How to Get More Deep Sleep: 3 Surprising Food Hacks

If you are eating before you go to bed and you’re asking your body to metabolize something that you just consumed, you’re now asking it to wake up when we want it to be resting. Hi, rising Stars. Welcome to today’s live training and member-only Q&A. If you’re tuning in later via the Rise Renewed podcast, welcome, we are so glad. If you’re tuning in later via the Rise Renewed podcast, welcome. We are so glad that you’re here. Speaker 1: 0:28 Does this sound familiar? You’re exhausted, but you can’t sleep. You lay in bed, but your brain won’t shut off Come morning. You’re groggy. You’re reaching for coffee just to function, as I hold, this is tea, not coffee, but it’s 1 pm and I still need something to function. It’s too cold out. You’re not alone. Speaker 1: 0:53 Over 70 million Americans struggle with sleep and deep sleep. The gold standard for restoration is often the first casualty. Without it, your body misses out on cellular repair, hormone balance and brain detoxification, leading to sluggish metabolism, cravings, poor focus and increased disease risk. As a holistic health and fitness coach here at Early Morning Habit, a dual certified nurse practitioner with 10 years in emergency medicine experience and a former nutrition coach, I have seen firsthand how poor sleep wrecks health. But the often overlooked key to unlocking deep rest is food how you eat the day before. Today, we are diving specifically into three often overlooked nutrition hacks to get deeper sleep. We’re going to chat the key nutrient your dinner is probably missing and how it impacts deep sleep. Hopefully, hopefully, all the ladies here live are not missing this key nutrient because you’ve already been through early morning habit, but if you are, it’s going to be a friendly reminder. Number two a simple nighttime habit that could be sabotaging your body’s natural sleep cycles. And then three, the hidden culprits in your pantry that may be keeping you up at night. You definitely want to stay to the end to listen to this one, because I guarantee you there is going to be a tidbit that you’re going to take away and you’re going to go into your pantry and your jaw is going to drop. Speaker 1: 2:45 Are you ready to break the cycle of restless nights? Let’s dive into three science-backed tweaks that you can start tonight for deeper, more restorative sleep. Even ladies those of you that have already been through the early morning habit program hang in there. Some of these are going to be a refresher, but listen for some of the more specifics that you want to be paying attention to, for some of the more specifics that you want to be paying attention to. Number one is eating 20 to 30 grams of lean protein at dinner for deeper sleep. We are currently in the six week spring ahead challenge. Those of you in the rising stars community, that is our monthly membership for those that have graduated from the introductory six week early morning habit program, we are in the six week spring ahead challenge. Speaker 1: 3:26 One of the focuses in this challenge is getting enough protein at dinner. We have given you the easy button to do this, literally in the app we feed you pun intended easy high protein dinners recipes so that you can get 20 to 30 grams at dinner. Protein contains tryptophan, an amino acid that boosts serotonin, which then converts to melatonin, the sleep hormone. Another reason this is beneficial is that a high protein dinner stabilizes blood sugar, preventing the overnight dips that trigger cortisol, which is your stress hormone and will wake you up. Research has also shown that diets higher in protein lead to deeper sleep and fewer nighttime wake-ups. Speaker 1: 4:19 One of the other pieces that is not necessarily as proven in research, but really doesn’t need to be, because it’s kind of common sense is that when you are replacing empty carbohydrates on your plate with lean protein, it is also going to be healthier for your gut. When I started making these switches, one of the first things that I noticed, by eliminating more of the sugars and empty carbs, is a lot less belly pain when I would lay down. So, replacing some of those nutrients with the lean protein not just increasing it, but not getting rid of the you know the empty carbs on your plate right. So hear me correctly, it’s not just increasing protein, but it’s also being aware of what else is on your plate Also just contributes to better food absorption and even just your actual gut health when you’re laying down at night. So how to implement this? Speaker 1: 5:20 You want to choose lean protein sources that are not high in saturated fat chicken breast, turkey breast, lean cuts of beef like possibly sirloin, tenderloin, pork loin, fish like salmon, tilapia, cod, salmon’s high in fat, but it’s omega-3. It’s a healthy fat, so that one’s acceptable. Eggs, nonfat Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, tofu, temp legumes such as lentils, black beans, edamame, low-fat cheeses like mozzarella. And then you want to pair it with fiber-rich veggies, specifically ones that are a little bit higher in fiber broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots, spinach, kale, sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are preferable to regular potatoes. If you have to choose one sweet potatoes would be preferable, peas, cauliflower, zucchini, squash, asparagus, green beans, collard greens and then, lastly, you want to incorporate foods with healthy fats. These would include avocados. Speaker 1: 6:31 Lastly, you want to incorporate foods with healthy fats. These would include avocados, olive oil, nuts like almonds, walnuts and cashews Be careful with your nuts, by the way, they’re not all created equal Chia, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds Again, salmon, mackerel, peanut and almond butter, dark chocolate 70% or higher and hemp seeds. And, like I mentioned, you want to avoid the high carb processed dinners, which can cause sugar crashes and restless sleep. I have mentioned this before, but I’m going to do it again. It bears repeating. You need to understand why you’re eating what you’re eating. Be critical consumers, literally and figuratively, of information as well as nutrition. There are a lot of really healthy marketed gimmicks that are lacking nutrient density, meaning the complete nutritional profile. I’ve used the avocado toast example before, but it looks really, really pretty. Speaker 1: 7:39 There is zero protein unless you add eggs, so there’s a lot of things out there like that. There’s a lot of protein smoothies. If you have not listened to my protein series on the podcast, I highly encourage you to do it. We’re going to do an update of it soon, but this is another example. If you search protein smoothie on the internet or protein shake, I will bet my favorite pair of stiletto heels just saying something, that most of them have less than 20 grams of protein, have more sugar than they do protein. Too much of health is marketed to look pretty, but it is incomplete. Your protein shakes should have 20 to 30 grams in. Okay, we’re not consuming a dessert. Protein shakes not meant to taste like a dessert. Okay, we’re not consuming a dessert. Protein shake’s not meant to taste like a dessert. It’s not meant to taste like dirt either, though, so be a critical consumer. Speaker 1: 8:45 An early morning habit obviously, this is something that we’re talking about a lot, because sleep is the foundation of all health. Food is included in that. So, number two stop eating by 8 pm to optimize your circadian rhythm. You have heard me say this before. You’ve heard me say this ad nauseum, and yet how many of you are still, more often than not, eating after 8 pm? I won’t ask for a raise of hands, but a lot of you are still eating after eight o’clock. Stop eating after eight o’clock. Create a hard cutoff time. Speaker 1: 9:17 It will be beneficial for a lot of reasons, but specifically with sleep. Your body follows a 24-hour circadian rhythm regulating sleep, digestion and hormone production. Eating later disrupts melatonin release, keeping your body in digest mode rather than repair mode. Again, one of the functions of sleep is to repair cellular repair but this also includes digestive rest and repair. If you are eating before you go to bed and you’re asking your body to metabolize something that you just consumed, you’re now asking it to wake up when we want it to be resting. Late night eating will also spike insulin, delays the natural drop in core body temperature. That also signals deep sleep. It just interrupts the natural cycle that’s meant to be there. That’s meant to be there. Speaker 1: 10:11 So how do we implement this? Set a kitchen curfew of 8 pm. After 8 pm, no food, no food. Do not eat after 8 pm. Swap nighttime snacks for herbal teas. These can be an acquired taste. I am living proof of this. What I am currently drinking right now was an acquired taste. So it can be done. But chamomile, valerian root or magnesium-rich teas will also aid in sleep. Speaker 1: 10:43 If hunger does strike, you find that you are having a very difficult time not eating after eight o’clock, I’m going to suggest you probably have not had enough protein during the day I’m not eating after eight o’clock. I’m going to suggest you probably have not had enough protein during the day. But one way to start helping your body to adjust to this is to intentionally have a higher protein snack at, say, seven o’clock, even if you had dinner at six o’clock. If that is still not holding you over, despite the fact that you’re hitting 20 to 30 grams of protein at dinner, then have a protein rich snack at seven or seven 30. Also a tip If you take bedtime medications, most of them do not actually need to be taken right at bedtime. If you have to take bedtime meds with food and that is a reason that you’re eating after eight o’clock, then simply move them to seven 30, seven 45. And then you also can make sure that you’re eating after eight o’clock. Then simply move them to 730, 745. And then you also can make sure that you’re consuming a higher protein snack with your meds and it will also help prevent some of those late night cravings. It will also help you rise better because you’re not going to be as hungry because you have had protein rich food before bed, because you have had protein rich food before bed. Speaker 1: 11:57 Number three this one is harder, so why I saved it for last. This one is harder, it takes more intentionality. It is also the best bang for your buck. It is to do a pantry makeover on natural for better sleep. Artificial additives, inflammatory oils, processed foods they wreak havoc on your sleep quality. Artificial colors and preservatives can create an overactive brain. They kind of overstimulate the brain, making it harder to wind down. So this would be like MSG. High fructose corn syrup can create an overactive brain. They kind of overstimulate the brain, making it harder to wind down. So this would be like MSG high fructose corn syrup. Processed carbs lead to blood sugar crashes, spiking cortisol, possibly waking you up at 3 am. Refined oils so like vegetable canola oil can can increase inflammation which will disrupt, you know, deep sleep cycles at a systemic level. Speaker 1: 12:57 But here is a tidbit that is probably destroying a lot of your goals is added sugars. Some of you are like what? What do you mean? Added sugars? When you look on labels? One of the sneakiest, maybe I should say the most insidious sabotagers, saboteurs of our health in America, is the added sugars put into our food. I highlighted some of them. High fructose corn syrup is a sweetener. This is basically added sugar. But here’s where you have to be so careful. Just because something is organic does not inherently mean healthy. It is not a panacea for health. Generally speaking, if it is organic, it is less likely to have added sugars. That is a fact. It is less likely to have added sugars. But where things can really get tricky is that you can have something labeled natural and it still has a lot of added natural sugar. Sugar is still sugar. Speaker 1: 14:25 To take it another layer further, where this really comes into play, one of the sneakiest places that we are getting sugar and we don’t realize it is in condiments. Condiments this is sauces, salad dressings, creamers, ketchup, even your peanut butter. I know that’s not as much a condiment but like jelly. If you start looking at the labels in your fridge, just one time, go through what you have in your pantry and in your fridge and look at the section under carbohydrates that says added sugars. There is added sugar in tons and tons of our food. So to sort of empower you to be able to, you’re really it’s like a sugar sleuth is really. What you have to become is starting to see where you think you’re eating healthily. You think that you are eating all naturally. And again, if you do a pantry makeover on natural right. You get rid of your artificial and processed foods. You will eliminate so much added sugar just by that one intervention alone. Done that. Speaker 1: 15:48 The next step is to be aware of anything that still is excessively sugared, if you will, even if it’s natural. So I just encourage you to go through, look at your salad dressings, look at your peanut butter and just start being aware of how much of what you’re consuming actually has added sugar. In A simple, simple example is you’re trying to do? Well, right, you have a salad for dinner. It’s got a whole chicken breast in it. You’ve got a lot of veggies. That’s amazing. That’s awesome. Keep going, but pay attention to the amount of salad dressing that you put on and then how much sugar you’re actually consuming in the salad dressing. There’s a lot of ways that we’re actually consuming extra sugar and we’re not aware of it. Speaker 1: 16:51 Coffee is another big one. I had a client one time who I challenged because he was frustrated. He felt like he’d been implementing a lot and was still struggling to see the results that he wanted Upping his protein, changing some of the macronutrient percentages, and so we started digging a little bit deeper and looking into the condiments and he started recognizing how his condiment usage was adding up, was adding up. He was consuming. He had a day he consumed almost a thousand calories in condiments. And what was sneaky about this is he was a businessman. He did a lot of traveling, a lot of meetings. He was a heavy coffee drinker. He started to realize how many hundreds of calories were ending up in his coffee through his creamer, between the fat and the sugar. He was drinking hundreds of calories just in coffee. And then when we’d have a salad, he thought he was doing well, but he was putting multiple packs of salad dressing, also very high in fat, also with a lot of added sugar, onto his salads. Speaker 1: 18:18 So some of it is just being aware of what is being snuck into. Is snuck a word, snuck, sneaked, hmm, I don’t know. It’s being put into our diet and we’re not realizing it. So be aware. This is my number one tidbit is look for added sugars. You will be shocked. And here’s the unfortunate reality is, there is not going to be a whole lot that you are going to do about it, except for taking control of what you put in your pantry, because in America we add sugar to everything. This is the unfortunate reality, we are making everything overly sweet and then your brain demands that same level of sweet. So be aware. Speaker 1: 19:03 Ditch the junk. Remove processed snacks, sugary cereals, anything with artificial ingredients. Stock up on whole foods, but again, be aware. Even whole foods, even your all-natural dressings, your condiments, et cetera, your yogurts can still have a lot of added sugar. So educate yourself. Check the labels. Check the labels. Try to eliminate anything with high fructose, corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, artificial flavors, colors and added sugars. The bottom line small changes will equal big sleep wins. Speaker 1: 19:36 Better sleep’s not just going to bed earlier. It’s about fueling your body to rest and repair optimally. All right, I would love to hear. Let’s dive into Q&A. What questions do you have? All right, ladies, let me pray. Speaker 1: 19:53 Lord, I thank you so much for sleep. I thank you for the complexity of our bodies and the way that you have perfectly designed them, and I do pray over our rest. I pray literally over our sleep rest that we would be able to get better, deeper sleep. But, lord, I also pray for our ability to rest even during our waking hours, that we would be able to establish practices in our lives that enable us to rest and restore our minds, our hearts, our souls, as well as the nightly habit of restoring our bodies through rest. I thank you for the women who are in early morning habit in the Rising Stars community, who have made this commitment to ultimately pursue rest not just overnight but then in the morning, making this habit of creating rest for their minds, their hearts, their souls. So I thank you for that and I just pray your hand over our week. Keep us warm and thank you, lord, for who you are in your faithfulness, amen.