a new sleep schedule and I have absolutely seen a change, and not for the better. While you may not relate to either of these situations and you just have crappy sleep patterns, why is that? Where does it come from? What hormones are off and what’s underlying your inability to fall asleep, stay asleep or wake up with the roosters doing their thing?
To help answer my questions and yours, I’ve asked Dr Christine Matheson. She helped us out with burn out or HPA Axis dysfunction in episode 72, so is now back to talk about that which eludes you every night – a good night’s sleep.
Christine is not only a licensed naturopathic doctor, but she’s an Arvigo®Practitioner and certified Kundalini yoga instructor. Her expertise has helped patients since 2001 in the area of pelvic health from every corner of your belly, as well as mindful stress management and children’s health. In her practice she shared with me that many of her patients lately have been wondering about their sleep, so it’s perfect timing that we speak with her.
Back in Episode 19 about sleep I talked about a TED talk that I had seen where Matt Walker talked about sleep and testicals. So don’t think that you’re not high on the sleep priority list guys. Men who sleep 5 hours a night have significantly smaller testicles than those who sleep 7 hours or more. Smaller testicles means less testosterone and that ages you by 10 years, and in the younger direction sadly. And all for us ladies, sadly we don’t get away scott-free. Our reproductive health suffers, and a lack of sleep shows up on your belly, your butt, and of course those aging lines on the face. And that’s only what’s going on on the outside. There’s a lot more to be said about this, and after a recent trip to my holistic dentist, he has a lot to say because of oral health, breathing and sleep. Look out for an episode coming up with him. I hope what has been shared has been helpful. I’ve been hearing from maybe you, my loyal listener lately just how much you are learning from EAT THIS with Lianne, and I say thank you to everyone who is listening, sharing and taking on what we put together here, and taking action and responsibility for your health. Your feedback helps more than you can imagine, so if you’ve been thinking of reaching out, do. It helps keep me going, motivates me to dig deeper and bring more and to know that we are on the right track with topics and the level of information.
Reach out on sproutright.com or liannephillipson.com where you’ll find links to products, guests and the show notes. You’ll find me on social media @sproutright and @liannephillipson and that’s a good way to get to me too. Wishing you a good night’s sleep, that deep and restful sleep that has you feeling like you can take on the world in the morning. And of course please remember to EAT THIS one mouthful at a time.
Christine Matheson is an experienced licensed naturopathic doctor, Arvigo®Practitioner and certified Kundalini yoga instructor who has been treating patients in Toronto since 2001 and has extensive knowledge in the area of women’s pelvic, digestive, abdominal, gynaecological and fertility health as well as mindful stress management and children’s health. As one of the few naturopathic doctors in Toronto and Ontario offering the Arvigo ®Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy (ATMAT), she is proud to have created the Belly Be Well™ Program for women that implements the highly effective combination of ATMAT with naturopathic care for pelvic, gynecological, digestive and fertility benefits. She is respected for her pioneering role in the field as one of the first naturopathic doctor’s in Canada to work in a hospital setting as a member of an integrative medical team of doctors and specialists at the former, Women’s Pelvic Health Centre at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto (2002-2004).
Find out more about Dr. Christine Matheson, ND and her signature Belly Be Well™ Programs and learning how to do the Arvigo® self-abdominal massage technique at https://www.christinemathesonnd.com/
Contact her directly with any questions at christine@christinemathesonND.com
Connect with her on social media @drchristinematheson
on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/drchristinematheson/
on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/drchristinematheson/
