Tag Archives: DE-STRESS

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HSW 87: Tapping for Food Cravings, Stress and Insomnia with Dr Peta Stapleton

Today we’re chatting with Dr Peta Stapleton who is a registered Clinical & Health Psychologist and an Associate Professor in Psychology at Bond University here in Australia.  She is a world-leading researcher in EFT – which is short for Emotional Freedom Technique (otherwise known as tapping) and led a world-first randomized clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of EFT on food cravings in overweight and obese adults.

In this entertaining podcast (Peta has a great sense of humour!) we talk all things:

  • What exactly is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or tapping, and how does it work?
  • How EFT helps to reduce stress hormone levels and support our nervous system on a biochemical level
  • The incredible statistics showing how fast it works to help those suffering from conditions such as anxiety and PTSD
  • Results from her clinical trial showing how it helps to reduce food cravings – and yes, this does include a chocolate muffin!
  • How it can be used to improve anxiety-related sleep issues such as sleep onset and reduce intermittent awakenings

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HSW 72 – Flower Essences for Sleep and Stress With Dr Niikee Schoendorfer

When it comes to sleep and stress, the two are very much interrelated, and even more so for anyone who has a stressful job and works shift work too!  So in today’s episode, we’re going to be talking all things sleep and stress, and how the healing power of flowers, a therapeutic remedy which has been used by traditional cultures for thousands of years, can help to calm the nervous system and encourage better quality sleep.

To explain how flower remedies actually work, we’ve brought on Dr Niikee Schoendorfer, who holds a Diploma in Nutrition and Traditional Chinese Herbalism, a Bachelor of Health Science Degree in Complementary Medicine, a Masters Degree in Nutritional Medicine, and a PhD in Nutritional Biochemistry.  In addition to her extensive academic record, Dr Niikee just so happens to travel all around Australia delivering workshops on some of the therapeutic benefits of using Australian Bush Flower Essences!

In this episode, you’re going to learn:

  • what are flower essences and how do they work
  • flower remedies to help reset body clocks
  • flower remedies to help reduce stress and anxiety
  • flower remedies to help calm a racing mind to encourage sleep onset
  • flower remedies to support the adrenal glands and nervous system, plus …
  • how diagrammatic breathing can help to reduce stress and insomnia

Links mentioned on the podcast:
Dr Niikee’s website – http://www.vitalitytime.com.au

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Better Sleep – The Missing Link To Sustainable Weight Loss:

Your Best New Year's Resolution For 2019!


As we close the door on yet another year, I have to ask – “is one of your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight?”

As a shift worker immersed in a sleep disrupted lifestyle, I’d say the chances of you replying to that question with a “yes”, is pretty high.

Why?  Well generally speaking, the less we sleep, the more we’re going to weigh.

I know what you’re thinking – “that sucks!”

I agree.  It does.  But the thing is, when we’re sleep deprived, there are 3 distinct things or biochemical changes which occur within our body, that if we ignore, can fast track us down the express lane to weight gain before we’ve even had a chance to see it coming!

  1. When we haven’t had enough sleep, our body instinctively seeks out energy that it didn’t get during a restorative night’s rest.What does that mean?  Well the quickest and easiest source of energy that our body can use is, you guessed it – sugar!  Or more scientifically, glucose, which means if you don’t get sufficient sleep, you’re going to have some serious carbohydrate cravings.
  2. When we haven’t had enough sleep, it dysregulates our appetite-regulating hormones ‘ghrelin’ and ‘leptin’.  Ghrelin is a hormone that gets released to increase our appetite, whereas leptin is a hormone that lets you know when you’re feeling full.  The problem when we’re sleep deprived, is ghrelin becomes elevated making us feel hungrier than normal, whilst at the same time, leptin becomes suppressed meaning you’re not going to receive that “I’m feeling full” signal which can lead to overeating and subsequent weight gain.So yes, you do have a valid, scientific explanation (or shall we say ‘justification’) as to why you polished off 1/2 packet of Tim Tams in your meal break!
  3. When we haven’t had enough sleep, it increases a stress hormone in our body called cortisol. While it’s a great hormone to have around when you need to slam on your breaks in traffic, its not good to have high amounts of it floating around on a consistent basis.  This is because cortisol raises our blood sugar, which in turn, raises our insulin levels.  Like with anything in excess, too much insulin can lead in the development of a condition called insulin resistance, which reduces our body’s ability to burn fat often leading in the development of weight gain around the abdomen or belly region.

So whilst what we eat is important when it comes to sustainable weight loss – it’s certainly by no means, the be all and end all.

Instead of following the crowd and focussing all of your attention on a restrictive, unsustainable diet for your New Year’s Resolution (which let’s face it, most have usually given up by the 2nd week of January anyway!), my recommendation for you, is to take on a completely different approach.

That being focussing on improving both the quality and quantity of your sleep, because this is going to help your body to experience less sugar cravings and hormonal dysregulation, which will inadvertently help you to lose weight anyway!

And let’s face it, who doesn’t want better sleep – especially when working 24/7!

Audra x

 

References:

Greer, S, Goldstein, A & Walker, M 2013, ‘The impact of sleep deprivation on food desire in the human brain’, Nature Communications, vol. 4, no. 2259.

Hirotsu, C, Tufik, S & Anderson, M 2015, ‘Interactions between sleep, stress, and metabolism:  From physiological to pathological conditions’, Sleep Science, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 143-142.

Taheri, S, Lin, L, Austin, D, Young, T & Mignot, E 2004, ‘Short sleep duration is associated with reduced leptin, elevated ghrelin, and increased body mass index’, PLoS Medicine, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 210-217.

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Sleepy Cinnamon and Walnut Latte:

A Beverage for Sleep Deprived Shift Workers

As shift workers, falling asleep and staying asleep can be one of our biggest challenges when working 24/7.  In fact ironically, we can find ourselves in a state where we’re actually too exhausted to sleep – a cruel scenario given all we want to do is catch up on some much needed zeds!

But this “too exhausted to sleep” scenario can happen for a number of reasons (and not just as a result of working shift work), when our bodies become “stuck” in a state of constant overstimulation.  This is essentially when the nervous system becomes so “wired”, that it prevents the body from being able to relax and unwind.

This may occur as a result of a dysregulation in the stress hormone cortisol, a thyroid disorder such as Hashimoto’s, or even due to intestinal parasites being found in the digestive tract – to name a few!

Yewwww!  I know right!

Anyway, whilst it may be necessary to undertake further diagnostic testing to eliminate (or at the very least identify if any of the above scenarios are contributory factors to your insomnia), in the interim this Cinnamon and Walnut Latte may help to improve your sleep.

Now I know what you’re thinking – we can’t drink coffee before bed!

Yes, I agree entirely with you.

Except this “latte” is totally caffeine free.  In fact it’s even dairy free, which is a good thing because consuming dairy can actually trigger an inflammatory response in some people, which in itself sets off a whole cascade of stress hormones that is going to impact on your sleep.

But I’ll save that for another post.  In the meantime, let’s talk all about the Cinnamon and Walnut Latte.

What’s great about it?

  • It contains walnuts which contain melatonin, a sleep regulating hormone that is necessary for sleep to occur.  Research has shown consuming walnuts actually increases blood melatonin concentrations levels.
  • Melatonin in itself, is a powerful antioxidant that helps to protect the body against oxidative stress, which occurs as a result of toxic molecules called free radicals.
  • Walnuts are a rich source of omega 3 EFA’s (essential fatty acids) which help to improve cognitive function as the brain, which is made up of 60% fat, requires omega 3 fats to function properly.
  • They also contain a variety of other bioactive compounds, such as vitamin E and polyphenols which are phytochemicals found in plant foods that help to protect the body against oxidative stress.

Ingredients (makes 20)

  • 1 cup of walnuts (soaked for 2 hours)
  • 4 cups of filtered water
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
  • 1 teaspoon raw honey, to serve
  • Sprinkle of cinnamon, to serve

How to make them!

Combine the walnuts, water and vanilla paste in a high-speed blender.  Blend for at least 30 seconds.  The longer the better as this will help to create a creamy, white texture.

Pour one cup of walnut “milk” into a saucepan, and heat up gently on the stove top.

Once heated through, pour into a mug and serve with 1 teaspoon of raw honey and cinnamon for a bit of added sweetness.  Both the honey and cinnamon help to balance blood sugar levels, which is vital in preventing intermittent awakenings or that broken sleep which can also be the bane of our existence when we’re trying to optimise our sleep!

Audra x

P.S:  For an even smoother, creamier texture, strain the milk through a fine sieve or nut milk bag to remove the walnut sediment.

Please note:  this beverage is not a sleep elixir, but rather a beverage that, combined with optimal sleep hygiene practices may aid in the process of sleep.

 

References:

Bozkurt, N, Karbek, B, Cakal, E, Firat, H, Ozbek, M & Delibasi T 2012, ‘The association between severity of obstructive sleep apnea and prevalence of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis’, Endocrinology Journal, vol. 59, no. 11, pp. 981-988.

Bush B & Hudson, T 2010, ‘The role of cortisol in sleep’, Natural Medicine Journal, vol. 2, no. 6.

Ibarra-Coronado, E, Pantaleon-Martinez, A, Velazquez-Moctezuma, J, Prospero-Garcia, O, Mendez-Diaz, M, Perez-Tapia, M, Pavon, L & Morales-Montor, J 2015, ‘The bidirectional relationship between sleep and immunity against infections’, Journal of Immunology Research, vol. 2015.

Reiter, R, Manchester, L & Tan D 2005, ‘Melatonin in walnuts:  influence on levels of melatonin and total antioxidant capacity of blood, Nutrition, vol. 21, no. 9, pp. 920-924.

Sanchez-Gonzalez, C, Ciudad C, Noe, V & Izquierdo-Pulido M 2017, ‘Health benefits of walnut polyphenols:  An exploration beyond their lipid profile’, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, vol. 57, no. 16, pp. 3373-3383.

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HSW 65 – Healthy Shift Worker Wellness Events with Candice Bauer

As someone who works irregular hours, have you ever had any “healthy shift worker training” throughout your shift working career?  Quite simply, has anyone ever entered your workplace (that actually worked shift work themselves and knows exactly what you’re going through) and provided you with some practical strategies to help you to manage your health whilst working 24/7?

I’m going to assume your answer is a “no”, which is why you’re definitely going to want to listen to this episode!

Having spent close to two decades working shift work myself, and not once receiving any help or support on how to stay healthy whilst working 24/7, I’m now taking my healthy-shift-worker message around Australia, in the form of Healthy Shift Worker Wellness Events.

In today’s episode, we’re talking with Emergency Care Nurse Candice Bauer, who is also the founder of BareByBauer, an Australian based body and skin care company.  Candice is so passionate about her health and that of others, that she’s invited me up to her hometown of Bundaberg to talk all things to do with health and wellness.

The good news is that not only is this wellness event going to be a wealth of information for those working shift work, but it’s also designed to be an invaluable resource for anyone struggling with their health – whether that’s in the form of poor sleep, stress, weight fluctuations and much, much more!

So if you live in Bundaberg, then I look forward to seeing you there on Friday, the 28th of September 2018 :-).

Links mentioned on the podcast:

To purchase your tickets or to learn more about the Healthy “Shift” Worker event which is being held at the Bundaberg School of Arts Building, visit Eventbrite or the BareByBauer Facebook Page

To learn more about the BareByBauer range of products including the Saving Grace Repair Balm and Green Gypsy Facial Mask that Candice mentioned – visit https://www.barebybauer.com.au/

If you’re wanting me to come into your workplace (or visit your place of residence) and deliver Healthy Shift Worker Wellness Events too, then get in touch with me at audra@healthyshiftworker.com

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