8 Tips for a Better and More Effective Sleep

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

There is nothing worse than not being able to sleep. It is one of the worst feelings in the world. And, in fact, you are doing lots of damage to your health by not being able to sleep. Here are 8 tips for a better and more effective sleep.

Many are simply unaware of the metabolic, neurologic and long-term consequences of sleep loss. And yet – most of us are sleep deprived. This would help explain our widespread addiction to caffeine. And in today’s hyper-digital, fast-paced world, a good night’s sleep is more necessary than ever.

Do you remember how you slept as a child? Undisturbed, easily, and restfully? You still need that level of sleep as an adult. Like water, food and money – we all need good quality sleep. This guide will help you get there, but you must make high quality sleep a priority – on a daily basis – if you want optimal health.

Damage of Poor Sleep

There is a plethora of evidence that poor sleep does damage to many different aspects of our health. Poor brain function, weight gain, increased risk of death – you name it, poor sleep affects it. On top of that, sleep loss is cumulative – meaning all those lost nights or nights with only a few hours of sleep – they all count against you. I know, I can hear you gasping right now – but it’s true.

1. Hormones

Since your hormones run your life, it is absolutely vital that we keep them in check and balanced — and nothing throws them out of whack quicker than not getting sleep.

Your glucose tolerance is quickly affected by sleep loss (this means you can’t eat as much sugar, in essence) and that is just the tip of the hormonal iceberg, when it comes to sleep loss. If you’re getting less than 7 hours – say hello to diabetes – which you are now much more likely to get.

2. Eat Well

Since we just covered hormonal problems, and hormones are related to food intake, you can begin to connect the dots here. A poor-quality diet and sleep loss are also related, and it is not shocking to see why.

If you don’t eat well, your hormones get out of whack, and you likely won’t be able to sleep well, either. It is truly a vicious cycle. A great diet, on the other hand, will help to balance your hormones, and will help you sleep better as a result.

3. Stress

It is no secret that we are stressed like never before in history. With every bit of knowledge and stimulation at our fingertips, we are expected to be ‘on’, more and more. And boy, does stress affect sleep!

Limit the amount of stress you let yourself feel, and spend time before bed meditating and relaxing. No excuses here – make it happen!

For many clients, I have to make this part of their routine a component of their ‘workout’. Otherwise they won’t take it seriously and prioritize it. But you won’t be working out if you’re not sleeping optimally.

4. Blue Light

One element that many people may not be aware of yet is another example of how our modern world is causing us to get poor sleep. That element is too much exposure to blue light, especially right before we go to bed.

Blue light is most commonly seen as the light coming from basically any source that is not the sun.

Your television – a source of blue light. Your phone – another source of blue light. Your tablet – you guessed it, blue light. Your computer – more blue light.

Though there are many other devices and sources of blue light within your home and found in our daily life, imagine all of the exposure you are getting on a daily basis – from just the sources listed above.

You can begin to see the problem here. Harvard found that basically any light at night is bad for your health – with blue light being the worst kind.

5. Just Get Flux

Now that you understand just how much damage blue light is doing to our health and sleep, it will hearten you to know that there is a simple application for your phone, computer, and tablet, which will automatically block out blue light.

If you go here you can download this free application, which is absolutely vital for those of us who like to look at screens right before bed (read: just about everyone).

Just Get Flux is extra nifty because it will automatically set the light temperature for the time and time zone – meaning you just install the app, and never think about it again.

The effect will be immediately noticed. All of the sudden you will yawn again, even if you’re working on a paper late at night. Your melatonin production actually shifts, when not exposed to blue light. This is why it can be so disrupted if we look at blue light in the immediate time right before bed. This is truly a must-have app.

6. Blue Blockers

If you want to take things a step further, you can get these cool blue blockers. Blue blockers aren’t very expensive, and though somewhat dorky, they will definitely improve your health. These are best for those who cannot control their whole house, or living situation, or for those who hate installing any kind of software.

7. Dark Room

One other element that most are unaware of when it comes to controlling sleep quality is making sure their bedroom is as dark as possible. And I do mean dark.

As Robb Wolf has pointed out, one study showed that a small light on the back of a subject’s knee disrupted their sleep quality! Most bedrooms are not dark at all – with modern electronics again being the key issue.

Blackout shades, covering up electronics which emit light, and checking to make sure absolutely no light gets into your bedroom – are all hallmarks of optimal sleep quality and duration. If you close your shades during the day, and you can still see light sneaking in – you have yet to complete your mission.

Often, it will take 2-3 layers of blocking, and some well-placed hooks and/or clips, to completely seal off windows from light. But believe me – it is worth it. When was the last time you slept for 10 hours? I bet it’s been awhile. For me, it was 2 nights ago.

Why? Because my bedroom is more or less a cave. No light, no sound – complete isolation. For many of us who are already suffering from busy schedules and high stress, a completely dark bedroom is the only way to maintain our sanity.

This dark room is also completely vital for shift workers, college students and anyone who has any trouble at all with sleep.

Of all the techniques in this article, this may be the most important one for everyone to implement. I urge you to go out today and buy blackout shades, if you haven’t already. This is the best investment you will ever make, because amazing sleep quality is the best return on investment there is.

8. Supplement

Though all of the above steps should be tried before supplementation, there are a few key supplements that may push your sleep to the next level. The first is melatonin, which is a hormone that you should be secreting optimally around bedtime.

However, since many have disrupted their hormones, they are faced with supplementing, in order to help getting to sleep earlier, faster, or at all. Start with 1 mg, and do not exceed 5 mg. Also, consult with your physician before taking melatonin.

Another interesting supplement one can try here is holy basil. This supplement helps to deal with cortisol, which can be problematic when one is very stressed, or they are simply on an irregular schedule.

Holy basil can also help with blood sugar levels, so be sure to include it if you have issues with that, as well. This is an herb that is best supplemented at about 2 grams per day. Again, speak with your physician before trying this supplement.

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Conclusion

It can be quite scary to realize just how much poor sleep can damage our health. But on the plus side, we are also empowered by this knowledge, since we are almost entirely in control of our own sleep schedule. And if you’re not in control of it – get in control of it.

You will be very thankful you did, since besides a good diet, sleep is the single best thing you can do for your own health. And remember – we all need it, just like water, food and money – to live optimally.

Watch this video – Proven Tips for a Better and More Effective Sleep | How to Fall Asleep Faster | Doctor Mike

Written by Casey Thaler

Author Bio:

Casey Thaler, B.A., NASM-CPT, FNS is an NASM® certified personal trainer and NASM® certified fitness nutrition specialist. He writes for Paleo Magazine®, The Paleo Diet® and Greatist®. He is also an advisor for Kettle and Fire and runs his own nutrition and fitness consulting company, Eat Clean, Train Clean®.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

How Meditation Can Make You as Confident as Oprah

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

The secret to success and happiness? The answer might be easier than you thought…

It’s easy to look at Oprah’s mountain of success, her powerful personality, and influence, and assume she knows something the rest of us don’t. Well, the truth is, she’s just like you and me. She has the same number of hours in her day to deal with insecurities, obstacles, and doubts just like the rest of us.

So, how did Oprah become such a renowned leader for women and men around the world? I’ll give you a hint – it’s not luck! Over the years, Oprah has provided a lot of insight into mindful living and often attributes it as a major factor to living a healthy and happy life. Mindfulness is using meditation as a way to remove limiting self-beliefs and connect to the self underneath.

Think of mindfulness as using your inner awareness to be fully present in the moment, noticing your thoughts, feelings, and senses with an attitude of acceptance. You can do this by sitting in meditation or informally taking a few moments to be mindful throughout your day. These practices help you let go of judgment and view life more objectively.

Why Mindfulness Matters

It’s easy to become overwhelmed by criticism and doubt. But meditation gives you the power to resist negative thoughts.

Leaders everywhere are tuning into this. Google and other powerful companies around the world are providing mindfulness seminars for their employees.

Meditation is a tool used by competitive athletes, performers, actors, schools, and leaders around the world. Mindfulness meditation boosts self-esteem and emotional regulation, improves our self-awareness, and lowers stress while boosting productivity.

Why? Research shows us that mindfulness meditation boosts self-esteem and emotional regulation, improves our self-awareness, and lowers stress while boosting productivity. It also helps us uncover a lasting sense of health and happiness.

Anyone can rewire their brain to become more resilient and less fixated on negative thoughts. When we’re mindful of ourselves and reality in the present moment, creativity flows and we start to cultivate a more positive outlook on life.

With a little practice, you might notice yourself less emotionally triggered by someone who cuts you off in traffic or makes a sideways comment to you in the office. With continued practice, you may start to disentangle your inner critic voice with your heart’s wisdom.

To identify your heart’s deepest desires, feel the courage to move past your fears and step into the friendships, experiences, career, relationship, health, and life you want.

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How to Practice Meditation

You can start by getting into a comfortable seated position on a chair with your back supported and feet against the floor. Begin by bringing your full attention to a point of focus. It can be your breath or a sound (mantra). Know that it’s totally normal for you to get distracted by thoughts. The brain is designed to think!

Meditation is not about stopping your mind but giving it something to do instead. This means giving a gentle focus to one thing (a breath or a mantra) and continuing to bring yourself back to it when your mind starts to wander.

A Powerful Morning Meditation

Try starting your morning by doing this simple but powerful meditation. You can remember the acronym F.B.A: “Feel, Breathe, Appreciate.”

Step 1:

Feel. Start by asking yourself the question, “How do I want to feel?” This is your intention. Then, scan your body starting from the top of your head all the way down to the soles of your feet. Breathe deeply as you direct the intention of how you want to feel towards every part of your body. Do this for about three minutes.

Step 2:

Breathe. Notice the rhythm of your breath and where you feel it the most. In your nose? Your throat? Your chest or belly? Don’t try to control your breath, just be aware of its pace and depth. Pay attention to what you love most about your breath. Is it the inhale, exhale or pauses in between?

Anytime your mind strays, gently bring your attention back to your breath. Try not to strain or fight yourself here. It should be a relaxed attention. Do this for three to five minutes.

Step 3:

Appreciate. Think of someone or something that you’re grateful for. Picture this person or thing in your mind and let your body feel whatever emotions accompany that sense of gratitude and love. It may even bring a smile to your face. Let yourself bathe in that feeling of appreciation for at least one moment before opening your eyes and returning to your day.

With this meditation, you can tap into your unlimited reserves of peace, strength, wisdom, and love. If you could begin every day from this perspective, wouldn’t you feel empowered to make decisions from a calmer and clearer place? Wouldn’t you be in awe of the endless possibilities?

Watch this video – Mindfulness Meditation – Guided 10 Minutes

Written by Leah Santa Cruz

Author Bio:

Leah is a Meditation and Mindfulness Coach, who specializes in helping women in the workforce lead joyous lives. Her background in modern Psychology and neuroscience alongside trainings in ancient practices allows her to provide useful tools that actually work and are easy to integrate within a busy lifestyle. Her mission is to help women uncover more love, joy, harmony and intimacy within themselves and with others, the foundation for all happiness. You can find out more about Leah’s meditation coaching here.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Paleo Friendly Savory Herbs Low Carb Zucchini Salmon Pockets

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Impress your guests with these easy, elegant herb-filled salmon pockets served in a grilled zucchini weave.

In this festive appetizer, grilled zucchini slices are interwoven to form delicious bundles of spicy salmon, red bell pepper, parsley, chives and spices. Salmon is a great, versatile fish to work with in the kitchen. Plus, this heart-healthy protein is filled with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins and minerals!

These zucchini salmon pockets may look like something you’d order at a fancy restaurant, but they are surprisingly easy to throw together. Simply use a vegetable peeler to peel zucchini into ⅛-inch slices lengthwise, flipping it when you reach the seeds in the middle, and repeat on the other side.

Don’t use the first couple of slices from either side, as they’ll be mostly skin and tough to bend (save the middles and skin as a snack for later).

Brush the slices with olive oil and add to a hot grill for just few seconds to give them those beautiful grill marks and a nice smoky taste.

Next, process the ingredients for the salmon filling until a paste forms.

Arrange two zucchini slices vertically and two horizontally, interlacing them in a simple weave.

Place a tablespoon of the salmon mixture in the middle, then wrap the zucchini into a bundle and bake for 15 minutes.

You can serve them hot or cold – it’ll be delicious either way!

Tips:

Fresh cod or tuna fillets can be used in place of the salmon.

For extra protein and flavor, place a small piece of smoked salmon in the zucchini weave before adding the salmon mixture.

These wraps are best served fresh.

Low Carb Zucchini Salmon Pockets

Recipe by Dina Hassan

Impress your guests with these easy, elegant zucchini bundles filled with savory herbs and salmon

Tools:

• Grill
• Baking sheet
• Vegetable peeler
• Blender or food processor

Ingredients:

• 2 zucchini
• 1 T olive oil
• ½ lb salmon fillets
• ½ red bell pepper
• ½ t chili flakes
• 1 t garlic powder
• ½ t salt
• ½ t black pepper
• Handful of fresh parsley leaves
• Handful of fresh chives

Instructions:

1. Preheat a grill, then preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a baking sheet with extra virgin olive oil.

• Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zucchini into thick slices lengthwise. Start on one side, stop before you get to the seeds in the middle, then flip and repeat on the other side.

• Brush the zucchini strips with olive oil, then grill for few seconds until they are tender and slightly browned with grill marks. Remove from grill and set aside.

• Place the salmon, parsley, chives, red bell pepper, chili flakes, garlic powder, salt and pepper in the blender; blend until a paste forms.

• Place two zucchini strips vertically and two horizontally, interlacing them. Place a tablespoon of the salmon mixture in the middle, then close the zucchini strips over the mix to make a bundle.

• Line the zucchini wraps on the prepared baking sheet; bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Watch this video – Fabio’s Kitchen: Season 2 Episode 13, “Salmon & Zucchini Pasta”

Written by Dina Hassan

Author Bio:

Dina Hassan is a recipe developer, food photographer and food stylist. She believes that the key to a happy life is eating natural food, and when she’s not behind the camera, you can find her cooking up a new healthy recipe.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

The Ultimate Guide to Vitamin D for Your Health

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Over 41% of people in the United States are vitamin D deficient. So clearly, it’s not fatal in most cases, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a big deal.

Vitamin D, the “sunshine vitamin”, is crucial for good mental health, bone health, immune function, and more.

In this guide, I’m going to break down:

• How vitamin D affects your health
• How much you need
• How you should get it

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What Does Vitamin D Do?

Before we get to the less than thrilling science of vitamin D formation and metabolism, I think it’s important to highlight why it’s so important for your health.

Here are 4 of the most important and most studied benefits of having a sufficient amount of vitamin D. There are other potential benefits like a lower risk of diabetes, among others, that will be studied more extensively in the future.

1. Bone Health

Strong bones depend on many things, including vitamin D.

You probably already know that calcium is crucial for developing and maintaining dense, strong bones.

What you probably didn’t know, was that vitamin D is needed to stimulate movement of molecules like calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D is needed to absorb both calcium and phosphorus efficiently.

A severe lack of vitamin D can cause rickets, a bone disease in children that results in frail, painful bones throughout the body. There’s also a similar adult equivalent, osteomalacia.

2. Healthy Immune System Function

You immune system is responsible for fighting all sorts of unwanted guests in your body and protecting you from illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer.

School children were split into 2 groups during one study. One group was given vitamin D supplements, while the other wasn’t. The group with the supplements had about a 42% lower chance of getting the flu.

Similar studies have also shown that vitamin D helps lower the rate at which children develop respiratory infections.

Furthermore, it’s clear that vitamin D plays a fairly major role in the overall immune system, and it will continue to be studied in this aspect.

3. Cancer Protection

Vitamin D can significantly reduce your risk of developing many types of cancer, including breast, colon, ovarian, prostate, pancreatic, and more.

While the mechanism is still not fully known, current theories are that it interrupts one of the key 7 phases of cancer development.

Based on their results, they found that raising the minimum recommended level of vitamin D by 50% would prevent about 58,000 cases of breast cancer and 49,000 cases of colorectal cancer per year.

But what about vitamin D and skin cancer? Don’t worry, we’ll get to that soon.

4. Overall Decreased Risk of Death

There are many theories about how vitamin D helps you stay healthy.

It’s often hard to isolate effects due to interactions and dependencies on other vitamins, especially for fat-soluble vitamins like vitamin D.

However, we can still look at overall trends to see if vitamin D plays a significant role in decreasing mortality, and it appears that it does.

Time and time again, large meta-analysis studies have shown that a healthy vitamin D intake is associated with a longer lifespan. It is a remarkably consistent finding.

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The Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency

Those benefits we just looked at are just one side of the coin.

The other half consists of the serious consequences of being chronically deficient in vitamin D. You’re not just risking the flu if you’re not getting enough sun, it could turn out much worse.

1. Rickets

Rickets is a disease that occurs exclusively in children.

If a child doesn’t have enough vitamin D, they can’t absorb calcium effectively from food, as we talked about, which leads to bone issues.

The consequences of rickets include:

• delayed or stunted growth
• bone pain
• muscle weakness
• skeletal deformation (bowed knees, thickened wrists/ankles, etc.)

2. Osteomalacia

Once you’re an adult, a lack of vitamin D will still cause calcium absorption problems, but you’re obviously fully grown already.

With osteomalacia, your bones get softer.

The symptoms are often not apparent right away, but over time, bone pain and muscle weakness is common. This pain can occur in pretty much any bone, but is most commonly in the hip region, ribs, or legs.

Due to the range in pain felt, it may be difficult to diagnose.

3. Depression

We naturally associate the sun with cheeriness, so it kind of works out well that we believe a vitamin D deficiency can cause depression.

A meta-analysis of studies in 2014 showed that for most people with depression, vitamin D supplementation had no significant effect. However, for those with clinical depression, it did have a statistically significant benefit.

(Related: 5 Ways A Paleo Diet Can Help Depression)

This is still far from conclusive either way. Different doses and situations should be studied in order to more fully understand the link between vitamin D and depression.

Bottom line: while it’s possible that depression can be caused by vitamin D deficiency, it can also be caused by many other things. Don’t automatically assume a vitamin D deficiency when you’re feeling down.

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How You Get Vitamin D

So this vitamin D stuff, kind of important, right?

So how do you get it?

Well, there are 3 main sources from which you can get vitamin D.

Before we get to those, there’s one more thing you need to know. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means we can store it in our bodies for months, and even years in certain situations. When we talk about daily values, think of this more as an average over the long-term. You don’t necessarily need it every day.

1. Food

Many people are under the impression that there’s no vitamin D in food – not quite.

Food is not a great source, but you can get a significant amount from it.

See this table from the NIH of vitamin D amounts in select foods:

Excluding the fortified products (essentially supplements added to food), fish is by far the best source of vitamin D.

If you eat a lot of fish, or consume cod liver oil regularly, you probably get a decent chunk of your needed amount from that alone, which is great.

Keep in mind that when you cook food that contains vitamin D, anywhere from 10-50% of it is lost, which means those numbers in the table are more than you’ll actually get.

2. Sun

The sun is by far the best (and cheapest!) source of vitamin D.

You don’t need to know all the little steps. What you do need to know is that UVB radiation from sunlight is absorbed in the skin, which then reacts with cholesterol to form vitamin D.

However, we can’t actually use this form of vitamin D. Instead, it goes through a few conversions until it finally is turned into calcidiol, the active form of vitamin D that cells can use.

Note that skin needs to be actually exposed to sunlight in order for vitamin D production to occur. This is why it’s more common to become vitamin D deficient during winter months when you’re all covered up.

3. Supplements

Food alone usually isn’t enough.

So what if you live somewhere where you can’t get enough sun, either?

That’s when supplements are necessary. You can find them on the shelf at most pharmacies, drug stores, or online.

Vitamin D2 and D3

There are 2 common types of vitamin D. Vitamin D2 is found in certain plants, while D3 is found in animal products/fish.

Vitamin D3 is about twice as good at being converted to the active form of vitamin D. While most supplements are vitamin D3, double check the ingredient label before you buy them.

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How Much Vitamin D Do You Need?

The last main part of this guide is to determine how much vitamin D you actually need to not be deficient.

Here is a table of the current recommendations in Canada, which are very similar to the U.S. and Europe:

However, many recent studies have called these recommendations into question.

They assert that the recommended intakes should be higher for all age groups, closer to the current upper limits. The current maximum safe dosage is 10,000 IU per day for an adult.

I wouldn’t recommend hopping straight to that amount until more research has been done on it. However, you might benefit from getting more vitamin D if you’re hovering around or below the current recommended amounts.

For reference, most studies I’ve linked to in this guide have adult patients on 4,000-5,000 IU per day.

How Much Vitamin D Do You Get From The Sun?

The actual amount you get from the sun will vary depending on a lot of factors, not all of which are in your control (like UV index).

There’s no easy way to calculate it. Here’s what I found:

“If you’re fair skinned, experts say going outside for 10 minutes in the midday sun – in shorts and a tank top with no sunscreen – will give you enough radiation to produce about 10,000 IU.”

So it’s not too difficult to get a good amount of vitamin D.

Note that it said “if you’re fair skinned.” The darker your skin is, the less UVB you will absorb, and the less vitamin D you will produce. I’m not sure exactly how much extra time you need in the sun if you have dark skin, but be aware that you’ll need a bit more.

Can You Overdose? It’s possible, but very unlikely. You would need to have an incredibly high vitamin D intake for an extended period of time.

There is one final thing I need to address to wrap up this guide: skin cancer. I am by no means telling you to lie out in the sun all day. Get some sun, but don’t get burned.

Any sunburn will accelerate aging, and even worse, it will elevate your risk of skin cancer.

There you have it, everything you need to know about vitamin D. Enjoy the sun and your good health!

Watch this video – WARNING: Never Take Vitamin D Without This Or You’ll Have A Heart Attack

Written by Dale Cudmore

Author Bio:

Dale is a nutrition writer, chemical engineer & professional soccer player who sees the results of proper nutrition every day in training and games. Connect with him at DaleCudmore.com

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook