Interesting pix, don’t you think? I look pretty goofy snuggling with my pup in what look like sunglasses .
It all started almost a year ago this fall. I’m hyper vigilant about keeping up on my regular labs which include hormone testing . I am hypothyroid so have an underactive thyroid along with several other medical conditions to stay on top of. I had received my labs back and my TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone) was well below normal which wasn’t good at all. Another number that jumped out was once again my very low, morning cortisol. This has been a problem for at least 10 years and the reason I am challenged in the morning by not having energy. No one has every explored the root cause of this so I took it upon myself and decided to find the reason. Finally in the spring, I came to the conclusion that I either had sleep apnea or was not getting the right sleep and that was causing my low AM cortisol. Why is this important? Keep your eyes open for an upcoming blog on hormones to find out more and how cortisol affects our sleep for better or worse and could be affecting your health.
In May, I received a gift from my husband. He bought me a Samsung Galaxy Smart Watch so I could track my activity and sleep. While I had a fit bit a few years ago for tracking activity, I did away with it since like many electronic devices, it was becoming an addiction to constantly check and compete with others and myself. Addiction to electronics is a serious problem and on the rise, affecting health on many levels. I am all for friendly competition but it had become a constant distraction and I knew it was time to ditch it. I stepped away (no pun intended) from it, knowing I was getting plenty of steps and cardio due to being a certified fitness instructor and leading so many classes each week. I was now ready to try a new tracker to check in on sleep.
The good news, after tracking for a week and taking some sleep surveys (links provided at end of blog provided by Dr. Alan Hopkins from YourLabWork, of which I am an affiliate), I was thrilled to find out I didn’t have sleep apnea. The bad news, I wasn’t tracking ANY deep sleep and not really the best REM sleep. If you aren’t up to date on stages of sleep and how they apply to your health, you can always schedule a coaching session to explore that with me. How was it possible that these numbers weren’t better? I LOVE going to bed early and KNOW the importance of 7-8 hours of quality sleep…HELLO!!! I’m a health coach!! I KNOW this stuff. I have tools and hand outs for clients to obtain better sleep hygiene. I have helped clients review their habits and achieve better sleep. I decided to look more closely at my situation.
What did I find? I watch TV right before going to bed as well as play games on my tablet. The blue light stimulates the brain and the games were doing the same. Instead of winding down, I was giving my brain the message to wake up and be alert. I didn’t think there was a problem for me since I fall asleep quickly and never struggle with sleep throughout the night, which I understand is opposite from most people who struggle with trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. Could this be affecting my quality of sleep and reason I didn’t have energy in the morning? I quickly ordered two different types of blue light blockers to wear in the evening and stopped playing games and watching tv an hour before bed. Light reading is fine as long as you aren’t reading to learn information that would stimulate the brain instead of relaxing it. The blue light filter glasses I’m wearing in the pic above and continue to use on a nightly basis are made by Swanick and are called Classic Night Swannies, blue light blocking glasses. There are many types of these out so do your research and homework to see what is best for you. These seemed to help a little and my numbers started improving. They actually were making a difference!!! I had read about this in several research articles but now experienced it firsthand.
Next up, I ordered the Oura ring since all of the doctors I follow, favorite gurus, celebrities, and friends were using this as a tracking device for activity and sleep. I had done research (after the fact since my watch was a gift and I usually do this upfront with ANY purchase. ALWAYS read reviews and comments on flaws and problems) on my watch and found many complaints and reviews on lack of proper sleep tracking. No wonder it didn’t show deep sleep. I KNEW I HAD to be getting some! The Oura ring fit fine during the day but tight when I woke up in the morning. I’m not a big fan of rings so don’t wear them often but this one I was faithful with for about two weeks so I could compare my watch and ring. That was enough time to find out the activity tracker was way off on the Oura ring and showing about 40% more activity than the watch…..REALLY??????? After chatting with a fellow coach, I found out her tracking device was off as well so while tracking is great, read up to see if and where your device might be flawed and don’t become obsessed with it. Use it as an information tool for better health, not a distraction. At least the bottom line was I could see improvement in REM and deep sleep and decided the truth was somewhere between the two trackers. I packed up the ring and sent it back since I wasn’t in love with it.
My detective work wasn’t done yet. I want to achieve the very BEST sleep possible since so many health issues can be avoided with quality sleep and I am extremely proactive with my health. What was the next piece of the puzzle to achieve the quality sleep and energy in the morning that finally put my AM cortisol number back in the normal range after 10 years of being so low? Stay tuned for my next blog regarding hormones, sleep, and your health.
Please comment and tell me what trackers you use and how your sleep is. I’d love to hear from you.
Wishing you sweet dreams with plenty of REM, deep sleep, and morning energy!
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