25Oct

Why You Should Always Go to Bed On Time

October 25, 2023 Ben Melton 29

Today’s blog is another crucial reminder to stop skimping on your sleep if you can help it. If you work a very busy job with lots of responsibility, your post-work wine and TV hours are usually a precious window of time to shut your brain off, relax, and decompress. It can be very tempting to stay up watching TV, playing on your phone, etc. when you’ve been busy all day. But if you’re doing this when you have to be up early the next morning, it’s causing much more damage than you think. Here are some things that have been shown to occur in sleep deprived people:

Reduced Insulin Sensitivity

This basically means your blood sugar handling is out of whack the day after a night of poor sleep, leaving you essentially “metabolically obese.” This is HORRIBLE for your energy, your mood and focus, and can lead to greater risk for weight gain and even type 2 diabetes if chronically occurring (especially when in conjunction with poor nutrition and lack of exercise).

Greater Risk for Heart Attack

A recent study showed that people chronically sleeping 6 hours or less per night had higher levels of inflammatory markers in their blood, all of which are strongly linked to 2-3x greater risk of heart attacks.

Reduced Heart Rate Variability (HRV)

HRV is your body’s ability to go back and forth between a stressed state and a calm state. When you are under slept, HRV goes down – meaning that if something happens to cause you stress, you have a much harder time coming back down from that stress-mode and bringing yourself back into balance. You may have already noticed this if you’ve ever been extremely tired and cranky, and something seemingly innocuous will just get under your skin and drive you nuts.

These are just a few of the things that occur when you are not sleeping enough. For some of you, such as new parents, obviously a lot of this is not in your control for this phase of your life. But if you’re able to set up your work/life schedule such that you can give yourself an 8-hour window to be in bed with the lights out every night, you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor for your mental, physical, and emotional health. Learn more about how to prioritize your health by meeting with one of our health professionals here!

09Jun

Stress & Weight Gain

June 9, 2021 Jessica Bottesch 27

STRESS! Oh my, we all have our share of it. Whether it’s work stress, relationship stress, worry about your family or simply stress about current world events, there is plenty to go around, and it can wreak havoc on your health.

We are very aware of how stress affects us mentally–causing anxiety and depression, substance use problems, sleep problems, irritability, lack of motivation and more. However, prolonged stress can also cause physical symptoms like headaches, digestive problems, muscle tension and pain, fatigue and . WEIGHT CHANGES.

While some people experience weight loss when stress strikes, most folks will see their weight increase with prolonged stress. Here is the quick physiological explanation about WHY this happens:

Stress hits.

Our body’s fight-or-flight response kicks in (it doesn’t matter if the stress is physical or emotional, our brain still reacts as if we are being chased by a tiger).

This causes our adrenal glands to release cortisol into our bloodstream.

The hormone cortisol triggers a flood of glucose for energy, and it inhibits insulin production so the glucose won’t be stored but will be available for immediate use.

This is good for short-term flight or fight responses but not so good if our entire life is high stress and always in top gear because our bodies may constantly pump out cortisol and therefore our bloodstream has an excess of glucose.

What does an excess of glucose and depressed insulin production mean for your body?

Insulin typically helps the cells convert glucose to energy. As your pancreas struggles to keep up with the high demand for insulin, glucose levels in your blood remain high and your cells don’t get the sugar they need to perform at their best.

How this leads to weight gain?

As your cells are crying out for energy, your body may signal the brain that you are hungry and need to eat. False hunger signals can lead you to crave high-calorie foods, overeat and thus gain weight. Unused glucose in the blood is eventually stored as body fat.

Ugh! And, this is only one of many negative ways stress can affect our bodies.

So, what do we do about it?

One thing is for sure; we will not eliminate stress all-together. Instead, we can find healthful ways to manage stress. Here are a few we recommend:

Mindfulness and Meditation. Being mindful of when and why you are feeling stressed can help you take steps to handle it with intentionality. Meditating helps your mind release stress to promote feelings of calm, focus, and balance.

Do things you enjoy. Joy is a great stress buster. Whether it’s listening to your favorite playlists, hanging with your besties, reading a good book, or watching a great sporting event, doing something you love can create a sense of calm.

Get outside. Take a walk or hike, go for a bike ride, play at the beach, or simply sit on your deck and soak up the sun. Fresh air is great for clearing your mind and natural light can help keep your spirits up.

Do Yoga. Yoga focuses on mindful movement and breathing techniques. A regular practice can help release tension and anxiety, allowing you to quiet your mind, stretch your body, and relax into your peace.

Seek guidance from a psychotherapist. Whether you’re dealing with a tough time or simply need to talk to someone regularly. I strongly believe therapy is for everyone. If you’re struggling to manage your stress, a mental health professional can help.

As for the weight gain, there are several ways for you to incorporate healthy habits into your routine to reduce stress and promote weight loss. Empower’s whole fitness philosophy–ThinkFun, Get Fit, Eat Well, Sleep Well – embodies these habits.

ThinkFun. We help you train for a life you love. Let us know what you want to do out in this wide, wild world and we will help you get healthy and fit enough to tackle all your goals.

Get Fit. Working out with an Empower trainer is great for your body and your mind. An effective and fun workout both burns calories (obviously great for weight loss) and it releases endorphins. These cheerful chemicals help elevate your mood. Sign up for a free initial session with an expert Empower trainer HERE.

Eat Well. The key to weight loss is nutrition. If you have a weight loss goal, you MUST change how you are fueling your body. With so many fad diets, eating plans, and modern trends out there it is easy to get confused and overwhelmed when trying to decide what to eat. Our EAT WELL philosophy involves eating a whole-foods, balanced diet and making it a habit to fill half your plate with veggies (and a little fruit), ¼ of your plate with a complex carb and ¼ of your plate with a lean protein at every meal. We also know that simple doesn’t always mean easy, that is why we recommend you work with a Registered Dietitian nutritionist who can create a customized nutrition plan just for you. Sign up for a Getting Started Call with our RD Nutritionist HERE.

Sleep Well. Lack of sleep can lead to unwanted weight gain. When you aren’t getting sufficient sleep, your hunger hormones can get out of whack. That can lead to overeating. Sleep is almost like magic. Your body uses this rest to reset your system and prepare you for another day. If you are not consistently getting 7 uninterrupted hours of sleep every night, slowly tweak your bedtime routine until you reach this important sleep threshold.

If you struggle with managing stress or with maintaining a healthy weight – we are here to help!

16Dec

Are You Sleeping?

December 16, 2020 Jessica Bottesch 41

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Hormones, Exercise and Sleep

Few things are as beautiful as the rays of the morning sun. The first light of morning is energizing and motivating. Unless you’ve been awake half the night -like me. Here, the morning light just means that you didn’t get enough sleep. Again.

As soon as those first rays hit your eyes, your stress mounts. You’re exhausted. How are you going to make it all day long on so little sleep? You feel emotional just expecting the struggle to concentrate and stay alert—especially during the afternoon hours when the drowsiness really kicks in.

Does This Describe You?

If so, you are not alone. The National Sleep Foundation reports that 60% of Americans have sleep problems. That means more than half of us struggle to sleep. The reasons for sleep difficulties are many—from stress to caffeine to individual differences in body rhythms.

But whatever the cause, the bottom line is that if you suffer from insomnia, you may need help. It is best to talk to your doctor about your sleep patterns and come up with a plan together, but in the meantime, you may benefit from a natural and safe hormone—melatonin.

Help from a Hormone

You have probably heard of melatonin. It is a hormone produced by your brain in your pineal gland. Some of your melatonin is also produced in your gut. Mainly, melatonin helps to control your sleep and wake cycles. Normally, melatonin levels will increase in the mid to late evening, stay high during the night and then decrease early in the morning. This helps you to sleep during the night and be ready to wake up in the morning.

When there are higher amounts of melatonin in your body, you will feel sleepy. When the levels are lower, you feel more alert and awake. Your regular sleep and wake cycle is your own personal ‘internal clock,’ and this ‘clock’ is directly tied to how much or how little melatonin your body makes.

There are other things that affect the melatonin in our bodies also. For example, as we age, our bodies produce less and less melatonin. Daylight plays a key role too. When the days are shorter during the winter, the time of day that our bodies produce melatonin changes. Rather than producing melatonin during the mid to late evening hours, we may get a surge of it earlier in the day—as the daylight fades earlier.

When the amount of melatonin or the production schedule of melatonin changes in your body, you may struggle with sleep patterns.

Without enough melatonin, you will have trouble sleeping. But even if you make enough melatonin, your internal clock may be off if the melatonin is being released at the wrong time of day. Nobody wants to get sleepy at 5:00 PM from a melatonin release! Not only is this inconvenient, but when the natural decrease happens several hours later (to help you wake up), you’ll be alert and ready for the day by 3:00 AM- this has been happening to me lately and my doctor recommended melatonin to help get my circadian rhythm back on track!

Fortunately, if your melatonin levels are low or simply off schedule, you can help yourself by taking a melatonin supplement. These are available without a prescription at drugstores and at health food stores. Just be sure to buy a reputable brand to ensure you get a quality product.

Doses range from 0.1 to 20 mg, depending on the reason you are taking it. Your doctor can help you choose the right dose, and help you determine the best time in the evening to take it. Timing is important, since the melatonin, once ingested, will run its course in your body—taking you from drowsiness to wakefulness on schedule. It’s a handy way to reset your internal clock and get the sleep you need.

Another Great Sleep Aid is Exercise

“Based on studies, ‘We have solid evidence that exercise does, in fact, help you fall asleep more quickly and improves sleep quality,’ says Charlene Gamaldo, M.D., medical director of Johns Hopkins Center for Sleep at Howard County General Hospital.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/exercising-for-better-sleep

And the best part is that the effects are immediate. You only need a solid 30 minutes of moderate exercise to improve your sleep quality that very same night.

If you need help or motivation to get your 30 minutes in each day—simply talk to one of our Empower personal trainers. They would love to help!

01Sep

Time Management in the Time of COVID

September 1, 2020 Jessica Bottesch 30

In any situation, good or bad, an opportunity-focused mindset will allow you to look for the lessons, the opportunities or the upside that lies within. While the Covid pandemic has been challenging for some and even devastating for others—we encourage you all to think about the positive ways in which this experience has affected your life or the opportunities it has presented.

One thing that comes to mind for us is TIME MANAGEMENT. Life before Covid was not just busy, but too busy, to where most of the time we were running at this frenetic pace that left us exhausted and stressed. We were over-scheduled and trying to keep up, measure up, and do it all well. And now we realize that came at the expense of good quality time with our families and a more healthy flow to our days.

We know some of you can relate – that feeling of lack that creeps into your thoughts when you just don’t have the time “to get it all done.”

Enter Covid-19…

. . . and the Stay-at-Home orders, a quarantine, school closures, work transitions and suddenly it seemed like the choke hold our busy schedules had on our time loosened its grip and presented us with a new opportunity to examine— “What will I do with my precious time?”

But wait, what is Time Management?

First, we can’t manage time. There are only 24 hours in a day (only 16 to work with if we are getting enough sleep each night)—that will not change. We only have control over what we do with the time we have.

The key is to choose wisely—and to do this you must be clear about your priorities. Here are some things to ask yourself:

What are my goals – health goals, career goals, family goals, life goals?
What is most important for me and my family right now?
Am I spending my days working toward my goals or on the things that are most important?
Would being better organized help me do things more efficiently and effectively?
Can I put a system in place to review my goals, plan my objectives, and schedule my days so the most important things are getting the attention they deserve?
Can I cut some things out (trade late night TV for sleep), delegate some things to others, and limit time spent on some things (scrolling social media maybe)?

As always, mindset is important

Your mindset around how you spend your time matters too. Consider this:

When you look at time, do you look at it as time spent or time invested?

That may seem like semantics, but it’s not.

When you spend (time/money/resources) ON something your mindset is more focused on lack, limitation or waste. When you invest (time/money/resources) IN something, your mindset is more focused on abundance, growth, or getting/making things better.

That’s an interesting way to look at it, isn’t it?

So, today while we may not be driving around like crazy working mom’s trying to fit it all in, our days are still busy … especially now that we are juggling homeschooling our daughters Emery and Kendall, working, and taking care of our homes and other beloved family and friends. But we can honestly say we feel more connected to those who matter most. We feel grateful for the comfort of our homes. We feel like our time invested in our family, our Empower community and our friends is meaningful, important and impactful—and for us this is enough.

Just some food for thought.

How will you invest your time this week?

29Jun

The Importance of Sleep

June 29, 2018 Chris Lathrop 30

By now we should all be aware of the importance of sleep and the negative effects of not getting enough of it. Research is now finding that sleep is vital for warding off disease. Lack of sleep can make us more venerable to numerous health risk including obesity, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and depression to name a few. If you think about things from a biological perspective how could this not be true. Why would nature force use to do something that makes us venerable to predators and provides use with no food or water. It would seem that this activity is completely useless but for millennia our species has spent an exceptional amount of time doing it. If you aren’t convinced yet research shows that without adequate sleep athletic performance and memory can be impacted by as much as 30 percent and cardiovascular function can be inhibited by more than 20 percent.

Sleeping seems like a stupid waste of time that’s for the weak minded but without enough of it you’ll probably wind up weak, stupid, and without much time before you croak. Below is a list of tips for a better night’s sleep.

Tips for a better night’s sleep:

Start turning lights out a few hours before bedtime to help signal your body that it’s time to sleep.

Shoot for 7-9 hours- Research shows that almost no one can get by on less that 7 hours without signs of impairment.

Make your bedroom cool and dark- Both light pollution and being too warm have a detrimental effect on quality of sleep.

Avoid electronics-The lighting from electronic devices delays melatonin build up which is essential for restful sleep. Put them away a few hours before bed.

Avoid stimulants or alcohol- These substances negatively impact phases of sleep. Cut them off at least a few hours before sleep.

When traveling melatonin may be helpful to combat jet lag.

22May

Want to Improve Your Fitness? Sleep!

May 22, 2014 fitnesssfa 23

Want to Improve Your Fitness? Sleep!

When we are training hard, most of us focus on more reps, heavier weight, longer runs, or twice-a-days to see progress. But what if I told you that sleeping more might be the better option for making gains in strength, decreasing your times, and looking better overall?

Most people underestimate the importance of sleep. With constant demands on us, sleep is often the first thing people cut back on in order to keep up. What researchers have found, though, is that people in general – and athletes especially – benefit from extra sleep. Sleep is when your body repairs itself, and when you don’t get enough sleep, it impacts more than just your energy level.

According to WebMD, “a 2011 study tracked the Stanford University basketball team for several months. Players added an average of almost two hours of sleep a night. The results? Players increased their speed by 5%. Their free throws were 9% more accurate. They had faster reflexes and felt happier. Other studies have shown similar benefits for football players and other athletes.”

“Sleep hygiene” is a term I often discuss with clients who tell me they don’t get enough sleep or have difficulty with sleep, whether it is not falling asleep easily, frequent awakening, or trouble getting up in the morning. Incorporating the suggestions below will not only help your sleep, but may also enhance the results you’ve been striving for physically. Sweet dreams!

1) Keep a consistent sleep/wake schedule. This helps to train your brain and body to know when it is time to sleep and when it is time to wake up.

2) Avoid napping during the day.

3) If you are not asleep within 20 minutes of going to bed, get up and do something quiet, in dim lighting, until you feel sleepy.

4) Only use your bed for sleep and sex.

5) Remove the television from your bedroom and put away other electronic devices an hour before bedtime. The flickering from TV or other devices can stimulate your brain and make falling asleep challenging.

6) Avoid caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol if you have trouble with sleep. While alcohol is initially sedating, once it is metabolized, you are likely to wake up.

7) Do not eat a big meal or spicy foods immediately prior to going to bed. Also, remember that chocolate has caffeine!

8) Minimize the amount of light and sound coming into your bedroom at night. Use heavy curtains, an eye mask, earplugs, or a sound machine, if needed.

9) Avoid sleep medications (unless they have been prescribed by a physician). Over the counter sleep aids are likely to disrupt your sleep and impair your performance the next day.

10)Exercise should be completed at least 2-3 hours before bedtime. Yoga or stretching closer to bedtime can be a good way to unwind.

If more than usual stress is keeping you awake at night, Kate Thieda, MS, LPCA, NCC can help! Give her a call at 919-408-7706 or visit her website at durhamnctherapist.com. Clients of EMPOWER receive a free, 20-minute consultation