Sleep your way to better health

1. SLEEP YOUR WAY
TO BETTER HEALTH
10 SECRETS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR
ENERGY, ENTHUSIASM & IMMUNE RESPONSE
STEVEN SERIO
Fitness Expert & Image Consultant
DAVID SERIO, PhD
candidate
Certified Nutritional Biochemist

2. Is it possible to sleep your way to
good health?
❖ It is my belief that many
chronic health problems
would disappear if people
simply ate healthy,
engaged in some daily
exercise and consistently
got really good sleep

3. Sleep
It refreshes us like nothing else. It can be
occasionally elusive, almost always comforting,
and definitely essential to our survival. And
although we spend 33% of our lives asleep, we
barely give it a moment’s notice…until we can’t
sleep. Then we think about it to the point of
obsession.
The Better Sleep Council

4. Cats have it all - admiration, an endless sleep, and company
only when they want it.
—Rod McKuen

5. What is
“Healthy Sleep?”
❖ Healthy sleep is first and foremost uninterrupted sleep

6. Getting to sleep
& staying asleep
Getting to sleep and staying asleep
Are both governed by good or bad habits
❖ Dietary stressors
❖ Caffeine
❖ Alcohol
❖ Tricking the brain with light
❖ Stress

7. According to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, more than 35 percent
of people are sleep deprived

9. What is sleep hygiene?
A common definition of sleep hygiene is
"all Behavioral and environmental factors
that precede sleep and may interfere with sleep."
Daytime sleepiness and trouble sleeping
may be a reflection of poor sleep hygiene.

10. Fitness Training = Improved Sleep
Improved Sleep = Better Health

11. Posture & Pre-mature Aging
❖Exercise
❖Stretching
❖A Good Mattress

12. POOR SLEEP
CHANGES YOUR FAT CELLS
When your body is sleep deprived,
it suffers from “metabolic grogginess.”

13. The connection between sleep
and weight gain is hard to ignore
Researchers found that women
Who Are sleep deprived are a third more
likely to gain 33 pounds than those who
receive just seven hours of sleep per night
Obesity 1. Diabetes
2. High blood pressure
3. Heart failure
4. Cognitive dysfunction
American Journal of Epidemiology

14. Studies show that those who had
plenty of sleep, experienced 50% more
fat loss than the sleep deprived group
Annals of Internal Medicine

15. Within just four days of sleep
deprivation, your body’s ability to
properly use insulin
(the master storage hormone) becomes
completely disrupted.
Research conducted at the University of
Chicago found that insulin sensitivity
dropped by more than 30 percent.

16. Not sleeping enough—less than
Seven hours of sleep per night— can
reduce and undo the benefits of dieting,
according to research published in the Annals
of Internal Medicine

17. When their bodies
Received adequate rest, half of
the Weight They lost was from fat.
However when they cut back on sleep,
the amount of fat lost was cut in half—
even though they were on the same diet.

18. Health Secret: Prioritize Sleep
When you’re suffering
From Sleep debt, everything
You do feels more challenging: your
relationships, your job, raising children
and even basic things to do

19. Current research demonstrates
that exercise dramatically increases energy
production
Mechanisms of exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle
Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, 2009, 34(3): 465-472, 10.1139/H09-045
This paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue,
entitled 14th International Biochemistry of Exercise Conference – Muscles as
Molecular and Metabolic Machines, and has undergone the Journal’s usual
peer review process.

20. “Someday I’m going to start
working out again”

21. “Someday” is not one of the 7
days of the week
Make a commitment to begin doing something
different than your usual lifestyle
Remember: it’s not about comfort—
it’s about commitment
And it’s not about trying—it’s about training
It’s never too late, start today!

22. The Enemies of Sleep
a. Financial
b. Relational
c. Job
d. Illness
e. Lack of Physical
Activity
1. Stress
2. Nutritional
Insufficiency
a. B Vitamins
b. Calcium/Magnesium
c. Alkaline forming foods
d. Protein Amino Acids

23. The Enemies of Sleep Cont’d
3. Chemical &
Environmental
Interference
a. Caffeine
b. Allergens
c. Bright light
d. Sugar
e. Alcohol
f. Late night meals
g. Late night fluids
h. Protein
i. Artificial Coloring
j. MSG (Natural Flavors)

24. 4. Implements
of Sleep
a. Mattress
b. Pillow
c. Hygiene
d. Peaceful Environment
The Enemies of Sleep Cont’d

25. SECRET #1: Think Before You Drink
If you have trouble getting to sleep or
staying asleep, the most common factor
Is chemical interference in the form of
caffeine, nicotine, alcohol or sugar.
Even worse is the artificial sweetener
aspartame from diet sodas or ice tea. MSG is
Also a major brain-stimulating compound (Excitotoxin).
If you enjoy coffee, try limiting your intake to about half or
use green tea as a healthy alternative

26. SECRET #2: Don't Eat 2-3 Hours
Before Bed Time
If you really want to sleep better and not gain
unwanted belly fat, this is truly a secret worth
embracing. The ideal is 3 hours but the bare
minimum should be 2 hours. I recommend not
eating meat at dinner unless you're enjoying an
early meal. Don't forget to take digestive enzymes
after every meal and going for a brisk walk
afterwards is really smart

27. SECRET #3: Don't Drink Water or Other
Fluids 1 hour Before Bed Time
This will allow you to sleep longer since
the goal is to sleep 5 hours uninterrupted
from the time you fall asleep. The less fluid
you consume before bedtime, the less likely
you'll have to get up to urinate. Drink plenty
of water in the morning and afternoon so
you're not dehydrating yourself

28. SECRET #4: Supplement Calcium & Magnesium
Adequate calcium and magnesium intake is
essential to getting quality sleep. Calcium and
magnesium is essential to cell membrane function
for every cell in your body. I believe that it's ideal to
have close to a 1:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium.
This will also assure that you experience optimal, easy
elimination which happens to be another factor of getting
good sleep--not being constipated

29. SECRET #5: Eat & Drink Potassium Rich Foods
Our diets are typically high in sodium which tends
to suppress potassium so most people lean
toward insufficient potassium intake. Potassium
is what allows your nervous system to relax.
Foods that are rich in potassium are bananas,
tomatoes, mangos, kefir, yogurt and most vegetables

30. SECRET #6: Consider Buying
A More Comfortable Mattress
If you toss and turn a lot, you're not
getting deep restorative sleep. Since you
Spend 1/3 of your life on your mattress, it makes
sense to surround yourself in comfort--not
chemicals. Check out the SuperNatural mattress by
Organic Sleepworks www.organicsleepworks.com

31. SECRET #7: Let Go Of Your
Stress Before You Sleep
If you're worrying right before you go to
sleep, it's unlikely that you'll sleep well. If you
know how to worry, you know how to meditate.
Since we can't change a thing by worrying about it,
begin meditating on what you and God can do to change
your situation. You and I don't always have the resources
that we need but we know who has unlimited resources

32. SECRET #8: Buy Yourself &
Your Loved One A New Pillow
Many people don't realize the importance
of using a good pillow and most don't know
what kind of pillow is best. Even though there's
many options, we believe that 100% natural latex
covered with organic cotton is the most comfortable,
the best support for your head and neck and hypo-
allergenic www.organicsleepworks.com

33. SECRET #9: Shut The TV &
Computer Off 1 Hour Before Bed
Research has shown that the bright LED light radiating
from the TV or computer over-excites the photo receptors
in our eyes thereby tricking the visual cortex in the brain
into thinking it's daytime. When this occurs, our two
sleep hormones-melatonin and serotonin-are suppressed,
compromising our sleep quality. Allow your eyes and brain to
calm down so your mind can also calm down. Ironically, many
people don't get enough full spectrum sunlight on a daily
basis which allows your brain to reset its circadian rhythm.
If you suffer from insomnia, start spending more time in the sun

34. SECRET #10: Allow Yourself
Enough Hours To Sleep
Many people have Superman or Wonderwoman Syndrome
where they think they can defy their 6-8 hours of essential
sleep. A lack of adequate sleep over a long period of time
leads inevitably to chronic disease including adrenal
burnout. Symptoms include immune deficiency, hair loss,
skin disorders and a host of other lovely symptoms.

35. Pediatric sleep disorders are very common and
sleep disturbances in youth continues to increase
The consequences of untreated
sleep problems include significant
emotional, behavioral, and cognitive dysfunction
Sleep disorders are more common
among children and adolescents with
neuro-developmental, non-psychiatric
medical conditions and psychiatric disorders

36. Mom’s mood, baby’s sleep
What’s the connection? University
of Michigan researchers found that
Babies born to moms with depression are much
more likely to have chaotic sleep patterns early on

37. What do we know about school-age
Children and sleep?
School-aged children need
Somewhere between 9-10 hours of sleep
at night. At this age, kids usually start a trend
toward becoming more and more sleep deprived
Your child is getting the right amount of sleep if they:
❖ Can wake up easily at the time they need to get up
❖ Are awake and alert all day and
don’t experience significant sleepiness

38. Psychoneuroimmunoendocrinology
Things that we think and feel dramatically affects
our nervous, immune and endocrine systems