Sleep is one of those universal foundations of our health. It’s like a good sunscreen in your skincare routine - if you’re not prioritising that, it can really negate all of the work you're putting in in other aspects of your healthy lifestyle, like nutrition, exercise and supplementation. If we don’t have good sleep, all of the pillars of our health crumble. 

With lockdowns happening (we’re currently in a short one to ensure we don’t have a massive resurgence of COVID), I find that’s not only a great time to learn more about your health but for me, it’s an opportunity for me to really hone in on my sleep. No early morning gym sessions, no post-work catch ups with friends, no packed social calendar, so no excuses when it comes to focusing on sleep. 

But sleep isn’t as simple as just making sure you’re in bed for 8hrs. If you read the title of this email and thought “that’s me!” then you’ll know exactly what I mean. It’s hard to function when you feel like hot trash as it is, then add COVID lockdowns and it’s a recipe for stress! So why, if you’re getting your ‘8 hours’ of sleep a night, are you feeling like a flaming pile of hot trash? 

If you’re feeling less than flash and you’re wondering how the heck this is even possible because you’re sleeping 8 hours a night, then you’re going to love this week’s episode of The PCOS Nutritionist Podcast. Today, I’m diving into sleep, the sleep stages and their importance and one of the main sleep problems I see with women I work with - sleeping 8 hours but still feeling like they’ve been hit by a bus upon waking. 

So, regardless of your PCOS root cause, this one’s for you! You might even want to listen to this while you prep your dinner in advance of your wind-down routine!

This episode is for you if:

• You get 8 hours but still feel like hot trash the next morning
• You want some more information on what you can do for a better night’s sleep

Some things we cover in this episode:

• What good sleep consists of
• Why sleep is so much more important than you realise
• Alcohol and sleep
• Sleep stages
• Cortisol and sleep
• Hacks to a better sleep

Resources and References:

• My Book: Getting Pregnant with PCOS
• Podcast Episode 36
• Podcast Episode 65
• Book: Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker

Links to our programs:

• The PCOS Protocol
• Eggducated