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
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. 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
The connection between sleep and
weight gain is hard to ignore

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. 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.
Current research demonstrates
that exercise dramatically
increases energy production

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
1. Stress
2. Nutritional
Insufficiency
a. Financial
b. Relational
c. Job
d. Illness
e. Lack of Physical
Activity
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 Super Natural
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
Manypeople 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 therebytricking the visual cortex in the brain into
thinking it'sdaytime. When this occurs, our two sleep hormones-
melatonin and serotonin-are suppressed, compromising our
sleep quality. Allow your eyesand brain to calm down so your
mind can also calm down. Ironically, many people don't get
enough full spectrum sunlight on adaily 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 Wonder Woman
Syndrome where they think they can defy their 6-8 hours
of essential sleep.A lackof 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